CU Boulder student killed, another hurt at Halloween party

As of 7:56 a.m. ET, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026

A University of Colorado Boulder student was killed and another was critically injured in a shooting inside a home on University Hill late Saturday, shortly after police had shut down a large Halloween party there, the Boulder Police Department said.

Officers responded to reports of a shooting at a home in the 700 block of Marine Street at about 11:28 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, and arrived in less than two minutes, police said in a Sunday release. They found two 19-year-old men with gunshot wounds. Both were taken to a hospital, where one died early Sunday. The second remained in critical condition, police said.

Both victims were CU Boulder students, police said. Neither has been publicly named. The Boulder County Coroner's Office will release the identity of the student who died, according to police.

Party had been shut down earlier

Police had already been to the home that night. Officers responded to a noise complaint about a large party and cited the people who live there for holding a nuisance party, police said. Hundreds of people then left, and a smaller group stayed inside.

The party had been registered through a program run jointly by CU Boulder and the Boulder Police Department, Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn told reporters Sunday, according to CBS Colorado and Boulder Reporting Lab. Under the program, dispatchers contacted the organizers about the complaint before officers arrived. Officers also took one highly intoxicated person into custody, Redfearn said.

Detectives believe a group later tried to force its way into the house, police said. "Shortly after that scuffle, shots were fired inside the home, striking the two victims," the release said.

Police seek persons of interest

Detectives have interviewed about 20 witnesses and released photos and video of two persons of interest they want to identify and find. One is described as a man with short, dark hair and facial hair, wearing a red hooded sweatshirt under a black jacket. The other is described as a man with short, dark hair, wearing a black shirt showing the horror-film character Art the Clown and a silver-colored chain necklace.

Officials at Sunday's news conference declined to call the two men suspects, CBS Colorado reported. Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said it was unclear whether they are CU students, according to 9News. Police have not announced an arrest. A CU Boulder emergency alert early Sunday said the suspect "remains at large."

"If you're one of the people who's depicted in the photo and the video, I would encourage you to reach out to the Boulder Police Department and come in to talk to them voluntarily," Dougherty said, according to Boulder Reporting Lab. "We are very likely going to solve this crime," he said, according to CBS Colorado.

Anyone with information is asked to call Boulder police dispatch at 303-441-3333 and reference case 26-10148. Photos and video can be submitted through the department's online portal.

A rare killing in Boulder

Redfearn said it was Boulder's first homicide of 2026. "My heart breaks for the victims and for everyone impacted by this senseless violence," he said in the release. "Our community deserves to feel safe, and we will not accept this kind of violence in Boulder."

"We do not regularly have gun violence here in Boulder," he told reporters, according to Boulder Reporting Lab.

How the university is responding

In a message to the campus, Chancellor Justin Schwartz called the shooting "an incredibly traumatic event for our campus community." He said Boulder police and CU police would add officers on patrol in the University Hill neighborhood.

The university pointed students to its Office of Victim Assistance, which offers free, confidential counseling around the clock at 303-492-8855, and to Counseling and Psychiatric Services at 303-492-2277. University officials said they were not aware of any formal university connection to the party, including whether it was tied to a fraternity, Boulder Reporting Lab reported.