Rice University was locked down for nearly two hours on the first day of classes Monday after a student was found dead in her dorm room in a suspected murder-suicide. Classes have also been canceled for Tuesday.
According to Rice University Police Chief Clemente Rodriguez, university officers found the deceased student, whom she identified as Andrea Rodriguez Avila, next to a deceased man in her dorm room around 4 p.m. during a welfare check.
A concerned family member had called the university police, and when they learned that Avila was not in class that day, they responded.
Avila, a Maryland youth, was reportedly fatally shot and the unidentified man nearby suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Rodriguez said investigators believe the man shot Avila before turning the gun on himself. Police said the man does not appear to have any ties to the university.
Investigators also found a note indicating that Avila and the man had a romantic relationship that had run into trouble, CNN reported. Rodriguez said the suspected shooter appears to have entered the student housing, Jones College, with Avila. University police found no signs of forced entry.
The university and Houston police are working together to investigate the deaths.
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Murder leads to lockdown at Rice University
After discovering the suspected murder-suicide, university officials implemented a campus-wide lockdown at around 5:40 p.m. and canceled the remainder of classes and activities on Monday. The lockdown was lifted at 7:18 p.m.
University President: ‘Tonight we embrace our students’
Rice University President Reginald DesRoches announced Avila’s death Monday evening.
“This is a speech that no president ever wants to give,” DesRoches said. “Tonight I want all of our students, our parents and the entire Rice community to know that the Rice campus is safe and there is no imminent threat, and tonight we will wrap our arms around our students.”
“It is with deep sadness and shock that I write to you on what should have been a day filled with promise and new beginnings,” DesRoches wrote on his website. “Instead, we mourn the loss of one of our own in a tragic event that has shaken our campus to its core.”
Rice later canceled all Tuesday classes. DesRoches encouraged students to come together in mourning. The university also opened a call center to support the Rice community.
People who are experiencing domestic violence or have a loved one who is can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233. People who live in Houston can also contact the Houston Area Women’s Center at 713-528-2121.
Help is also available for those struggling with suicidal thoughts or are worried about a friend or loved one. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 offers free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The lifeline can be reached by phone, text or chat.
This article originally appeared on the Austin American-Statesman: Rice University student found dead in dorm room, suspected murder-suicide
