Colorado authorities have identified everyone shown in security footage released following a Halloween party shooting that killed a University of Colorado Boulder student, while prosecutors weigh whether more charges should be filed.
Boulder Police Public Information Officer Dionne Waugh confirmed Thursday to News Media that “everyone in the photos and video we released” has been identified.
Omar Perez, 18, remains the main suspect in the death of Luca Hanlon, 19. Perez faces murder and related charges after the fatal confrontation at an off-campus Halloween gathering in Boulder’s University Hill neighborhood on Oct. 31.
Luca Hanlon, pictured in his graduation gown, poses with his family. (Facebook/Grace Crocilla Hanlon)
Following Perez’s arrest, detectives asked the public to help identify three additional people shown in video and photographs 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 those individuals will be charged.
“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 Media that prosecutors “successfully argued in court Tuesday to have Perez held without bond.”
Perez is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 10, 2027, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The Colorado Public Defender’s Office declined to comment. The University of Colorado did not immediately respond to requests for information.
What happened at the Halloween party
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. Police issued a nuisance-party citation, and hundreds of attendees dispersed. Roughly 90 minutes later, at 11:28 p.m., officers returned after receiving a report of gunfire.
Luca Hanlon was shot at a home on Marine Street in Boulder, Colorado. (Google Maps)
Witnesses told investigators that Perez was among those who initially left the party, but later returned to the home with six other people. When the group was told to leave, an argument allegedly escalated into a physical fight 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 placed Perez in a headlock. Perez allegedly responded by pulling out a firearm and shooting.
One witness told police he heard Perez say, “Oh, I could shoot this place up.”
Hanlon was shot in the neck, while another 19-year-old student was struck in the leg. Hanlon died the next day at Boulder Community Health.
Luca Hanlon, right, is pictured 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 Media.
Sister helped identify the suspect
The arrest affidavit says Perez’s sister contacted Boulder police after seeing the images released by investigators and recognizing her brother’s clothing.
She then used the family’s Life360 app to check his movements. The tracking data allegedly showed Perez arriving at the home around the time of the shooting before traveling through Westminster, Arvada and Keenesburg, eventually 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 Media.
Luca Hanlon was a student at the University of Colorado in Boulder. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
Perez’s sister also told investigators that he had purchased a 10mm Glock illegally “on the street” several days before the shooting and shared photos of the gun on Instagram. She said the weapon replaced a revolver Perez had “threw in some bushes” after accidentally shooting himself in the calf on Sept. 26.
The affidavit says 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 told police that three other people were inside the vehicle with Perez.
Perez allegedly told his sister the group had been beaten earlier at a party by “four guys and his friends,” according to the affidavit.
In addition to a murder charge alleging extreme indifference, Perez faces counts of first-degree assault and attempted first-degree murder, also alleging 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.
Remembering 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 shooting is asked to contact Boulder police at 303-441-3333 or submit a tip through the department’s Evidence Submission Portal.