Rice University shooting: Who was Andrea Rodriguez Avila?

A Rice University student was shot dead in her dorm room on the first day of classes, allegedly by her boyfriend, who then turned the gun on himself.

The university cancelled all classes on Tuesday.

University police conducted a welfare check around 4 p.m. on Monday and found young woman Andrea Rodriguez Avila dead in her room at Jones College in Houston. A family member had requested the check after they had not heard from Avila, university police chief Clemente Rodriguez said at a press conference on Monday.

Officers also found a man who had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was not a Rice University student.

Avila is said to be from Maryland and the man possibly from Florida, but that is still under investigation.

Rodriguez said the two had a “dating relationship.” He said the man could only have gained access to the building if Avila had allowed him to enter.

Rodriguez told the outlet that police found a note “written by the suspect” in the room.

“In general, a lot of it was about their relationship, and obviously their relationship was problematic at the time,” he said.

The investigation is being led by the Houston Police Department and is believed to be a murder-suicide case. A press release said the female victim is 21 and the male suspect is 22, but their identities were being withheld pending review by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Houston Police Department Homicide Unit at 713-308-3600.

“It is with profound sadness and shock that I write to you on what should have been a day of promise and new beginnings,” Rice University President Reginald DesRoches said in a statement. “Instead, we mourn the loss of one of our own in a tragic event that has shaken our campus to its core.”

He said the campus was safe and there was “no further threat.”

“This is a heartbreaking, devastating incident and it is important to recognize that this loss will impact our close-knit community in the days and weeks to come,” DesRoches said.

Resources are being made available to university students, faculty and staff affected by the incident.

“In moments like these, our strength, care and resilience as a community are more important than ever,” DesRoches said. “Please take care of yourselves and each other. Let us honor Andrea's memory by coming together in unity and compassion.”

Rice University is a private research university based in Houston. The school enrolls over 8,600 students. It is one of the most selective universities in the country, admitting only a record 7.5% of applicants for the fall 2024 semester.

Long Island family killed in murder-suicide

In the Northeast, Joseph DeLucia Jr. could not come to terms with losing the house he had lived in his entire life after the death of his mother.

Instead, on Sunday he apparently shot four of his family members and later himself in a murder-suicide while they waited for a real estate agent to arrive.

Joseph DeLucia Jr., 59, lived with his 95-year-old mother, Theresa Martha DeLucia, in Syosset, New York.

Since the woman died on August 19, the family had planned a meeting to discuss the sale of the house.

Joseph DeLucia Jr. was afraid of not having a place to stay, Nassau County officials said at a press conference on Monday.

Officers arrived at the home because shots had been fired around noon. Police found 69-year-old Joann Kearns, 64-year-old Frank DeLucia, 64-year-old Tina Hammond and 30-year-old Victoria Hammond shot to death in the back study of the home. The victims were the siblings and niece of Joseph DeLucia Jr.

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