It was early March when residents of the Wolf Village apartments reported hearing gun shots following a series of altercations in the parking lot. The privately owned apartments are home to several CSU-Pueblo students.
When the Pueblo Police Department arrived on the scene they found shotgun casings, and wounded and distraught students. As they would come to find, the students had been wounded from the altercations, and not the gunfire.
Staff from CSU-Pueblo, the Wolf Village apartments, and the Pueblo Police Department began working to uncover more details of the incident.
The roommate of the Wolf Village resident responsible for inviting the suspects to the apartments said the night’s events spiraled after they hosted a party. Due to the nature of the incident, the witness’s and responsible student’s names will be kept private.
The witness said his roommate had decided to have the party on that evening, but things got out of hand relatively quickly.
“I went downstairs and there were two Mexican guys from Colorado Springs,” he said.
The witness said the men learned of the party after his roommate posted about it on social media site Yik Yak.
After his roommate and the two men began to argue, the witness said he asked the men to leave the apartment. The argument continued in the parking lot until the men left.
The men were not gone long before they returned with additional people. That is when the shots were fired and the two students were assaulted, he said.
“No students were involved in committing the assault or firing shots, and therefore no disciplinary action was taken against any student,” said Jessica Boynton, director of student judicial affairs and member of the campus safety team.
The Wolf Village resident responsible for inviting the suspects to the apartments has since been evicted.
The CSU-Pueblo staff has been working to provide the necessary resources for the students following the incident.
“The office of student life met with several students directly impacted by the assault and shots fired to provide any academic accommodation or health services needed,” Boynton said.
In addition to providing immediate resources to affected students, CSU-Pueblo held a community forum in the OUC Hearthwell Lounge. The forum took place soon after the event and was open to the campus community. Organized to allow the campus community to discuss the incident and receive services and information, the forum included several professional representatives from the Pueblo community.
Forum representatives included a lieutenant with the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office at CSU-Pueblo, a captain and sergeant from the Pueblo Police Department, the owner and manager from Wolf Village, the dean of students, assistant director of housing, director of the health and counseling center, the director of student judicial affairs, and a representative from ACOVA, which is a local victim’s assistance organization, Boynton said.
The campus of CSU-Pueblo falls under the jurisdiction of the Pueblo County Sheriff. Since the Wolf Village apartments are technically separate from the campus, they fall under the jurisdiction of the Pueblo Police Department.
“The Pueblo Police Department is still investigating the incident,” Boynton said.
While the investigation is underway Pueblo Police Department has decided to increase their patrol around campus and Wolf Village.
“We are hopeful that the Pueblo Police Department will solve this case and provide some closure for our students and community that were impacted,” Boynton said.
