A Rice University student was found fatally shot in her Houston residence hall room, and the suspect in the shooting, whom she was dating, was found dead nearby.
NBC News reports that the fatality has been identified as Andrea Rodriguez Avila, a junior from Maryland. Campus Police Chief Clemente Rodriguez said members of her family had requested that officers check up on her after becoming concerned about a lack of contact with her.
Authorities found her body in her room at Jones College, one of Rice's residential colleges. Officers also found the suspect's body next to Avila and a note that suggested to investigators that the two were "having a troubled relationship," Rodriguez said.
Detectives believe the suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Rodriguez said. His identity has not been released.
Investigators believe the man got into the residence by accompanying Avila. There was no sign of forced entry, administrators said.
“I want our students, parents and Rice community to know that the Rice campus is safe, there is no immediate threat, and tonight we will wrap our arms around our students," Rice University President Reginald DesRoches said at the news conference.
Jones College started out in 1957 as Mary Gibbs Jones College with $1 million from the Houston Endowment, according to Rice University. It was developed as a rare place where women could reside on campus, and it evolved into a full-fledged, coeducational institution.
