University of Arizona Police Chief Chris Olsen at a news conference about a shooting death on campus. September 26, 2024.
The University of Arizona Police Department (UAPD) and local law enforcement officials announced that the investigation into Sunday night’s campus shooting is ongoing, during a press conference on Thursday.
At 10:59 p.m. on September 22, UAPD and local police responded to reports of a shooting at the sand volleyball courts near the Arizona-Sonora residence hall.
According to Chris Olson, UA Police Chief, the investigation indicates that several small altercations occurred prior to the shooting.
“The suspect was known as someone who regularly played volleyball at the courts, but no one knew his name,” Olson said.
On Monday morning, UAPD received a tip identifying the shooter as Ryan Romero-Encinas.
Minhaj Jamshidi, a Pima Community College student, was shot by Romero-Encinas on the court.
Friends and family members initially carried the victim to a nearby vehicle, intending to drive him to the hospital but later decided to wait for first responders.
Olson confirmed that the first UAPD officer arrived within 10 minutes of the call, followed by additional officers who administered CPR and other life-saving measures for about 10 minutes.
Upon arriving at the scene, law enforcement officials began efforts to locate the suspect
After a three-day search, Romero-Encinas was arrested on Wednesday, and is being held in the Pima County Jail on first-degree murder charges without bond.
UAPD is still seeking information regarding his whereabouts in the days following the incident.
During Thursday’s press conference, Olson addressed concerns regarding the delay in notifying the campus community about the shooting.
“The systems that we placed for UA Alerts failed us. In this instance, we were quickly overwhelmed and us falling short on that is my responsibility,” Olson said.
The first UA-Alert was sent to the community at 11:33 p.m., approximately 30 minutes after the shooting.
In response to the incident, Olson added that UAPD has implemented changes to the alert system and also addressed concerns related to UA’s open campus.
“You start with high [visibility] enforcement but then you take a whole community approach. We have to get our community more involved to reporting suspicious activity,” Olson said.
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