1 Killed, 1 Deceased at Rice University: What Happened?

The body of a Rice University student was found in her Houston dorm following an apparent murder-suicide, stirring panic and sparking a campus lockdown.

In the evening of August 26th, the body of junior Andrea Rodriguez Avila was found in her dorm room by university police after she failed to respond to a wellness check. The gunman who shot Avila was also found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound alongside her.

Leadup to the Murder

A family member called the police and asked to conduct a wellness check after they failed to hear back from Avila after a while. Officials checked her classes that she was enrolled in, revealing that she had not attended them all day.

Soon after, authorities made entry into her dorm room to reveal a shocking discovery. There Avila was, dead in her room from a gunshot wound. Beside her lay the suspected gunman, also dead from a self-inflicted gunshot.

According to university police, the gunman was not an enrolled student at the university. It's believed that Avila let him into her dorm room as the two had a difficult romantic history.

Murder He Wrote

Following the discovery of the pair of bodies, police found a note from the gunman at the scene indicating their troubled relationship.

It's determined that this was a leading factor to his decision to shoot Avila and then himself.

University Response

Rice University President Reginald DesRoches commented on the incident, sharing his condolences to the family and all those affected. DesRoches also pointed out that the campus is safe following what happened.

University classes were cancelled the remainder of the day including all classes the following Tuesday.