Colorado State University students, staff raise concerns after body found in dorms, person assaulted with knife in same day

Students, staff and even parents connected to Colorado State University have been expressing their concerns in the last 24 hours after someone was found dead in a dormitory, and another person was attacked with a knife hours later. Although CSU says the two incidents were not related, the lack of information being offered to the public has left many concerned and speculating.

The concerns started just after 10 a.m. on Wednesday after a shelter-in-place order was issued by police for dormitories on the north side of campus. Two police cars were seen parked, turned off, outside of one dormitory for much of the day on Wednesday. However, the university did not provide details about the investigation for many hours. It wasn't until after sunset that people were informed a body had been found in a dormitory. However, no other details were provided.

Then, as students were settling in for the night, a second shelter-in-place order was issued for the entire campus. The second order came after police received a report of a white male in his 30s that had assaulted someone near the CSU Oval with a knife.

Around 10 p.m. on Wednesday, the university issued a notice that the suspect was believed to have left campus, and that was the last update provided.

"A lot of students were asking questions. They didn't know what was going on. They were worried. A lot of freshmen live in these dorms," said Kate Sherman, a senior at CSU.

Sherman, who is also a student journalist on campus, spent her day on Wednesday and Thursday trying to gather more information on the two investigations. She joined her fellow student media colleagues by asking the university for more information. However, CSU was reluctant to share any information beyond what had already been released.

"That is about all we were told for a very long time," Sherman said.

Freshman Natalie Gagnon also noticed that students and staff were not being given many details.

"My initial reaction was very shocked. At first, I feel there wasn't much information around it," Gagnon said.

Sherman and parents who contacted CBS News Colorado said they had no information of what actually happened, leaving many to speculate and rumors to swirl on campus. Online social media platforms were seen filled with speculation and concerns.

"The lack of any sort of description on what happened, or any details on the case, made it to where students were making up the first thing that came to mind, and that spread really quickly," Sherman said.

It wasn't until more than 24 hours after the body was located in the dorm that the university issued a statement notifying students that there was neither a threat to the campus nor a suspect to be located.

As of the publication of this article, the university's police department has not issued any additional information on the status of the suspect involved in the assault with a knife.

"The university left a lot of people in the blue for most of the day, yesterday, and didn't really tell us anything about the situation. And that became a problem on campus because a lot of rumors started getting spread about what was going on and all of the false information, because nobody knew what was going on because the university hadn't told us anything," Sherman said. "Without any response from the university, it makes it hard to tell what is actually happening and what is not."

The university set up a hotline for people to be able to get information on the investigations, that number is located on the campus safety page.  

Gagnon said she wished more information was provided to students in a more timely fashion, noting she also respects the need for time to complete investigations.

"That would have been more helpful. Just because it is good to be in the know," Gagnon said. "Obviously they are doing their best in what they can, but I do feel a little bit on edge and not as secure as I would like to."