CO - Two University of Colorado-CS students shot to death in dorm room, homicide suspected - Colorado Springs, 17 Feb 2024 *arrest*

[Sundog]

Of course I don’t think that a lawsuit will prevent someone unhinged from killing again. However IMO his access card should have been deactivated already and he was still a threat until he was arrested.
I just mean that unfortunately in the world we live in things don’t change until something bad happens sometimes. If there were multiple complaints about him maybe he should have had some assistance offered then a plan for that and kicked out sooner, etc?
I work in healthcare and unfortunately a lot of things don’t change until something bad happens and people complain and/or sue.
I hate it and I used to hate the whole idea of lawsuits but just have seen too much and in this case 2 innocent people are dead and it seems like there were opportunities to maybe change that. I don’t know though of course and everything should be reviewed to see if there were things that could have been done differently, even to help the perp, you know? Maybe rules at the offset for living together, etc?

There appear to be a lot of red flags that were not acted on by the university. If action had been taken earlier, it may have been possible to protect the victims and to get mental health assistance for the shooter/student. Every university residence hall has a res hall director and he or she would know that the shooter/student was dealing drugs, blaring music that disturbed other residents, and "cat-calling"/sexually harassing female students. I am not saying the res hall director is responsible, but he or she would normally be making incident reports and sharing them with his/her team in the office of student affairs. These kinds of concerns violate campus community standards. They also are red flags and the dean of student or equivalent would know that this should be reported to the crisis team to discuss appropriate interventions. The crisis team normally meets weekly, every Monday morning because so often things happen on the weekend in residence halls/dorms. Usually representatives on the university's crisis team include the dean of students or equivalent, the director of the student counseling center or his/her rep, and a number of other university employees at senior levels. Especially since Covid in 2019, universities are finding that mental health issues among students has skyrocketed and there has been an incredible increase in mental health issues with new programs and policies to address the need. So it strikes me as very odd that they did not know that this student was a ticking time bomb. MSM has reorted that several faculty knew that SK had serious concerns about the student shooter. And the student shooter had been kicked out of one residence hall, IIRC.

In any event, I think a lawsuit is appropriate and agree with OP who works in a hospital setting and has seen that things don't always change in response to problematic issues unless something as serious as a lawsuit forces the change. The same is true for many institutions, including higher education. Perhaps there are also legislators in the Colorado legislature who will work with the families and the universities to implement policies and practices that will help prevent this from happening to another student, even if it is too late for Sam and Celia.

 

[Sundog]

I'm sure they're taking this very seriously and they'll review everything that happened, very thoroughly. Perhaps there'll be info/testimoney at a trial.

JMO

Or they will be called before the Colorado state legislature to describe their policies and practices related to identifying and tracking problematic students. Often state legislators will hold university officials and their board members accountable for what happens on their campuses, as they should, since they are funded with taxpayer money. And in most states, public university board members or trustees are appointed by the governor. How were all the red flags missed?

 

[LadyL]

The pod-style residence that they lived in had four bedrooms off of a main section, and three of the bedrooms had students living there, although Jordan had moved out of his room the day before, apparently. The surviving roommate who heard the shots didn't leave his room during the shooting. I wonder if he had his bedroom door locked, but I guess it didn't matter if he wasn't targeted by the shooter.

Sounds like Jordan went back to the pod to kill SK, and that SK was targeted. And Celie was with SK so she was shot also. I wonder if SK left his bedroom unlocked, thinking that Jordan had moved out and that they were safe. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered if his bedroom door was locked or not. But if the bedroom doors were locked, Jordan could have only entered the pod with his key/card and not the bedrooms, unless they had flimsy doors and/or locks that he could breach. But if he was confronted with locked bedroom doors, that might have given the victims more time to call 911/campus security.

Just an all around tragic situation.

thank you I've been confused about the living arrangements and them leaving a garbage bag in front of his door
now I can picture it

 

[imstilla.grandma]

An executive summary of key findings and recommendations will be released, and the university’s emergency management team can then work on any suggested changes, chancellor Jennifer Sobanet said in an email sent to the campus on Thursday and released to The Associated Press on Monday.

Nicholas Jordan, 25, is accused of killing Samuel Knopp, 24, a senior studying music, and his friend, Celie Rain Montgomery, 26, a mother of two who loved singing. Authorities have not revealed a motive but the shooting came about a month after Jordan allegedly threatened to kill Knopp amid an ongoing dispute about living conditions in their shared living area, according to Jordan’s arrest affidavit.

“Mr. Jordan threatened Mr. Knopp and told him that he would ”kill him” and there would be consequences if Mr. Jordan was asked to take out the trash again,” police said in the document.

Colorado university hires 2 former US attorneys to review shooting, recommend any changes

DENVER (AP) — The Colorado university where a student is charged with killing his suitemate and another person in a dorm room last month has hired two former U.S. attorneys to review what led to th…

www.wkrn.com

 

[Justice101]

Regardless if he is found the guilty, the suspect is a bad person

 

[JosieMae]

Or they will be called before the Colorado state legislature to describe their policies and practices related to identifying and tracking problematic students. Often state legislators will hold university officials and their board members accountable for what happens on their campuses, as they should, since they are funded with taxpayer money. And in most states, public university board members or trustees are appointed by the governor. How were all the red flags missed?

BBM. They weren't missed, they were ignored.

 

[steeltowngirl]

Older news, just closing the loop on this case.

Man found guilty, sentenced to 2 life sentences for 2024 double murder in Colorado university dorm room

A jury found Nicholas Jordan guilty of first-degree murder in the fatal shootings of his roommate Samuel Knopp and Celie Montgomery.

coloradosun.com

Victim’s mother sues CU Colorado Springs, says campus mishandled complaints about dorm-room killer

The school failed to take action to protect students from Nicholas Jordan, the 26-year-old man who killed his roommate Samuel Knopp, 24, and Celie Montgomery, 26, the lawsuit alleges.

www.denverpost.com

 

[Justice101]

thank you I've been confused about the living arrangements and them leaving a garbage bag in front of his door
now I can picture it

When you get someone who doesn't pull their fair share, people try to do the best to get them to contribute some.

Although, if true, putting a bag of trash outside their room to "remind" them to take the trash out is sort of provocative and escalatory act..... but certainly under no circumstances is that grounds for physical threat or violence to those who did that to you.

This kid sure looks like a hot head who bullied his way thru life.. when he got called on something, maybe for the first time, he was not emotionally prepared to handle it.

Very sad. This kid should never have been been allowed to stay in the dorm if complaints kept piling up.

 

[Slythefly]

Catching up on the thread, what sticks out to me is another example of LE putting PR ahead of true public safety:

* Initially after the murders, CPSD issued a release saying they "don't believe there is an ongoing threat to the community."

* At the bond hearing, prosecutor said Jordan "still poses a threat to the community.".

These are direct quotes. So which was it? Did the prosecutor lie to the judge or did LE lie to the public?

Maybe LEs beliefs were wrong. I really wish information given to the public were fact-based, not beliefs to help the community sleep at night. I am glad justice was served and no one else got hurt.