COLORADO SPRINGS — As of Monday afternoon, a suspect has been taken into custody in connection to the UCCS homicides.
The suspect is 25-year-old Nicholas Jordan of Detroit, Michigan.
CSPD arrested Jordan without any incident near the 4900 block of Cliff Point Circle East in Colorado Springs Monday morning before 8 a.m.
Jordan was arrested on a warrant for two counts of Murder in the First Degree. Jordan has a court appearance scheduled for Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. according to El Paso County Sheriff's Office documents.
CSPD says this is an isolated incident between those who knew each other and not a random attack on students at the university. Jordan was a current student at the university during the time of the alleged attack.
In a Sunday release, Colorado Springs police admitted they are intentionally withholding information related to the Friday shooting that left two dead inside UCCS student housing.
The decision and lack of information on any suspect has raised questions about safety on campus and in the community if no arrests have been made and the shooter is indeed still on the run.
“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 this investigation,” the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) said in the Sunday update.
During a press conference on Friday afternoon, a small hint about the investigation emerged when 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen spoke briefly to reporters.
“My office is working hand-in-hand with CSPD as part of this investigation and when the time comes for them to hand the case off to us, we will be the lead prosecuting agency,” said Allen, indicating that there will be a suspect to prosecute.
Allen acknowledged a high-profile case such as this creates natural tension between information the public wants to know and what law enforcement can share.
He said the intentional withholding of information is meant to protect the investigation and subsequent prosecution.
Based on the district attorney’s comments, it appeared clear there is at least one suspect and there will be a prosecution if and when they are arrested.
CSPD has declined to comment further on the investigation or who and where the shooter, or shooters, might be. But the agency reiterated the shooting appeared to be an isolated incident between people who knew each other and not a random attack.
“While acknowledging the difficulty of the situation and the withholding of information in the initial stages of the investigation, we owe it to the victims and their families to deliver accountability and justice for this horrific act,” CSPD added in their statement.
Just before 6 a.m. on Feb. 16, UCCS police received a call for shots fired inside the Crestone House, a dormitory on campus and part of the Alpine Village complex near Clyde Way and Austin Bluffs Pkwy.
Police arrived within five minutes of the call and discovered two people dead inside a dorm room, each with at least one gunshot wound, police said.
A campus-wide shelter-in-place was issued, with those in the Alpine Village apartments having to lock down for about three hours until the order was lifted.
“When you hear ‘gun’ and ‘school’ in the same sentence, it’s scary,” said Nate Mushlin, a UCCS freshman who lives in Alpine Village. “At the end of the day we're a family here at UCCS, doesn't matter if it's one person you know, don't know, they're your friends.”
On Sunday, CSPD identified the two victims as 26-year-old Celie Rain Montgomery of Pueblo and 24-year-old Samuel Knopp of Parker.
Knopp was a UCCS senior studying music and a “beloved member of the Visual and Performing Arts department,” said a university spokesperson on Sunday. Montgomery was not a student. The relationship between the two is unclear.
CSPD said on Friday that the incident did not appear to be a murder-suicide and both deaths are being investigated as homicides.
“This remains an active investigation, which includes detectives continuing to develop additional investigative leads and suspect information,” said CSPD in Sunday’s statement. “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.”
UCCS continues offering a number of counseling and mental health services for those affected by the shooting.
Related: Two dead after shooting at UCCS, reaction from students and city leaders
Related: Campus shooting victims identified
Related: Identity of suspect related to the UCCS shooting confirmed by CSPD
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Email Senior Reporter Brett Forrest at brett.forrest@koaa.com. Follow @brettforrestTVon X and Brett Forrest News on Facebook.
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