On the morning of Monday, April 2, a man and a woman were found dead on the fourth floor of the University of Wash-ington's Gould Hall, located between University Way Northeast and 15th Avenue Northeast near Northeast 40th Street.
At 9:31 a.m., University Police responded to calls from the building's third floor reporting gunfire. They found the bodies of Rebecca Griego, 26 and Jonathan Rowan, 41, and a handgun in the room.
Police say six shots were fired. No eyewitnesses saw the shooting nor was anyone else harmed.
"It is highly likely that this was a murder-suicide," said University Assistant Police Chief Ray Wittmier.
Griego was alone and reportedly unaware of Rowan's presence in the building on the morning of the shooting, Wittmier said.
HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
On March 6, Griego filed a restraining order against Rowan, who officials say was an ex-boyfriend who was violent toward her and made threatening calls to both her and her sister over the last few months.
According to Griego's associates, she changed her phone number, moved and even alerted her co-workers through e-mailed pictures and notices to keep Rowan at a distance.
Griego, a university graduate and employee, had filed numerous complaints of disturbances with both the Seattle and University police departments. University Police reports detailed at least two calls, on March 7 and 14, during which Rowan threatened to kill Griego.
"Our reports show that she did not wish to press charges," Wittmier said. "But this is not unusual."
SECURITY MEASURES
There are no security cameras in Gould Hall, and Wittmier said that no additional security measures were placed upon the hall.
"It is an open building, just like all of the other halls," he said. "It is possible he walked up the stairs to her office."
He also said that he did not expect security measures to change following this incident.
Handguns of all types are banned on the university campus, unless the owner has a permit to do so. "It is very rare that we would OK anyone to carry a gun on campus," he said.
Despite the nature of the crime, Seattle police was not involved in the investigation of Monday's deaths. After conferring with the SPD, the University Police Department took over the investigation.
"It is their jurisdiction," said Seattle Officer Deborah Brown, a media spokesperson. "The University Police Department would have han-dled this situation regardless."
Officials said that this incident is one of just three in the history of the university during the last 30 years.
The last homicide on campus took place in June 2000, when UW medical resident Dr. Jian Chen shot and killed Dr. Rodger Haggitt, after learning his residency would not be renewed. Chen then killed himself.
[[In-content Ad]]
