A school shooting near Columbine High School left one dead and eight injured. There have been several high-profile shootings in Colorado in recent years. Here in this article, you will find each and every detail about the STEM School shooting in Colorado.
Last month, Columbine High School shooting approached STEM School Highlands Ranch & other schools in closing temporarily amid security concerns. It took place on the 20th anniversary of Columbine High School.
Tuesday afternoon, nine students were shot in the STEM School shooting. Two persons i.e. one fatally & two fellow students held as suspects.
Sheriff Tony Spurlock of Douglas County said, “We know two individuals walked into the STEM school, got deep inside the school and engaged students in two separate locations.”
At 6:45 PM, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that one of the nine shot people died.
Afterwards, the sheriff office identified one of the suspects as Devon Erickson aged18. But officials didn’t provide any further information as interviews are still going on. They will release whole information only after the confirmation of it being true and accurate.
Police also indulge in talks with suspect’s neighbours. They said Mr Erickson’s family lived since the late 1990s. His neighbour described him as a quiet young man. They even told that Erickson used to play several musical instruments.
Sheriff Spurlock said, “I can tell you that there were shots fired. Our officers went in and engaged the suspects. We did struggle with the suspects to take them into custody.”
He also said neither suspect had been on law enforcement’s radar before the shooting and that the motive was unknown.
Further, he informed injured students were age 15 or older.
Notably, unharmed students were taken to Northridge Recreation Center in Highlands Ranch. Hundreds of anxious parents gathered there to look for their children.
A second-grade boy aged 8, Makai Dixon said, “I heard a gunshot. I’d never heard it before.” He had been training for this moment with active shooter drills and lockdowns since his kindergarten days.
His parents said they rushed to the school as news blazed through this suburban community.
Makai’s mother, Rocio said, “We’re more messed up than they are.”
The White House said in a statement, “Tragically, this community and those surrounding it know all too well these hateful and horrible acts of violence.”
Nowadays, these types of news such as school shooting and bombing have become contagious. One week earlier, a man with a pistol shot six people at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Two people killed in this shooting.
On Tuesday, children released from the recreation centre. They rapidly ran towards their parents for hugging them in tears.
Tyler Rush aged 17 also heard two gunshots. He was on the second floor of the school just above the shooting place. He and his classmates gathered in a corner and turned out the lights. Many students were crying due to fear. Not just that, some also get paralysed.
Five people transferred to the Littleton Adventist Hospital in Colorado. Notably, two are in extremely serious condition. Whereas three have already discharged.
Two children were also admitted at the Sky Ridge Medical Center. Both of them are now doing well. Also, one child victim was being treated in the Colorado children hospital’s south campus. Soon after the treatment, the child went back to home.
Point to be noted, the cause and execution of the shooting are still ambiguous. One of the parents said students tried to stop the attack.
Brad Bialy’s oldest son Brendan told him that he was in class when gunfire erupted. Two students entered the classroom. One out of those two pulled a gun out of a guitar case.
Brendan and his two friends tried to tackle the gunman. But they failed as attacker shot one of them in the chest. After that, friends tried to stop the bleeding by putting pressure on his chest.
Mr Brad Bailey gave this statement as per his son’s wordings.
Also Read: Myanmar Freed Reuters Journalists & Others.
The 17-year-old son of Fernando Montoya bear shot three times. He admitted his son in a hospital. Gladly, now he is doing pretty fine. Father said, “Thank God he’s fine.”
Sheriff Spurlock told school has a total of 1800 students but still, they didn’t assign any police officer. Instead, the school opted for the private security system. However, he didn’t mention any actions of that security service during shooting.
Also, the sheriff said the school alerted law enforcement almost immediately after the first gunshots were fired. Just after that deputies arrived roughly two minutes later.
Governor Jared Polis of Colorado said the state government was monitoring the situation. He expressed his sorrow over the STEM School Shooting via Tweet on his Twitter handle.
Douglas County schools superintendent, Thomas S. Tucker said STEM School will remain closed for the rest of the week. He added that other schools in the district remain open with heightened security.
Douglas County is more conservative than traditionally blue Denver. Largely, the region is at the centre of the national debate over gun violence.
Last month, Mr Polis signed into a law so-called Red Flag bill. It allowed authorities to take guns from people deemed a threat after a court hearing. The bill divided the state, and some sheriffs. Some said they would not enforce it. Whereas some counties began calling themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries.
In Douglas County, the county commission criticized the bill. They said it threatened constitutional liberties. However, Sheriff Spurlock was one of the supporters.
A top Republican lawmaker and Columbine survivor Patrick Neville said in a statement the shooting was a reminder “of the need to secure our schools.”
According to him armed security guards and facility upgrades are the best way for keeping students safe.
Particularly, he said School safety programs including armed security and safety upgrades to school facilities can prove the best way to stop these criminals from harming our children.
On Tuesday, Mr Jason Crow also took to Twitter to express his sorrow on the STEM School Shooting.
He tweeted, “It is with broken hearts that we respond to the news coming out of Highlands Ranch. We still don’t have all the details regarding the situation at STEM school, but we do know this: we have a public health crisis on our hands. This cannot continue.”
You can easily check out his tweet here.
For more updates on this devastating STEM School shooting, stay tuned to Daily Patron.
