Colorado police have identified everyone featured in security footage released after a Halloween party shooting that killed a University of Colorado Boulder student, while prosecutors weigh whether to file additional charges.
Boulder Police Public Information Officer Dionne Waugh confirmed to Fox News Digital Thursday that “everyone in the photos and video we released” has been identified.
Omar Perez, 18, is the primary suspect in the death of Luca Hanlon, 19. Perez faces murder and other charges stemming from the fatal confrontation at an off-campus Halloween party in Boulder’s University Hill neighborhood on Oct. 31.
After Perez’s arrest, detectives asked the public to help identify three other people captured in footage and photographs from the night. They included two men—one wearing an “Art the Clown” shirt and another in a red hoodie—as well as a female witness.
It remains unclear 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 Fox News Digital that prosecutors “successfully argued in court Tuesday to have Perez held without bond.”
Perez’s preliminary hearing is scheduled 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
According to a Boulder police arrest affidavit, officers first went to a home near Marine Street at about 9:58 p.m. on Halloween after receiving a noise complaint. Police issued a nuisance-party citation, and hundreds of people left the gathering. About 90 minutes later, at 11:28 p.m., officers returned following a report of gunshots.
Witnesses told investigators that Perez was among those who initially left but later came back to the home with six others. When the group was asked 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 uniform and a “Purge” mask.
The affidavit said a resident placed Perez in a headlock, after which Perez allegedly pulled out a gun and began firing.
One witness told police he heard Perez say, “Oh, I could shoot this place up.”
Perez allegedly shot Hanlon in the neck and wounded another 19-year-old student in the leg. Hanlon died the next day at Boulder Community Health.
“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 Fox News Digital.
Sister identifies suspect
The arrest affidavit said 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 home around the time of the shooting. The app also traced his movements afterward through Westminster, Arvada and Keenesburg before showing him 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 Fox News Digital.
His sister told investigators that Perez had illegally purchased a 10mm Glock “on the street” several days before the shooting and had posted photos of the gun on Instagram. She said the weapon replaced a revolver he had “thrown in some bushes” after accidentally shooting himself in the calf on Sept. 26.
The affidavit also said Perez and the people traveling with him were in a newer red Audi sedan.
When Perez picked up his sister from work, she entered the Audi and saw a “black purge looking mask” on the floor. She also told police that three other 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 with 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, he was there, to celebrate the biggest wins in life. He was just like an all-around, stand-up, great, just 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 police department’s Evidence Submission Portal.