The University of Utah says it has lifted the lockdown of the campus after a fatal shooting. University of Utah President Ruth V. Watkins informed students, through the university's online safety network, that Lauren McCluskey was killed Monday night.
McCluskey was an accomplished student-athlete who came to the University of Utah from Pullman, Washington. Day and evening classes for Tuesday are canceled to allow the campus community to grieve. Counseling and support services are available to students, staff and faculty.
The Associated Students of the University of Utah and our athletics department are holding a vigil Wednesday at 5 p.m. on the steps of the university's Park Building.
We are told that around 8:20 p.m. Monday, university police received a report of a possible abduction in a parking lot outside a residence hall. Police responded and as they searched the area, they discovered the victim in a parked car near the south tower of the Medical Plaza residential hall.
Police issued a secure-in-place order for campus as they searched for a suspect. That order remained in effect until just before midnight, after police determined the suspect had left the area. The shooting suspect, 37-year-old Melvin Rowland, was later found deceased at an off-campus location.
Watkins says McCluskey was a highly regarded member of the university’s track and field team and an outstanding scholar who was a senior majoring in communication.
