DENVER – Pueblo County detectives arrested a student at Colorado State University Pueblo Tuesday after he was discovered to have several guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition inside his truck and on-campus apartment.
The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office arrested Robert James Killis, 24, for unlawfully carrying or possessing a weapon on a university campus Tuesday after detectives executed a search warrant at his Walking Stick Village apartment Tuesday.
The sheriff’s office said Killis had recently threatened staff and students at the university. He had previous military experienced, and the sheriff’s office said witnesses told investigators he was talking about buying body armor, rifles, shotguns and other guns “and saying that he liked to kill people.”
On Monday, according to the sheriff’s office, detectives started monitoring Killis and could see an ammunition box, bulletproof vest and a case sitting out in the open inside his pickup truck.
On Tuesday, detectives obtained search warrants for his truck and apartment, and then detained him at a restaurant on the north side of the city. Detectives served the warrant on the truck and found a loaded semi-automatic rifle, a shotgun and a handgun inside. They also found “several fully loaded high-capacity magazines set up in a tactical manner” and an ammunition box that was filled with more rounds, the sheriff’s office said.
Inside his apartment, detectives found another handgun, around 100 rounds of ammunition, and other items, according to the sheriff’s office.
Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk Taylor said the sheriff’s office was working with CSU Pueblo officials along with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies on the investigation.
“Out of an overabundance of caution, there will be an added law enforcement presence at the university and our deputies will be available to address any concerns from students and faculty,” Taylor said in a written statement. “We continue to encourage anyone who sees or hears anything suspicious or threatening that involves an educational setting to report it immediately.”