FORT COLLINS — Colorado State University had its first killing ever on campus Friday night when a man was fatally shot in a parking lot of a residence hall, according to CSU police.
The victim, whose name has not been released, was not carrying identification and is not believed to be a CSU student.
Campus police said they believe this was an isolated incident and there was no immediate threat or danger to students or guests on campus, or area residents. CSU and Fort Collins police have maintained a large presence in the area since Friday night, they added.
Police are asking people to be extra vigilant and report any suspicious behavior. Students said the school had sent them e-mails as part of the university-alert system. Residence halls are occupied this summer primarily by conference attendees. A group of youths and young adults have been staying on campus as part of a week-long law enforcement conference and all of them are safe and accounted for, police said.
“There are some leads on identifying the individual; we don’t believe, based on that information, that he is a student,” said CSU spokeswoman Dell Rae Moellenberg.
The man suffered a single gunshot wound to the upper left chest, according to Dexter Yarbrough, chief of police for the CSU Police Department.
CSU police were notified of a body in the parking lot of Summit Hall at 11:08 p.m. Friday. Police arrived a few minutes later and found an “unresponsive” man.
CSU police performed CPR and used an automated electronic defibrillator on the victim, with no response.
Poudre Fire Authority and Poudre Valley Hospital ambulances arrived shortly thereafter, but they were unable to revive him, according to the CSU office of public relations.
He was then taken to the Poudre Valley Hospital.
The coroner was conducting an autopsy Saturday and will confirm the identity of the man, as well as the official cause of death, CSU police said.
Graduate student Dzung Nguyen, 23, who lives in an apartment building near where the body was found, said he didn’t hear any gunshots.
“It was surprising because it is very safe around here,” he said.
Nick Lake, 22, noted it was “strange because of all the death in Fort Collins this week.”
It was the third death at CSU since Tuesday.
On Thursday night, William Szlemko, a CSU doctoral student who had just turned in his dissertation, was struck and killed by lightning while practicing martial arts in a wooded area on campus. The lighting strike also injured graduate student Marc Richard, 33, who remained in critical condition Saturday in Poudre Valley Hospital.
Early Tuesday, Rebecca Allen, 32, the undergraduate program administrator for CSU’s journalism department, was killed while riding her bike.
Twenty-year-old Daniel P. Price has been arrested on charges of vehicular homicide in her death.
Individuals who have any information regarding Friday night’s incident are asked to call the CSU Police Department at 970-491-6425.
Steve Graff: 303-954-1661 or sgraff@denverpost.com
