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University Of Utah Student Dead Following Fatal Campus Shooting

Lauren McCluskey, a University of Utah senior majoring in communications and member of the school's track and field team, was killed Monday night.
Courtesy University of Utah
Lauren McCluskey, a University of Utah senior majoring in communications and member of the school's track and field team, was killed Monday night.

Updated at 4:45 p.m. MT

A University of Utah student athlete who was shot and killed on Monday night had a brief but tumultuous relationship with her suspected shooter, her family said, as police began to piece together the violent episode that put the university’s campus on lockdown overnight.

Police confirmed that Melvin Rowland shot 21-year-old Lauren McCluskey near a residence hall on campus before escaping to a church downtown and killing himself as police closed in. University of Utah Police found McCluskey deceased in the backseat of a car with her belongings on the ground.

Melvin Rowland was found dead after police say he shot and killed a woman on the University of Utah campus.
Credit Courtesy University of Utah
Melvin Rowland was found dead after police say he shot and killed a woman on the University of Utah campus.

At a press conference Tuesday morning, Dale Brophy, the university’s chief of police, said they were alerted by the victim’s mother.

“At 8:30 p.m., we received a phone call from a frantic mother telling us that something happened to her daughter,” said Brophy.

Jill McCluskey, the victim’s mother, confirmed in a statement she was on the phone with her daughter, who was walking back to her apartment after a night class, when she was approached by Rowland, 37.

“Suddenly, I heard her yell, ‘No, no, no!’ I thought she might have been in a car accident. That was the last I heard from her,” she said.

The shooting sent shockwaves through a campus that had experienced the shooting death of another student almost a year ago. ChenWei Guo, a 23-year-old student from China, was gunned down on Oct. 30 by a drifter, Austin Boutain, while in his car. The university canceled classes on Tuesday and is providing counseling and support services to students, faculty and McCluskey’s fellow teammates.

Lori McDonald, the associate vice dean of students, said the campus community had been affected by both shootings and encouraged students to seek out campus counselors and other support services. “It is important to acknowledge that trauma and stress impact us differently — there is no normal reaction to something like this,” said McDonald, choking back tears.

Police Building Case

Jill McCluskey said her daughter had ended the relationship with Rowland earlier this month after he had lied about his name, age and criminal history. Lauren McCluskey had asked for a campus escort on Oct. 10 to retrieve a car the suspect had borrowed, Jill McCluskey said.

Trinity A.M.E. Church on 239 E 600 S where Rowland broke in and police said they found Rowland with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Credit Claire Jones / KUER
Trinity A.M.E. Church on 239 E 600 S where Rowland broke in and police said they found Rowland with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Brophy said Lauren McCluskey had filed a police report on Oct. 12 and 13 against Rowland, but did not disclose details of those complaints or a possible motive in the killing.

He said a detective from the University of Utah Police Department had been working on building a case against the suspect. After a manhunt involving university and Salt Lake City police, Rowland was located off campus and pursued by officers on foot. He broke into the Trinity A.M.E. Church on 239 E 600 S where police said they found Rowland in a pastor's office dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

The halfway house where Rowland had been living.
Credit Claire Jones / KUER
The halfway house where Rowland had been living.

Brophy said Rowland had a criminal history and had been living in a halfway house in Salt Lake prior to the shooting.

‘A Proud Ute’

Director of Athletics Mark Harlan described McCluskey as a “proud Ute” who had been a standout on the university’s track and field team.

“She had been a pentathlete for us, but was moving into specializing in jumps ... and an incredible student,” he said.

McCluskey was from Pullman, Wash., where her parents are professors at the University of Washington.

Jill McCluskey said her daughter had been a honors student and state champion high jumper as well as record-holder for the 100-meter hurdles. She was majoring in communication at the U and was excited about her graduation next May.

“She loved to sing and had great strength and determination. She was dearly loved and will be greatly missed,” her mother said.

The Mental Toll Of Campus Shootings

Monday's shooting happened two weeks before the year anniversary of another student at the U, ChenWei Guo, who was shot and killed in an attempted carjacking on campus.

“The close proximity of that anniversary certainly weighs on lots of our minds,” said Lori McDonald, the Dean of Students at the University of Utah.

When traumatic events like these happen on a recurring basis, they can have an even stronger impact than normal, according to Robin Gurwitch, a psychology professor at Duke University School of Medicine.

“It may make those worries and those concerns and those triggers even higher because it happened at a time where I already was worried,” Gurwitch said.

College campuses are unique, according to Gurwitch, because students are surrounded by their community but their immediate family support network is often far away.

Gurwitch said changes in mood, sleep and appetite, or hypervigilance and anxiety should go away over several weeks. If they don’t, it may be a sign to seek help.

The university is offering counseling services and a campus vigil for McCluskey is planned for Wednesday evening. Gurwitch said events like vigils are one way for students to see the support that does exist around them.

A separate vigil for domestic violence awareness month was already planned for Friday, October 26 at the University of Utah library.

Erik Neumann and Claire Jones contributed reporting

Watch the press conference from the University of Utah below.

Copyright 2021 KUER 90.1. To see more, visit KUER 90.1.

Julia joined KUER in 2016 after a year reporting at the NPR member station in Reno, Nev. During her stint, she covered battleground politics, school overcrowding, and any story that would take her to the crystal blue shores of Lake Tahoe. Her work earned her two regional Edward R. Murrow awards. Originally from the mountains of Western North Carolina, Julia graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2008 with a degree in journalism. She’s worked as both a print and radio reporter in several states and several countries — from the 2008 Beijing Olympics to Dakar, Senegal. Her curiosity about the American West led her to take a spontaneous, one-way road trip to the Great Basin, where she intends to continue preaching the gospel of community journalism, public radio and podcasting. In her spare time, you’ll find her hanging with her beagle Bodhi, taking pictures of her food and watching Patrick Swayze movies.
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