Colorado authorities have identified all of the people shown in security footage released after a Halloween party shooting that killed a University of Colorado Boulder student, while prosecutors weigh whether to bring additional charges.
Boulder Police Public Information Officer Dionne Waugh confirmed Thursday to News Outlet that “everyone in the photos and video we released” has been identified.
Omar Perez, 18, the primary suspect, is facing murder and related charges in the death of Luca Hanlon, 19. Hanlon was fatally wounded during a confrontation at an off-campus party in Boulder’s University Hill neighborhood on Oct. 31.
Luca Hanlon poses with his family while wearing his graduation gown. (Facebook/Grace Crocilla Hanlon)
After Perez was arrested, detectives asked the public to help identify three other people captured in photos and video from the night of the shooting. They included two men—one wearing an “Art the Clown” shirt and another in a red hoodie—as well as a female witness.
Authorities have not said whether any of them will face charges.
“The investigation is ongoing. When and if there are additional arrests or charges, I will send out a news release,” Waugh said.
Shannon Carbone, public information officer for the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office, told News Outlet that prosecutors “successfully argued in court Tuesday to have Perez held without bond.”
Perez’s preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 10, 2027, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The Colorado Public Defender’s Office declined to comment. The university did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The shooting
A Boulder police arrest affidavit says officers first went to a home near Marine Street at about 9:58 p.m. on Halloween after receiving a noise complaint. Officers issued a nuisance-party citation, and hundreds of people left. About 90 minutes later, at 11:28 p.m., police returned following a report of gunfire.
Luca Hanlon was shot at a home on Marine Street in Boulder, Colorado. (Google Maps)
Witnesses told police that Perez had been among those who initially left the party, but later returned with six other people. When the group was told to leave, Perez and the others allegedly became angry, triggering a struggle in the living room and on the front porch. One witness said Perez appeared to be wearing a SWAT-style uniform and a “Purge” mask.
According to the affidavit, a resident put Perez in a headlock. Perez allegedly responded by pulling out a gun and firing.
A witness told investigators that Perez threatened, “Oh, I could shoot this place up.”
Hanlon was shot in the neck, while another 19-year-old student was wounded in the leg. Hanlon died the next day at Boulder Community Health.
MUST READ: The Mystery Behind Katy Perry’s ‘Dark’ Russell Brand Secrets
Luca Hanlon, right, is shown with his family. (Facebook/Grace Crocilla Hanlon)
“I do not have any other updates on the second victim because of privacy. If that changes I will send out a news release,” Waugh told News Outlet.
Sister identifies suspect
The arrest affidavit says Perez’s sister recognized her brother’s clothing in photos released by Boulder police and contacted investigators.
She then checked the family’s Life360 app, which showed Perez arriving at the residence around the time of the shooting and traced his route afterward. Over the next several hours, he allegedly traveled through Westminster, Arvada and Keenesburg before returning to Thornton.
“The defendant was arrested in Thornton. He is not a CU student and, contrary to some rumors, was not arrested on campus,” Carbone told News Outlet.
Luca Hanlon was a student at the University of Colorado in Boulder. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
Perez’s sister told investigators that he had illegally purchased a 10mm Glock “on the street” days before the shooting and posted photos of the firearm on Instagram. She said it replaced a revolver he had “thrown in some bushes” after accidentally shooting himself in the calf on Sept. 26.
The affidavit also states that Perez and the people accompanying him traveled in a newer red Audi sedan.
When Perez picked up his sister from work, she noticed a “black purge looking mask” on the floor of the Audi. She also told police that three people were inside the vehicle with Perez.
Perez allegedly told his sister that he and the others had been beaten earlier at a party by “four guys and his friends,” according to the affidavit.
In addition to murder with extreme indifference, Perez faces charges of first-degree assault and attempted first-degree murder, both involving extreme indifference.
“For first degree murder, the only sentence allowed under law is life in prison without the possibility of parole. Additional charges will likely be filed,” Carbone said.
Luca Hanlon
CU Boulder identified Hanlon, who was from Pennsylvania, as a second-year media production student in the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information.
“It doesn’t feel real. He was my best friend. He was always there. If I needed a shoulder to cry on, he was there, and he was there to celebrate the biggest wins in life. He was just an all-around, stand-up, great, model citizen,” Hanlon’s friend Jack Anderson told Denver’s ABC 7.
“I would say he was who I aspired to be in life. He was that person.”
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Boulder police at 303-441-3333 or submit a tip through the department’s Evidence Submission Portal.
