Denver (BN24) – A student opened fire on two classmates at Evergreen High School in suburban Denver, Colorado, on Wednesday before turning the gun on himself, authorities said. The shooter later died from his injuries.
The attack began around 12:30 p.m. at the school in Evergreen, Colorado, a Rocky Mountain foothills community about 30 miles west of Denver. Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jacki Kelley said shots were fired both inside and outside the school. Responding officers arrived within minutes and located the gunman, who had already shot himself. No law enforcement officers fired their weapons, Kelley said.
More than 100 police officers from surrounding agencies rushed to the school, recalling memories of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, which also took place in Jefferson County. Columbine claimed 14 lives, including a woman who survived the attack but died earlier this year from complications related to her injuries.
The two students who were shot were initially in critical condition, according to St. Anthony Hospital officials. By Wednesday evening, one teen was upgraded to stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries, trauma director Dr. Brian Blackwood said. He declined to provide additional details. The ages of the victims have not been released.
Evergreen High School, which has more than 900 students, sits just a mile from the town center and is surrounded by forest. After the shooting, anxious parents gathered at a nearby elementary school to reunite with their children.
Wendy Nueman, whose 15-year-old daughter is a sophomore at Evergreen, described the fear of waiting for her child to call. “She just said she was OK. She couldn’t hardly speak,” Nueman told The Denver Post. She said her daughter fled the school in panic. “It’s super scary. We feel like we live in a little bubble here. Obviously, no one is immune.”
Nearby resident Don Cygan said 18 students who fled the gunfire pounded on his door seeking safety. Cygan, a retired educator, welcomed them inside, took down their names, and reassured them as his wife, a retired nurse, helped treat the teens for shock. “I hope they feel like they ran to the right house,” Cygan told Denver’s KUSA-TV.
Authorities have not released the identity of the shooter or provided a motive. The investigation is ongoing.
