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3 dead in Fort Collins shooting identified, including gunman who took his own life

Gunman was USAF staff sgt. assigned to Warren AFB
Posted at 11:58 AM, Oct 20, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-21 00:39:46-04

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The gunman who killed two people outside a Fort Collins apartment complex early Thursday morning also killed himself, the Larimer County Medical Examiner’s Office said Friday as it identified the three dead in the shooting.

The office identified the second victim in the shooting as Tristian Kemp, 26, of Destin, Florida, and said Kemp died of multiple gunshot wounds. It also formally identified Colorado State student Savannah McNealy, 22, as the other person murdered.

The university had identified her Thursday night. Michael A. Zamora, 30, of Fort Collins was identified as the shooter, as the medical examiner’s office ruled his death a suicide. His cause of death was a single gunshot to the head.

Zamora, a Fort Collins resident, was a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and was assigned to F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, the base confirmed to Denver7.

A fourth person who was wounded in the shooting has yet to be identified. The shooting happened shortly before 2 a.m. Thursday outside of the Sunstone Apartments, just northwest of the CSU campus.

Witnesses who spoke to Denver7 Thursday said they heard about 12 shots just before 2 a.m., and that a woman was screaming that a man was dead and she had been shot.

Social media posts show Zamora and McNealy were at one point recently involved in a romantic relationship.

Fort Collins police said the four people involved in the shooting were all out socializing with a larger group the night of the shooting. Zamora, McNealy and Kemp took a ride-share back to the apartment complex just before the shooting.

Once they arrived back at the apartment complex, Zamora is believed to have shot the victims and himself, police said Friday.

They said a handgun and two rifles registered to Zamora were found at the scene.

McNealy, a senior art major who would have graduated in December, was among those killed, CSU said Thursday night.

A vigil in her honor is planned for Friday at 4 p.m. near the Ram Walk on Meridian Drive between Hughes Way and Pitkin Street.

She was among the students who helped designed the Ram Walk, and worked on the Rocky Mountain Student Media team as a graphic designer during the summer of 2016.

"She was a friend and cherished colleague, and her passing has impacted everyone. She will be missed," a statement from Rocky Mountain Student Media spokesman Jim Rodenbush said.

No motive has been determined in this case, a Fort Collins Police Services spokesman said in an update posted to Twitter on Friday evening. 

Denver7 is working to gather more information about the victims and the suspect. Check back on this story for more details.