Thursday morning, 19-year-old Shawn Walton, a Thiel College freshman, woke up, showered and walked across campus for his psychology exam.

Afterward he returned to his dorm room to lie down, said Donald Aubrecht, campus police chief.

"Then, at 10:30 a.m., we received a call that a student was in distress," Aubrecht said.

Walton was having trouble breathing when a campus police officer arrived at the dorm room. The officer began cardiopulmonary resuscitation and called for help and an ambulance, Aubrecht said.

Walton was taken to UPMC Horizon, Greenville, where he died a short time later.

A basketball player from East Liverpool, Ohio, Walton was in fine physical condition, Aubrecht said.

Aubrecht said police originally treated the dormitory as a crime scene. The area was closed off and Greenville-West Salem Township police assisted in an investigation.

"There was no evidence of foul play, or any wrongdoing on his part, that would have contributed to his death," Aubrecht said. "It is truly a tragedy. This was a very nice young man, and at this point, as police officers, we have no idea what caused his death."