Deputies say that two shooters opened fire at STEM School Highlands Ranch in Colorado on Tuesday, leaving eight injured and one student dead. Here’s what we know so far.
1. Two Shooters Opened Fire at School
STEM is a K-12 school in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Officials contacted deputies at 2 p.m. about an active shooter, said Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock in a press conference Wednesday morning. Deputies arrived at the scene in two minutes and immediately engaged with the suspects, he said.
The shooters entered through the middle school entrance, which is in the northeast side of the school, Spurlock said.
The suspects used at least two handguns, he said. An armed private security officer at the school had apprehended one of the alleged shooters by the time deputies arrived. Deputies did not exchange gunfire with the shooters, Spurlock said.
2. 8 Injured, 1 Dead
Three children remain in intensive care in area hospitals, Spurlock said. He said they are not identifying the late child until the coroner makes a positive identification. They have contacted the family, he said. That student would have graduated in three days, he said. He died at the school.
It is with extreme sadness that we can confirm that 1 student at the STEM School was killed in today’s #stemshooting incident. The immediate family has been notified. Douglas County Coroner Jill Romann has not officially identified the student is stating it’s an 18 year old male.
— DC Sheriff (@dcsheriff) May 8, 2019
#stemshooting to confirm any confusion, there were 8 students injured and sadly 1 student killed.
— DC Sheriff (@dcsheriff) May 8, 2019
News outlets are now identifying the deceased as Kendrick Castillo, 18.
Witnesses said that Castillo “lunged” at a suspect, saving others.
“That’s when Kendrick lunged at him and he shot Kendrick, giving all of us enough time to get underneath our desks, to get ourselves safe and to run out of, across the room to escape,” Nui Giasolli, a fellow student, told WCNC.
We heard of a similar act of bravery recently on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where Riley Howell sacrificed his life to save his classmates from a shooter.
3. Suspects are 18-Year-old Devon Erickson and an Unnamed Girl, Authorities Say
Authorities have said there are two suspects. The first was identified as 18-year-old Devon Erickson, while the second was a female juvenile.
Erickson is scheduled to make a first appearance in court at 1:30 p.m. MT / 3:30 pm ET. The girl, who is a minor, was not identified. Spurlock said that the two were not apprehended together.
The investigation remains ongoing. The sheriff declined to say if the suspects were cooperating.
[Screengrab via 9News]
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