Apparent murder-suicide at Rice U.

HOUSTON – The Houston chronicle reports a Rice University junior was killed on the first day of the fall semester in what police are investigating as a murder-suicide in her dorm room. Andrea Rodriguez Avila was found shot to death in Jones College after a 4:30 p.m. Monday welfare check by the university police department, school officials said. A man who was not believed to be a Rice student was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. A shelter-in-place was issued for about an hour Monday for all students and staff on campus, and all classes were canceled Tuesday, officials announced late Monday

“It is with deep sadness and shock that I write to you on what should have been a day filled with promise and new beginnings. Instead, we find ourselves mourning the loss of one of our own in a tragic event that has shaken our campus to its core,” university President Reginald DesRoches wrote. “This is a heartbreaking, devastating incident, and it is important to recognize that this loss will affect our close-knit community in the days and weeks ahead.” DesRoches urged students to seek support from friends, faculty and staff in the counseling center. “We encourage you to come together as a community, spend time with each other to mourn and use the campus resources available for counseling,” he said. Authorities conducted a welfare check at the request of the victim’s family and visited the dorm after learning she missed a class, Rice University Chief of Police Clemente Rodriguez said.