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Dear Mountain Lions,

The Colorado Springs Police Department has officially released the names of those who were taken from us in the shooting on our campus early Friday morning. I am including that announcement in full below. 

As we mourn the loss of Samuel Knopp and Celie Montgomery, my hope is that we will come together as a community, support one another and share in our grief. Please remember that you are not alone. 

Sam was a senior studying music and a beloved member of the Visual and Performing Arts department. He was an accomplished guitar player and an extremely talented musician. 

Celie, although she was not a student, will be mourned by our campus community.  

It is important to me that our community understands that CSPD has said that investigative efforts so far continue to indicate this is an isolated incident between parties that were known to one another and not a random attack against the school or other students at the university. 

On Friday, February 16, 2024, at approximately 5:59 AM, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS) Police Department received a call of shots fired coming from Crestone House, a dormitory located on the campus. UCCS PD Officers located the room shots originated from and located an adult female and an adult male deceased. The Colorado Springs Police Department received a call for assistance, resulting in the CSPD Homicide Unit assuming responsibility for the investigation.   

On Saturday, February 17, 2024, The El Paso County Coroner’s Office conducted an autopsy of the deceased female and male. The female was identified as 26-year-old Celie (See-Lee) Rain Montgomery of Pueblo, CO. The male was identified as 24-year-old Samuel Knopp of Parker, CO. While the Coroner’s Office will determine the cause and manner of death, Ms. Montgomery and Mr. Knopp’s deaths are being investigated as homicides. Mr. Knopp was a registered student at UCCS. Mrs. Montgomery was not a registered student at UCCS.  

Since the beginning of this investigation, the primary focus has been on the victims of this tragic incident and pursuing justice for them and their families. This remains an active investigation, which includes detectives continuing to develop additional investigative leads and suspect information. Given this case’s active and fluid nature, additional information about those leads and any potential suspect details will not be released at this time. Investigative efforts so far continue to indicate this is an isolated incident between parties that were known to one another and not a random attack against the school or other students at the university. 

Our detectives continue working around the clock, and we have intentionally restricted the amount of information made available to the public during the initial 48 hours of our investigation. Having said that, we have maintained ongoing communication with the families of the victims and collaborated closely with the UCCS Police to ensure that plans were in place for safeguarding the campus community.    

While acknowledging the difficulty of the situation and the withholding of information in the initial stages of our investigation, we owe it to the victims and their families to deliver accountability and justice for this horrific act. 

We will share the information about memorial services as they become available.  

This has been a difficult week with the loss of Mia Brown, another beloved student, on Monday. I know we are all mourning, so please, remember that you are not alone. The entire Mountain Lion community is here to support you.  

Tomorrow, we will take our first steps, processing and mourning along our healing journey. I encourage you to set aside time to process the tragic events of this past week, both as an individual and in a group setting. 

Classes and regular activities are canceled; however, campus will be open tomorrow and we will be offering several events for our students, faculty and staff: 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.: Student Life Lounge Community Space9 a.m. – 1 p.m.: UC 303 Community Space 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.: MOSAIC Lounge Community Space10 – 11:30 a.m.: Berger Hall Healing Circle  1 – 2 p.m.: Student Life Lounge – Therapy Dogs  2 – 3 p.m.: Solidarity Walk – Roaring Fork to El Pomar Plaza  An email with updated details on these events will be distributed tonight.  

Please, reach out if you need help. It is the strength of our community, of our bond as Mountain Lions, and our dedication to one another that will rebuild our broken hearts and give us the strength to heal.
In solidarity, 
Jennifer SobanetChancellor

View Email

Dear UCCS community, 

We thank you for your continued patience and understanding as we all process this tragedy together. 

The safety of our campus community is always our number one priority, and we understand that it is at the forefront of everyone’s mind as we search for answers, meaning, and information. 

We want to assure you that since this incident happened early Friday morning, the safety of our campus community has been and continues to be our top priority. That is why UCCS Police Chief McCarver is taking the lead in working with the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD). We can assure you that if at any point it was determined there was a threat to anyone on campus, the lockdown would not have been lifted. 

As mentioned, we have been working with the CSPD 24/7 since the situation unfolded. Their department is the lead on this investigation. As Chief Vasquez said, the Colorado Springs Police Department will do everything they can to bring justice to those who have been taken from us, their families and friends.  

We ask for your patience and cooperation as law enforcement continues to investigate this tragedy. As the investigation continues, every bit of helpful information will be shared at the appropriate time. We have been working with the CSPD every step of the way to share as much information with our campus community as we can without compromising the integrity of their investigation.

