Colorado Springs dorm shooting suspect had a handgun and loaded AK-47 rifle in his vehicle at time of arrest, prosecutors say
The student suspect in a deadly University of Colorado at Colorado Springs dormitory shooting had a handgun and a “fully loaded AK-47 assault rifle” in his vehicle at the time of his arrest, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Andrew Vaughan.
Nicholas Jordan, 25, who made his first in-person court appearance on Friday, is suspected of killing two people on campus February 16.
Colorado Springs police on Monday arrested Jordan, who authorities say was a roommate of one of the two victims, Samuel Knopp, 24, and Celie Rain Montgomery, 26.
He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, multiple violent crime sentence enhancers and a misdemeanor charge of menacing. He has not yet entered a plea.
Jordan’s attorneys objected to Judge David Shakes’s ruling to unseal the probable cause affidavit for the case, saying it would be prejudicial to their client.
CNN has reached out to Jordan’s attorneys for comment, though it is the policy of the Office of the State Public Defender not to comment on criminal proceedings.
Knopp and Montgomery were found dead in Knopp’s dorm suite early on February 16, according to the affidavit.
Both victims had multiple injuries consistent with gunshot wounds to the torso and “spent handgun cartridge cases” were located near the bodies, the affidavit says.
University officials told police, per the affidavit, “Jordan filed an electronic request to be withdrawn from classes and housing” about 14 hours prior to the shooting.
A third roommate in the suite called 911 to report “the sound of gunshots and the immediate sound of a person moaning,” then “a door shut and what sounded like someone running,” according to the affidavit. The roommate did not see anything and did not leave his room until police arrived, the document says.
Police determined the shooter was likely Jordan by accessing the dorm’s electronic keycard logs, surveillance footage of the area and interviewing the surviving roommate, according to the affidavit.
Jordan’s electronic keycard was used to access the building through an exterior door twice prior to the shooting, police said in the affidavit. The first entry was made at 3:53 a.m. and the card was swiped again at 5:42 a.m. The only physical key for the dorm suite that was unaccounted for is the one assigned to Jordan, records show.
Police also observed surveillance footage from an “inconspicuous” camera showing a person wearing dark clothing approaching the dorm building just before Jordan’s card was allegedly swiped, and a similarly clothed person running from the building at 5:56 a.m., according to the affidavit.
The third roommate told police he and Knopp had made several complaints to the campus housing and police departments about Jordan “smoking marijuana, cigarettes and his living area cleanliness,” the document says.
He said during one instance in January, Knopp collected a bag of trash and put it in front of Jordan’s door. Jordan “threatened” Knopp, the other roommate told police, saying “he would “Kill Him” (sic) and there would be consequences” if they asked Jordan to take out the trash again, according to the affidavit.
Police wrote Jordan was apprehended driving a 2009 black Ford Escape with temporary tags.
A status conference is scheduled on March 15. Judge Shakes ruled Jordan’s bond will remain $5 million cash-only, but said it could be argued again following his preliminary hearing set for March 27.
CNN’s Sarah Dewberry, Raja Razek, Dalia Faheid and Ashley R. Williams contributed to this report.
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