18-year-old arrested after fatal shooting of Colorado student on Halloween night

An 18-year-old has been arrested after a fatal shooting of a University of Colorado-Boulder student.

​Omar Perez was arrested on November 2, days after the shooting unfolded in Boulder on Halloween night. Officers from the Boulder Police Department responded to reports of a shooting at around 11.28 p.m., arriving on the scene to discover two men - both aged 19 - with gunshot wounds, police say.

​The two men were rushed to the hospital, where one of them died early on Sunday morning.

​“Everyone in our community deserves to feel safe, and while I hope this arrest restores some measure of safety, I know it will never bring back the life of this young man or undo all the trauma victims have gone through,” Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn said.

​The Boulder County Coroner confirmed in a statement that the 19-year-old killed on Saturday was named Luca Hanlon.

​“It doesn't feel real. He was my best friend,” Jack Anderson, a resident at the house, told Denver7. “He was always there. If I needed a shoulder to cry, he was there, to celebrate the biggest wins in life.

​“He was just like an all-around, stand-up, great, just model citizen,” Anderson continued. “I would say he was who I aspired to be in life. He was that person.”

​The other victim remains in hospital.

​The call to the address where the shooting took place was not the first to be made on Saturday night.

​Earlier that evening, police cited those who lived at the property for having a “nuisance party,” having received a noise complaint regarding a large party.

​The party ended shortly after, with hundreds of attendees leaving the address. Only a small group remained at the house.

​After that, a group of individuals tried to force their way into the property, with shots being fired inside the house. The suspects fled the scene after the two victims were struck.

​Perez is not a student at C.U., police say. Amid their investigation, authorities are not releasing his picture.

​The 18-year-old was arrested after a sibling recognized him from photos released by police and contacted the authorities, according to an affidavit reviewed by The Independent.

​The document also detailed that Perez had shot Hanlon in the neck and the other victim in the leg.

​Perez faces a slew of charges, including first-degree-extreme indifference, assault in the first-degree-extreme indifference and attempted murder in the first-degree-extreme indifference.

​In a statement, a spokesperson for C.U. said that the university is working with authorities amid the investigation.

​“It is with great sorrow that CU Boulder confirms Luca Hanlon, a second-year media production student in the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information, was identified by the Boulder County Coroner as the victim who died in an off-campus shooting on Saturday, Oct. 31,” the statement reads.

​The spokesperson added, “As we continue to grieve this tragic loss on our campus, we request continued respect for the privacy of Luca’s family, friends and loved ones during this difficult time.”