(COLORADO SPRINGS) — A new lawsuit alleges the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) failed to protect its students in the aftermath of a deadly shooting that left two people dead on campus in 2024.
The lawsuit comes after Nicholas Jordan was convicted in April of fatally shooting his roommate, Samuel Knopp, and Knopp’s friend Celie Montgomery, inside a UCCS dorm room on Feb. 16, 2024. Both Jordan and Knopp were students at the university, while Montgomery was visiting campus at the time. Jordan received two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole for the killings.
The lawsuit filed by Celie’s mother, Melody Montgomery, alleges UCCS was aware of warning signs surrounding Jordan as early as Aug. 2023, six months before the shooting. According to the lawsuit, the university knew Jordan struggled with mental health issues and substance use and that he posed a potential threat to others.
The lawsuit names 12 defendants, including the university’s Chancellor, members of the office of the Dean of Students, housing officials, campus mental health professionals, and the university’s Chief of Police. The lawsuit also claims the university’s Campus Assessment Response and Evaluation (CARE) Team, which is responsible for addressing concerning student behavior, was aware of Jordan’s conduct and discussed it on multiple occasions, but failed ot intervene…