On Friday, February 16, 2024, at approximately 5:59 AM, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS) Police Department received a call of shots fired coming from Crestone House, a dormitory located on the campus. UCCS PD Officers located the room that the shots originated from and located an adult female and an adult male deceased. The Colorado Springs Police Department received a call for assistance, resulting in the CSPD Homicide Unit assuming the responsibility of the investigation.
On Saturday, February 17, 2024, The El Paso County Coroner’s Office conducted an autopsy of the deceased female and male. The female was identified as 26-year-old Celie (See-Lee) Rain Montgomery of Pueblo, CO. The male was identified as 24-year-old Samuel Knopp of Parker, CO. While the Coroner’s Office will determine the cause and manner of death, Celie Montgomery and Samual Knopp’s deaths are being investigated as homicides. Samual Knopp was a currently a registered student at UCCS. Celie Montgomery was not currently a registered student at UCCS.
Since the beginning of this investigation, the primary focus has been on the victims of this tragic incident and pursuing justice for them and their families. This remains an active investigation, which includes detectives continuing to develop additional investigative leads and suspect information. Given this case's active and fluid nature, additional information about those leads and any potential suspect details will not be released at this time. 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.
Detectives continue working around the clock, and we have intentionally restricted the amount of information made available to the public during the initial 48 hours of this investigation. Having said that, we have maintained ongoing communication with the families of the victims and collaborated closely with the UCCS Police Department to ensure that plans remain in place for safeguarding the campus community.
While acknowledging the difficulty of the situation and the withholding of information in the initial stages of the investigation, we owe it to the victims and their families to deliver accountability and justice for this horrific act. The families are asking for privacy at this difficult time so they can mourn the loss of their loved ones, and we ask that you not contact them.
These are the third and fourth homicides in the City of Colorado Springs this year. At this time last year, there were two homicides.
This is still an active investigation, and anyone with information or who is a witness to this investigation is asked to call the Colorado Springs Police Department at (719) 444-7000; or if you wish to remain anonymous, you may contact the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at (719) 634-STOP (7867) or 1-800-222-8477.