One student was killed and eight were injured in a shooting at a Colorado middle school on Tuesday, according to NBC News. As of Wednesday morning, two unidentified suspects are in custody: an 18-year-old male and a juvenile girl. Here’s everything we know.
Law enforcement said it responded to an incident at STEM School Highlands Ranch just after 2:00 p.m. According to the school’s website, 1,850 students are enrolled there. The shooting took place in the middle school, which is attended by 700 students.
“I heard a gunshot,” 8-year-old Makai Dixon, who had already gone through years of active shooter drills and lockdowns, told the New York Times. “I’d never heard it before.”
Per the Denver Post, eight students were injured and one student was killed. By Tuesday evening, at least four victims has been released from hospitals. On Wednesday afternoon, the student who was killed was identified as 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo. According to Reuters, Castillo lunged at the shooter, giving other students time to escape. Castillo was set to graduate in three days.
“There is no doubt in my mind that he would have done anything he thought he could have to help anyone,” Castillo’s longtime friend Cece Bedard told Reuters.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Douglas County undersheriff Holly Nicholson Kluth said two suspected shooters had been taken into custody. By Wednesday morning, police had released more details regarding their identities: Devon Erickson, 18, and a juvenile girl. According to the Daily Beast, the girl was later identified as Maya Elizabeth McKinney.
“We know that two individuals walked into the STEM School, got deep inside the school and engaged students in two separate locations,” Sheriff Tony Spurlock said. “There were a number of students that were shot and injured.”
In a statement posted on Twitter, Colorado governor Jared Polis said the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office would have “all public safety resources available to assist the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department in their effort to secure the site and evacuate the students.”
“We are monitoring the situation in real time,” Polis wrote. “The heart of all Colorado is with the victims & their families.”