On the evening of October 16, Colorado State University was shaken by a report of an aggravated assault leading to a campus-wide shelter-in-place directive. According to Denver7, the incident, involving a knife, occurred near Laurel Hall on the university's Oval. The CSU community was instructed to secure themselves indoors around 8:50 p.m. while authorities conducted a hunt for the suspect.
As reported by 9News, the CSUPD and Fort Collins Police Department spearheaded a "thorough search of the area" but later deduced that the individual accused had escaped the university's confines. As police delved into their investigation, they urged individuals to avoid the vicinity and remain within the safety of their homes. In an unsettling twist, the same officers were grappling with a previous death investigation at Alpine Hall, earlier that same day, a probe running parallel but unconnected to the assault inquiry.
KDVR reported the description of a suspect who is a white male believed to be in his 30s. He was last seen wearing a black shirt and carrying a black backpack while moving on foot. Initially, police believed the man had not left the campus, which posed a potential threat, prompting the activation of a shelter-in-place order. However, by 9:20 p.m., a coordinated effort between CSU police and local law enforcement led to the lifting of the alert, allowing normal campus activities to resume.
