Suspect arrested after Tucson student dies on University of Arizona campus

TUCSON, Ariz. – A suspect arrested in the fatal shooting of a Tucson student on the University of Arizona campus is being held without bail on first-degree murder charges, authorities said Thursday.

Ryan Romero-Encinas, 20, turned himself in Wednesday and was taken into custody at his university apartment in Tucson. police said.

Minhaj Jamshidi, 19, was shot Sunday evening after a fight with the suspect on the school volleyball courts near the Arizona-Sonoran dormitory, police said.

Jamshidi died at the scene and witnesses gave police a description of the shooter.

Romero-Encinas was not a college student but regularly played volleyball on the courts, although no one knew his name, Police Chief Chris Olson said at a news conference.

It is unclear whether Jamshidi and Romero-Encinas ever met or how often Jamshidi played volleyball matches at the tournament. university.

Olson said a group of people were playing on the sand volleyball courts around 11 p.m. Sunday when several small fights broke out — and that led to the fatal shooting.

Police received several calls the next day identifying Romero-Encinas as the suspect, and two search warrants were served Tuesday at the suspect’s apartment, Olson said.

Olson said police recovered a handgun, but she could not confirm whether it was the murder weapon and Romero-Encinas “has not provided us with any information.”

During his first court appearance Thursday, a public defender was assigned to the Romero-Encinas case. But the Pima County Public Defender’s Office did not immediately release that attorney’s name.

At the time of his death, Jamshidi was attending Pima Community College and taking building and construction technology classes.

He grew up in Afghanistan before moving with his family to Tucson in 2021.