No foul play suspected in Fairmount Towers death
A student was found Saturday morning in the parking lot of Fairmount Towers, according to a crime alert from the University Police Department. He later died at the hospital from gun shot wounds. Two suspects were arrested Sunday in connection with the shooting, the university said Monday.
The Wichita State campus is reacting to the death of a student Wednesday night.
A 29-year-old male student was found unresponsive in a Fairmount Towers South dorm room Wednesday night, according to a release from Wichita State Thursday morning.
Emergency crews responded to a call around 11 p.m. Wednesday after a resident assistant found him alone, the release said.
No foul play is suspected.
According to Wichita Police documents, the RA was investigating “a smell” in the dorm room when she found the student unresponsive of an apparent drug overdose.
“I was surprised that it happened here,” WSU junior Tim Jantzi said. “You hear about it happening at other schools but it really hit home.”
University counselors were at the dorms, located northwest of campus at 21st and Hillside, to meet with residents. Some Fairmount residents were relocated to other rooms overnight, the university’s release said.
Next of kin have been notified, said Wade Robinson, vice president of Student Affairs, and the student’s name will be released on their terms.
Robinson could not confirm the cause of death on Thursday, but when asked, said drug use in the dorms lately hasn’t been more prevalent than in the past.
“In the five years that I’ve been here, we have never had a death in the dorms,” Robinson said.
Jantzi said he lived in Fairmount Towers two years ago.
“Aside from marijuana use,” he said, “I don’t think [drug use] is very common. But with all colleges there will be a few people that use harder drugs.”
According to the university police blotter, there were two cases of possession of drug paraphernalia in the month of January on campus: one on Jan. 27 in Shocker Hall and another on Jan. 29 in Fairmount Towers South.
Taylor Goshen, a WSU freshman, said the death brings to light the need for more drug use awareness.
“It’s just an absolute shame,” he said. “Maybe this is something we need to do better.”
