Jack Healy and Liam Stack

Sheriff Tony Spurlock said the suspects were both students at STEM School Highlands Ranch, a charter school near Denver that serves more than 1,800 students from kindergarten through 12th grade.

“We know two individuals walked into the STEM school, got deep inside the school and engaged students in two separate locations,” he said.

Eight students had been taken to area hospitals, and “several” were in critical condition, the sheriff said, although local hospitals described their conditions as less dire.

Spurlock said the suspects, who were armed with a handgun and other weapons, confronted law enforcement officers when they arrived. He said the suspects were not injured.

“I can tell you that there were shots fired,” he said. “Our officers went in and engaged the suspects. We did struggle with the suspects to take them into custody.”

Spurlock said the school had no police officer assigned to it and used private security instead, but he did not say what actions that security service may have taken during the shooting. The sheriff said that the school alerted law enforcement “almost immediately after the first gunshots were fired” and that deputies arrived roughly two minutes later.

“I have to believe that the quick response of officers that got inside that school helped save lives,” the sheriff said.

Students were taken to Northridge Recreation Center in Highlands Ranch, where hundreds of anxious parents gathered to look for their children Tuesday afternoon.

Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado said the state government was monitoring the situation.

Douglas County is an affluent area south of Denver with about 350,000 people. It sits next to Jefferson County, home to Columbine High School. Last month, hundreds of schools in the Denver area were closed as law enforcement searched for a Florida woman who they said had made threats ahead of the 20th anniversary of the shooting at Columbine, which is about 7 miles from the site of Tuesday’s shooting.

The woman, Sol Pais, 18, was found dead April 17 of an apparent self-inflicted shotgun wound.

This article originally appeared in <a id="c11304ee-e07d-3fbb-a19e-25800e888cb4" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/07/us/colorado-school-shooting.html">The New York Times</a>.

School Shooting Near Columbine Jangles Nerves

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — Eight students were shot at a school near Columbine High School in Colorado on Tuesday afternoon, and two schoolmates were in custody, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

School shooting near Columbine jangles nerves

But Tuesday afternoon, the STEM school’s worst fears were realized when eight of its students were shot — less than 8 miles from Columbine — and two fellow students were being held as suspects.

“We know two individuals walked into the STEM school, got deep inside the school and engaged students in two separate locations,” Sheriff Tony Spurlock of Douglas County said.

Spurlock said the suspects, who were armed with a handgun and other weapons, confronted law enforcement officers when they arrived. He said the suspects, one adult and one juvenile, were not injured.

Spurlock said he would not release details about the injured students Tuesday night.

“I heard a gunshot,” said Makai Dixon, 8, a second grader who had been training for this moment, with active shooter drills and lockdowns, since he was in kindergarten. “I’d never heard it before.”

Littleton Adventist Hospital in Colorado said five people were transported there after Tuesday’s shooting. Two are in serious condition while three have been discharged, the hospital said. Sky Ridge Medical Center said two children were transported there and were in stable condition.

Spurlock said the school, which has about 1,800 students in kindergarten through 12th grade, had no police officer assigned to it and used private security instead, but he did not say what actions that security service may have taken during the shooting. The sheriff said the school alerted law enforcement “almost immediately after the first gunshots were fired” and that deputies arrived roughly two minutes later.

Last month, hundreds of schools in the Denver area were closed as law enforcement searched for a Florida woman who they said had made threats ahead of the 20th anniversary of the deadly shooting that claimed 13 lives at Columbine High School.

The woman, Sol Pais, 18, was found dead April 17 of an apparent self-inflicted shotgun wound in the mountains of Jefferson County.

8 Students Shot at School Just Miles From Columbine

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — Last month, as the 20th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting approached, STEM School Highlands Ranch joined hundreds of schools near Denver in closing temporarily amid security concerns. The anniversary came and went, and schools returned to their routines.

8 students shot at school just miles from Columbine

But Tuesday afternoon, the STEM school’s worst fears were realized when nine of its students were shot, one fatally, and two fellow students were being held as suspects.

“We know two individuals walked into the STEM school, got deep inside the school and engaged students in two separate locations,” Sheriff Tony Spurlock of Douglas County said at a news conference.

At 6:45 p.m., about five hours after the shooting, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office released a statement confirming that one of the nine who had been shot, an 18-year-old man, had died.

Late Tuesday, the sheriff’s office identified one of the suspects as Devon Erickson, 18, but said it would provide no further information about him because “we still have interviews to conduct and we want to make sure we have the most accurate information.”

Police tape was strung up outside the home where neighbors said Erickson’s family had lived since the late 1990s. A next-door neighbor who declined to be named described him as a quiet young man who sometimes deflected eye contact and played several musical instruments.

Spurlock said the suspects, who were armed with a handgun and other weapons, confronted law enforcement officers when they arrived. He said the suspects, Erickson and a juvenile, were not injured.

Spurlock said that neither suspect had been on law enforcement’s radar before the shooting and that the motive was unknown.

Littleton Adventist Hospital in Colorado said five people were transported there after Tuesday’s shooting. Two were in serious condition while three were discharged, the hospital said. Sky Ridge Medical Center said two children were taken there and were in stable condition. Children’s Hospital Colorado said one victim had been treated at its south campus and then released.

One parent said students had tried to stop the attack.

Brad Bialy said his oldest son, Brendan, a senior, told him that he was in class when gunfire erupted. Bialy said his son told him that two students entered the classroom, and one pulled a gun out of a guitar case.

He said his son and two friends tried to tackle the gunman, but one of the boys was shot in the chest. Other students tried to stanch the bleeding by putting pressure on his chest, Bialy said.

School Shooting in Colorado Leaves 1 Student Dead and 8 Injured

School shooting in Colorado leaves 1 student dead and 8 injured

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Jack Healy and Liam Stack

Articles written by the author

School shooting near Columbine jangles nerves

8 students shot at school just miles from Columbine

School shooting in Colorado leaves 1 student dead and 8 injured