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School shooting in suburban Denver, Colorado: what we know
At least one person was killed and seven more were injured, and two suspects were taken into police custody.
At least one person was killed and seven more were injured in a shooting at the STEM school in Highlands Ranch, Colorado — about 20 miles south of Denver — on Tuesday, according to local officials and news reports.
“We have multiple students that have been injured,” Douglas County Undersheriff Holly Nicholson-Kluth said. The sheriff’s office later said that an 18-year-old student, Kendrick Castillo, had died, according to CBS News.
The shooting reportedly began in the afternoon. When officers arrived on the scene, gunshots were still going off, officials said. Police then took two suspects into custody.
The story is still developing. Here’s what we know, and don’t, so far.
What we know
- The shooting began around 2 pm local time at STEM School Highlands Ranch. When police arrived, gunshots were still going off. Police went room by room to evacuate students who hadn’t escaped yet and secure the building.
- At least one person was killed and seven more were injured, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. The youngest victim is 15 years old.
- The man killed, 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo, was a graduating senior, CBS News reported. Castillo reportedly helped stop one of the shooters.
- Police took two suspects — an adult, 18-year-old Devon Erickson, and a juvenile — into custody, USA Today reported. Police believe that the suspects are students at the school.
- STEM School Highlands Ranch is a charter school that covers kindergarten to 12th grade, with more than 1,850 students. The school will remain closed for the rest of the week.
Javier Zarracina/Vox
- Prior to the Highlands Ranch shooting, there had been at least 117 mass shootings this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The organization defines mass shootings as events in which four or more people, excluding the shooter, were shot but not necessarily killed in a similar time and place.
What we don’t know
- The identities of the victims
- The juvenile suspect’s identity
- The shooters’ motives
