A Purdue University student was found dead inside his dorm room, and his roommate has been arrested in connection with the alleged crime.
The roommate called 911 around 12:44 a.m. local time on Wednesday, according to the university’s media and publications director Tim Doty. It is uncertain whether the roommate made any confession related to the student’s death, and it is unclear if there were any weapons present.
“A suspect is in custody and there is no threat to the community,” Doty stated, according to CBS News, adding that the investigation was ongoing.
Purdue University President Mitch Daniels sent a message to members of the school’s community that was posted online after the incident.
President Daniels on tragedy in residence hall: https://t.co/Y6rNl4pTl9
— Purdue University (@LifeAtPurdue) October 5, 2022
“I write to let you know that early this morning, one of our students was killed in his residence hall room. The suspect, the victim’s roommate, called police to report the incident and is in custody,” he wrote.
“This is as tragic an event as we can imagine happening on our campus and our hearts and thoughts go out to all of those affected by this terrible event,” Daniels added.
The Tippecanoe County Coroner’s Office identified the student who died as Varun Manish Chheda, 20, from Indianapolis, according to Fox 59. He was noted as a senior in data science at the university. An autopsy will be conducted.
Purdue Police Chief Lesley Wiete identified the student taken into custody as 22-year-old Ji Min Sha. He is an international student from Korea.
“Our hearts go out to the victim and his family and friends and anyone who might have known him or anybody who he may have touched in life,” Wiete said. “This is extremely sad and unfortunate, and I can’t imagine what his family is going through at this time.”
Daniels reiterated in his letter to the Purdue community that the campus is safe.
“I assure you that the safety and security of our students is the single highest priority on our campus. Purdue is an extraordinarily safe place on any given day, and compared with cities of Purdue’s population (approximately 60,000 in all), we experience a tiny fraction of violent and property crime that occurs elsewhere,” he wrote.
“Such statistics are of no consolation on a day like this. A death on our campus and among our Purdue family affects each of us deeply,” he added.
Cheda was a graduate of Park Tudor, a private school in Indianapolis. Park Tudor Interim Head of School Dennis Bisgaard shared a statement with WRTV-TV following the report of the graduate’s death.
“The entire Park Tudor community is saddened by the tragic loss of Varun Chheda, Park Tudor class of 2020. Our prayers are with his family at this difficult time,” he stated.