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Security at Gallaudet University was boosted on Saturday following the death of a student

Murder is second in four months

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A 19-year-old student was found dead early Saturday morning in his dormitory at a university for the deaf, the second such murder there in four months, police said.

Police said they had no evidence that there was a link between the two deaths.

Police said emergency crews responding to a fire alarm at Gallaudet University found Benjamin Varner of San Antonio, Texas, at 4:15 a.m in a room at Cogswell Hall. There was no fire or smoke in the dormitory.

D.C. Metropolitan police Sgt. J.C. Gentile said there were indications at the scene that foul play was involved in Varner's death. An autopsy will be performed Sunday.

In September, Eric Plunkett, a 19-year-old from Burnsville, Minnesota, who had cerebral palsy, was found beaten to death in the same dormitory.

Chief Charles Ramsey said the FBI has been called into the investigation, and a $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Varner's killer.

The school is also instituting stricter security measures, such as mandatory sign-ins and ID checks at all of the dorms on campus.

In that case police arrested Plunkett's roommate, but charges were never pressed because of lack of evidence.

Another killing occurred at Gallaudet in 1981, when a male student stabbed his boyfriend to death after a heated argument.

The murderer was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Gallaudet, partly founded by President Abraham Lincoln nearly 140 years ago, is located in a high-crime area about eight blocks north of the Capitol Hill district.

The university is surrounded by a sturdy iron fence, with guards posted at the campus entrance.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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