University officials said the incident occurred near Newton Plaza after campus police received a report of a person behaving erratically at approximately 5:35 p.m. An officer responded and encountered a man armed with a handgun who advanced toward the officer. Gunfire followed, and the man was shot.
The man was provided first aid by the officer and transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. Authorities had not publicly identified him, and his condition was not immediately available in the initial reports.
The university stressed that the incident was not an active-shooter situation. Officials also confirmed that no other injuries had been reported.
Following the shooting, Colorado State University issued a safety advisory asking people to avoid the area around the Chemistry and Microbiology buildings while officers responded. The campus alert system later announced that the area was clear, although police activity continued nearby.
The response involved multiple law enforcement agencies. The Eighth Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team was activated to investigate the officer-involved shooting, while Fort Collins Police Services took the lead in the investigation.
Authorities have not yet released a full account of the encounter, including the precise sequence of gunfire. Investigators are expected to establish what happened before the officer encountered the armed man and the circumstances that led to the shooting.
The incident raised immediate concerns among students and members of the university community, particularly as police secured the area and campus alerts circulated Monday evening. The university’s clarification that the event was not an active-shooter incident helped distinguish the encounter from an attack involving a gunman targeting people across campus.
As of the latest reports reviewed for this article, the man’s identity and medical condition had not been publicly confirmed. Further details about the investigation, including any additional findings, are expected from the lead agency as information becomes available.
The shooting remains under investigation, and officials have not announced further conclusions about the circumstances surrounding the incident.
