New details are being revealed about the suspect in a deadly Colorado university dorm room shooting that left his roommate and another woman dead.
In newly unsealed court records, a police detective's affidavit cites roommate disputes between one of the victims, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs senior Samuel Knopp, and the suspect, Nicholas Jordan, 25.
Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez previously confirmed to NBC News that suspect Jordan, 25, was the roommate of Knopp.
Knopp, 24, and Celie Rain Montgomery, a 26-year-old woman who did not attend the school, were found dead on Feb. 16 at the university’s Crestone House residence.
Jordan of Detroit was arrested Feb. 19 on two counts of first-degree murder, police said in a statement. He was a student at the school, according to the university.
According to the police detective’s affidavit unsealed on Feb. 23, another roommate of Jordan and Knopp's said they had previously had issues with Jordan.
He said Knopp had collected a bag of garbage and placed it near the defendant’s door in January, precipitating a death threat, according to the affidavit.
“Mr. Jordan threatened Mr. Knopp and told him that he would ‘kill him’ and there would be consequences if Mr. Jordan was asked to take out the trash again,” the affidavit said.
The roommate, who reported the gunfire on Feb. 16 and hid in his locked room until police arrived, told investigators that Knopp had filed three complaints with campus police and housing officials previously about Jordan.
According to the affidavit, the roommate said he and Knopp had made complaints about Jordan’s cleanliness, alleged that he smoked marijuana in his room and created “unsafe living conditions.”
Jordan is being held on $5 million bond. NBC News reached out to his public defender but they did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
How did the Feb. 16 University of Colorado at Colorado Springs happen?
According to the affidavit, Jordan filed a request to withdraw from his classes and campus housing the day before the shooting.
The following day, on Feb. 16, an unidentified man entered the dorm complex at 6 a.m., seemingly using Jordan's key card, the affidavit states. Then, 14 minutes later, someone is spotted leaving through the same door and running, according to the affidavit.
An arrest warrant for Jordan was issued hours after the shooting occurred, police said. He was taken into custody "without incident" after he was located inside a vehicle around 8 a.m. on Feb. 19.
Investigators had previously said they believed the two victims most likely knew the shooter, according to police.
“Investigative efforts so far continue to indicate this is an isolated incident between parties that were known to one another and not a random attack against the school or other students at the university,” police said in a Feb. 19 statement.
Police cited an El Paso County coroner’s office autopsy for the identities of the victims, but their official cause and manner of death have not yet been determined by the coroner's office.
Knopp and Montgomery's deaths prompted an hourlong campus lockdown until it was determined there was no active shooter, and their deaths are being investigated as homicides.
Here's everything we know so far about the two victims.
Samuel Knopp
Knopp was originally from Parker, a town about 60 miles north of the school's campus.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting and seemingly before she was made aware of her son's death, Knopp's mother took to Facebook to decry gun violence and lack of stricter firearm regulations.
“This hits way too close to home and it makes me want to vomit,” Amy Elswick Knopp wrote in a post with a 7:46 a.m. timestamp. “All the ‘thoughts and prayers’ in the world mean nothing without action to back them up. Second Amendment rights should not supersede people’s right to be safe at school, in grocery stores, in movie theatres, at church or anywhere else they go. PERIOD.”
By the evening, comments supporting her stance had shifted to condolences.
In a statement, the university's chancellor said Knopp had been a music major.
“Sam was a senior studying music and a beloved member of the Visual and Performing Arts department,” Chancellor Jennifer Sobanet said. “He was an accomplished guitar player and an extremely talented musician.”
A video shared to the UCCS Music Program YouTube page shows Knopp at his junior year recital. Clad in a short-sleeved dress shirt against the backdrop of an evening cityscape, Knopp played guitar alongside several other musicians.
He also performed solo at times, switching from acoustic guitar to electric.
UCCP senior Haden Gillespie, Knopp's best friend, told NBC News he couldn't have imagined this happening before graduation.
"He was probably the most talented guitarist I’ve ever met and a talent that was definitely taken from us too soon," Gillespie said.
Celie Rain Montgomery
Less is known at this time about the other victim in the shooting, Montgomery.
She was not a student at the university, officials have said, and she lived in nearby Pueblo, Colorado.
Her LinkedIn page says she was a health and wellness copywriter.
In a statement to NBC News, Pueblo Community College confirmed that Montgomery attended the school's culinary arts program for one semester in the fall of 2020.
“The Pueblo Community College family extends heartfelt condolences to the family of former PCC student Celie Montgomery, as well as to the family of Samuel Knopp," the Pueblo Community College President Patty Erjavec said in a statement. "These deaths, and the ensuing unimaginable pain, are happening much too often in an environment where teaching and learning should be our only concern."
The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs' chancellor also paid tribute to Montgomery in her statement.
"Celie, although she was not a student, will be mourned by our campus community," Sobanet said.
Classes on campus were canceled on Feb. 20, with a "healing walk" scheduled for the afternoon.
CORRECTION (Feb. 27, 2024, 7:56 a.m.): An earlier version of this article misspelled Samuel Knopp's last name.