As we move forward, we will continue to inform the community of any substantial updates as we are able. Our plan for the near future is to communicate at least twice a day to keep our campus community informed. We will provide another update later today.  

Press conference held at UCCS on Friday, February 16 at 2:15 p.m.

2/16/24: 5:52PM – Full Email

Dear Mountain Lions,

We know that today has been difficult, and that as a campus we are all grieving. Thank you for your patience, understanding and support as we have worked through this difficult day. We have a few updates below on how we can process the events of today, mourn, and begin the healing process as a community. 

Campus Closure
Campus will be closed on Saturday and Sunday. All classes, activities and events are cancelled or have been rescheduled.

While classes are cancelled on Monday, February 19, the campus will be open for support and healing. We welcome all of you to campus and encourage you to set aside some time to process and focus on your mental health. Below, you can find more information about those events. 

Resources 
Walk-in counseling will be offered from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. at the Wellness Center on Saturday and Sunday, and from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Monday. No appointment is needed, but please note that counselors will be focusing on walk-ins related to the crisis events of this week only.

Please remember that the TELUS app offers 24/7 mental health help and is available to all students. 

Please note the dining halls will return to their regular hours starting tomorrow. On Monday, dining retail locations will operate with reduced hours, but all locations will resume regular business hours starting Tuesday.

Day of Healing (Monday 2/19)
On Monday, there will be a day set aside to begin healing as a community following the recent tragedies. We encourage everyone to come to campus and set aside time to process, support one another and heal as a community. Please note, there will be no parking enforcement on Monday.We will have three open community spaces on Monday for students, staff and faculty: UC303, the Student Life lounge (UC104) and the MOSAIC space (UC110). All spaces will be offering food, comfort and support from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.From 10-11:30 a.m., the Division of DEI will be hosting a healing circle in Berger Hall. This is a group space for the campus to come together in solidarity, share thoughts and emotions, and create a space to mourn and heal together.Starting at 2 p.m., there will be a healing walk across campus, beginning at Roaring Fork and ending at the mountain lion statue by the library. There will be brief comments by Student Body President Axel Brown and Chancellor Jennifer Sobanet.We encourage everyone to come together throughout the day to support one another and intentionally set aside time for healing. Please continue to monitor your email and alerts.uccs.edu for any additional updates.

UCCSAlert: For Saturday/Sunday Feb 17-18 UCCS is closed. All offices are closed, classes, meetings, events, athletics & activities are cancelled.

2/16/24: 4pm

Information and Resources: Email to Campus

There will be a press conference at 2:00 p.m. on campus in the Kettle Creek Conference room

11:24AM

This morning, just before 6 AM, UCCS Dispatch received a call for service regarding shots fired in a dorm room on campus.

UCCS Police responded and gained access to the dorm room at 6:05 AM. They discovered two deceased individuals, each with at least one gunshot wound.

CSPD was notified at approximately 6:10 AM and responded to the scene to assist with initial scene security and assisting in the investigation.

The CSPD Homicide unit was notified and at the request of UCCS Police, assumed responsibility for the investigation.

We are in the very early stages of piecing together what happened. We are in the process of notifying family members of the deceased individuals. We don’t believe there is an ongoing threat to the community and we are investigating this as an isolated incident.

While the coroner will make the official determination of cause and manner of death, these deaths are being investigated as a homicide and continue to be an active investigation.

We won’t be releasing any further information at this time regarding the investigation into the circumstances of what happened. We are working diligently and looking at every possibility. We will release more information when appropriate.

UCCSAlert: 9:37AM Shelter in place has ended. Campus remains closed for today.

UCCSAlert: 8:52AM There is no safety concern on campus. A shelter in place for the Alpine Village is due to an ongoing investigation. Further details to come

UCCSAlert: 7:59 Only those in Alpine Village including San Juan, La Plata, Crestone, Antero, and Shavano along with Roaring Fork should shelter in place and not leave campus. We do not want movement in and around these areas. All other students, faculty and staff may leave campus.

UCCSAlert: 7:59AM Only those in Alpine Village shelter in place. We do not want movement in and around these areas. All others may leave campus.

Urgent UCCSAlert: 7:10AM Lockdown UPDATE NO active shooter, please continue to shelter in place on campus until further notice. Campus closed today.

Urgent UCCSAlert: 6:21AM Lockdown! Lock interior doors. Turn out the lights. Move away from sight. Do not open the door. Maintain silence. Evade/Defend

UCCS delayed start for 12/14 .Office hours, classes, meetings, activities & final exams are cancelled prior to 10AM on 12/14/2023. Faculty will be in touch with their students about next steps related to final exams that were cancelled.