A roommate dispute over trash in a university apartment ended with two people dead and a campus in shock. Police in Colorado Springs say a student at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder after a fatal shooting inside an on-campus apartment. The victims, identified as 24-year-old Samuel Knopp and 26-year-old Celie Rain Montgomery, were both known to the suspect. Investigators say the suspect was Knopp’s roommate.
Authorities arrested 25-year-old Nicholas Jordan on Monday, three days after the shooting inside the Alpine Village Apartments, a student residential complex on the UCCS campus. Court records show a judge signed a warrant the night of the killings. Officers found Jordan in a car on Cliff Point Circle East and took him into custody without incident, according to the arrest affidavit.
Jordan now faces two counts of first-degree murder. He remains in jail as the case moves forward, with a status conference set for March 15 and another court date scheduled for March 27. Prosecutors have argued in filings that Jordan still poses a threat, underscoring the severity of the allegations and the lingering fear on campus.
What happened and who was involved
What police describe is brutally simple and painfully familiar to anyone who’s lived with roommates: a simmering conflict that spiraled. According to the affidavit, the tension centered on household maintenance and garbage. Investigators say the trouble escalated when Knopp collected a bag of trash and left it near Jordan’s door—an act that allegedly triggered threats. The affidavit states Jordan had previously threatened to kill Knopp over disagreements about trash and upkeep in the apartment.
Witness accounts in the filings describe Jordan’s living space as messy. Several people reported he smoked cigarettes and marijuana regularly. His social media aligns with that description; videos posted on his Facebook page in late January show him smoking. None of that is a crime on its own, of course, but it paints a picture of a shared living situation that had become tense and unstable.
The shooting happened on a Friday inside one of the Alpine Village units. Alpine Village hosts student apartments and sits within the footprint of the UCCS campus. Police say Jordan knew both victims personally, and that Knopp was his roommate. Montgomery’s relationship to the apartment isn’t fully detailed in the filings, but investigators are clear that this wasn’t random. The victims and the suspect knew each other.
The manhunt lasted through the weekend. Officers tracked Jordan for three days before finding him in Colorado Springs. By then, the UCCS community was already grieving. The university organized a day of healing to honor Knopp and Montgomery, giving students and staff a space to mourn, share memories, and seek counseling support. It’s the kind of gathering no campus wants to host, and the turnout reflected how deeply this violence cut.
Here’s the timeline, based on court documents and police statements:
- Friday: Shooting reported at Alpine Village on the UCCS campus. A judge signs an arrest warrant later that day.
- Saturday–Sunday: Police search for Jordan, described as armed and dangerous in communications to law enforcement.
- Monday: Officers locate Jordan in a car on Cliff Point Circle East and arrest him.
- Later Monday: The campus gathers for a day of healing to remember the two victims.
Knopp, 24, was in his mid-20s and navigating the same university pressures as many of his classmates. Montgomery, 26, was also part of the community and known to the suspect. Their deaths have rattled students who expected their residence hall to be the safest place in their daily routine.
A campus on edge and the questions ahead
Students move into campus housing for convenience and community. They don’t expect disputes over chores to end in gunfire. Yet that’s what police say happened here. Fatal shootings inside dorms are rare, but the fear they leave behind is deep. You can see it in the extra caution people take unlocking doors, in quieter hallways, in the way residents study each other’s faces a beat longer than they used to.
Universities usually have layers of support for roommate conflict: resident assistants, housing staff, conflict mediation, and the option to request a room change. Campus police can step in when threats occur. None of that is a guarantee, but they’re guardrails meant to catch a situation before it falls apart. In this case, the affidavit describes threats made before the shooting. What’s not clear yet is who knew what, and when, about those threats—and whether any formal complaints reached housing or campus police ahead of time. Officials haven’t said.
Legally, first-degree murder in Colorado carries the possibility of life in prison without parole. The state abolished the death penalty in 2020, so if Jordan is convicted, a life term would be the maximum penalty. For now, he is presumed innocent. Prosecutors will have to lay out their evidence in the months ahead, and defense attorneys will challenge it. Expect hearings over the affidavit, ballistics, digital records, and any statements Jordan may have made before or after the shooting.
For the UCCS community, this case is about more than a legal process. It forces a conversation about how everyday grievances can turn dangerous when someone is willing to escalate. Trash, noise, dishes—these are ordinary sources of friction. Threats are not ordinary. When someone says they want to kill a roommate, even if it sounds exaggerated or said in anger, that crosses a line. It’s a bright red flag that needs action, fast.
Practical steps matter, even if they feel obvious. If a roommate issues threats, document it and report it to housing staff and campus police. Ask for a room change. If you don’t feel safe, leave the space and contact authorities. Students sometimes worry about being a “snitch” or overreacting. Don’t. The stakes are too high, and administrators would rather move someone three times than plan a memorial.
From a policy angle, this case will likely prompt UCCS to review housing protocols: how threats are logged, how quickly room changes can be approved in conflict cases, and how campus police coordinate with residential life when violence is threatened. It’s also a moment for university leaders to check the basics—door security, camera coverage in common areas, and emergency alert systems—because confidence in campus safety is as much about what students feel as what statistics show.
The affidavit’s details—trash placed near a door, angry messages, and a living space described as messy—sound like small things until they’re not. That contrast is exactly why this story hits people so hard. You don’t have to imagine a complex conspiracy; you just have to imagine an argument that goes too far and a gun within reach. That’s the fear running through dorm rooms across the country when news like this breaks.
There are still open questions. Were any formal complaints filed before the shooting? Did anyone request a room change? Were weapons ever reported in the apartment? Did friends or classmates hear threats and try to intervene? Police and prosecutors will work through those details as they build the case. The university, for its part, will focus on care—counseling services, memorial plans, flexibility for students who need time, and outreach to families and friends grieving two lives cut short.
What’s certain is the next chapter in court. The March 15 status conference will give a first glimpse at how both sides plan to proceed. The March 27 date may bring early motions and scheduling. If past cases are a guide, expect a slow grind: discovery, hearings on evidence, and lengthy debates over what jurors may hear if this goes to trial.
In the meantime, students are left with an uncomfortable reality: their campus is both a place to learn and a place where something terrible happened. The day of healing was a start—gather, grieve, try to breathe. It won’t fix the silence on a floor where a door is now sealed with evidence tape. It won’t answer why a neighbor is gone. But it tells the community they’re not carrying it alone.
If you’re hearing about this from far away, one phrase will keep popping up in reports: UCCS shooting. Behind those words are two names—Samuel Knopp and Celie Rain Montgomery—and a reminder that safety isn’t just locks and lights. It’s people paying attention to the moment when ordinary conflict turns into a warning, and then doing something about it.