UPDATED a second time Sept. 24 at 9:40 p.m.
UPDATED Sept. 24 at 3:19 p.m.
The University of Arizona Police Department is still looking for a suspect, who has now been identified as Ryan Romero-Encinas by the UAPD Criminal Investigations Unit, after an on-campus shooting at Park Avenue and Fourth Street resulted in the death of a college-aged man late Sunday night.
According to a UAPD statement, police received a notification from the Tucson Police Department at 10:59 p.m. Sunday about a shooting outside of Arizona Sonora Residence Hall. According to that same statement, when police arrived on the scene at 11:01 p.m., they found a college-aged male shot on the volleyball courts and later determined that the victim was a student at Pima Community College.
The victim, who was identified by PCC as 19-year-old Minhaj Jamshidi, was pronounced dead on the scene after officers and emergency medical personnel attempted life saving measures.
According to police, the victim was shot after an altercation between him and the suspect on the volleyball courts south of the residence hall. UAPD said that this male was the only victim of the shooting and that the department is continuing the search for the suspect.
While police arrived on scene right after 11 p.m., The first UAlert notifying community members of the shooting was not sent until 11:33 p.m.
According to a Clery alert sent to the campus community Monday morning, Romero-Encinas was described as “Male, 6 foot tall, 19-25 year old, dark skin described by witnesses as Middle Eastern or Hispanic descent. Collar-length, dark curly hair with facial hair. He was last seen wearing a white short-sleeve t-shirt with tan shorts. Witnesses described the weapon used as a small black handgun. He fled on foot, northbound from the volleyball courts.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Marshals Service are now involved in the investigation. In a Sept. 24 email to students and faculty, Assistant Vice President and Chief of Police Chris Olson asked that any relevant information be reported to 911 and UAPD at 520-621-8273.
Students, faculty and staff affected by this incident were encouraged to access campus safety and wellness resources.
At 10:27 a.m. Monday, a series of UAlerts were sent to the campus community saying “Classes will be held today, as scheduled […] Law Enforcement considers this an isolated incident and does not believe that campus is under any ongoing threat.”
The UAPD said it will be “deploying additional officers on and around the Tucson campus to enhance the safety of our community.”
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