A man suspected of shooting and killing a University of Utah student was found dead early Tuesday in a Salt Lake City church, according to police.
Melvin Rowland, 37, shot a female student outside a dormitory on campus just before 10 p.m. Monday, police said.
The victim, whose body was found in a car outside the dorm, was identified as Lauren McCluskey by University of Utah President Ruth V. Watkins.
"It is with tremendous sadness that I share the news that Lauren McCluskey, an accomplished student athlete who came to the University of Utah from Pullman, Washington, was killed Monday night on our campus,” Watkins wrote in a statement.
Rowland, who wasn't a student, and McCluskey had "a previous relationship," University of Utah Police Lt. Brian Wahlin told KUTV in Salt Lake City. Rowland was a registered sex offender, having been convicted of attempted forcible sexual abuse and enticing a minor in 2004, according to Utah's sex offender registry.
Police followed Rowland into a church in Salt Lake City at about 1 a.m. and found his dead body, Wahlin said.
The University of Utah, which had locked down campus for a time after the shooting, also tweeted that Rowland was "no longer a threat."
The attack left students rattled.
