Halloween is supposed to mean questionable costumes and a candy hangover. Instead, the CU Boulder shooting turned a Saturday night party near campus into a nightmare, and a 19-year-old student is dead.
What We Know About the CU Boulder Shooting
Two 19-year-old men who attended the university were shot at a home in the 700 block of Marine Street, in the University Hill neighborhood, just before 11:30 p.m. Saturday. Both were taken to Boulder Community Hospital, where one died and the other remained in critical condition. Neither has been publicly identified. Police say it’s the first homicide in Boulder this year.
How a Shut-Down Party Ended in Gunfire
Here’s the part that stings. Nobody was hiding anything. The party was registered with a system set up by the university and city police. When a noise complaint came in, dispatch contacted the house, and officers issued a nuisance-party ticket and shut it down.
Registered party, noise complaint, ticket, shutdown. Every box got checked, and it still wasn’t enough.
Most guests left, and only a small group stayed behind. Police believe a group then tried to force its way into the home, and shots were fired inside. The first officers on scene found two people with gunshot wounds and applied a tourniquet to one of them. Think about that for a second. A tourniquet, on a night meant for fake blood and plastic fangs.
Police Hunt for Two Persons of Interest
2 CU Boulder students shot, 1 killed in University Hill home courtesy of FOX31 Denver
At a Sunday morning news conference, Chief Stephen Redfearn shared photos and video of two men he called persons of interest. The footage appears to show them entering a home, then quickly leaving, surrounded by people in Halloween costumes. Spotting anyone in a crowd where half the guests are dressed as somebody else is not easy work.
Worth repeating persons of interest are not charged suspects. Police haven’t identified or arrested a suspect, and detectives have interviewed about 20 witnesses.
A Campus Trying to Process the Loss
Chancellor Justin Schwartz called it an incredibly traumatic event for the campus community. That sounds about right, though no statement quite covers it.
Nineteen is old enough to feel invincible and young enough that your parents still text to ask if you’ve eaten. Somewhere, a family got the worst call imaginable. Somewhere else, another family is sitting in a hospital waiting room, hoping their kid pulls through. No hot take or trending hashtag fixes that.
Roommates, classmates, and friends of friends are all sitting with the same ugly question: it could have been any of us. This was one party on one street, at the kind of gathering thousands of college students attend every Halloween. The CU Boulder shooting hit a campus that was just trying to have a normal Saturday.
How You Can Help the CU Boulder Shooting Investigation
Detectives need information, and they’re asking for it. Anyone who attended the party or knows something should call Boulder Police at 303-441-3333 and reference case 26-10148. Investigators are also asking for photos and videos from people who attended the party or witnessed the shooting.
Check your camera roll. A blurry costume pic from the wrong angle could end up being the clue that matters.
Where Things Stand
The CU Boulder shooting investigation is still active, and the facts above come from early reports that may change. The name of the student who died hasn’t been released, and the condition of the second victim could shift at any time. The only thing worth hoping for right now is that the injured student recovers and the people responsible are found.
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