Houston — Two people are dead in a murder-suicide at Rice University in Houston.
University police said a female student was found shot to death in her dorm room Monday, and a male, not a student, was found with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
University President Reginald Desroches identified the student as Andrea Rodriguez Avila.
“This is the kind of speech no president wants to make,” DesRoches said. “As president of Rice University, I am heartbroken to share in the loss of one of our students, Andrea Rodriguez Avila. Rice University police responded to a welfare check around 4:30 this afternoon and found Andrea deceased in her room, along with an unidentified male, not part of the Rice community, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
Rice University Police Chief Clemente Rodriguez said a family member had not heard from Avila and asked police to check on her and make sure she was okay.
Rodriguez said police checked to see if Avila was attending class and found she wasn’t. It was around 4:30 p.m. when police went to her dorm room to check if she needed anything.
“So we went into the room and that’s when we found her,” Rodriguez said.
There was no sign of forced entry into the dorm room, police said, and Rodriguez said the man found in Avila’s room was not a registered visitor.
Students and staff were locked down for about two hours before the evacuation order was lifted around 7 p.m.
“As a parent of a Rice student, I can only imagine how devastating this is,” DesRoches said. “We are in contact with Andrea’s parents and will be flying out early tomorrow morning. I ask the community to keep us in their prayers as we comfort each other this evening.”
Monday was the first day of classes. All remaining classes and activities for the day were canceled.
Authorities have not identified the man.
