Colorado school shooting: Teen attacker, who wounded 2 and shot himself dead, was 'radicalised', say authorities

A 16-year-old boy who had been radicalized by an unspecified “extremist network” fired a revolver multiple times during an attack at a suburban Denver high school that wounded two students, authorities said Thursday.

Some students ran and others locked down during Wednesday’s shooting at Evergreen High School in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. One of the victims was shot inside the school and another outside.

The suspect in Evergreen, student Desmond Holly, shot himself at the school and later died, said Jefferson County sheriff’s office spokesperson Jacki Kelley. The county was also the scene of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre that killed 14 people.

Our @FBIDenver team continues to work with our partners regarding the investigation of the shooting at Evergreen High School yesterday afternoon in Colorado.

We have deployed our evidence response team and other specialty resources as part of our response to this incident. The…

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The school resource officer was on medical leave and two part-time officers who now share the job were not present at the time, she said at a news conference. The officer working at the school that day had been sent earlier to a nearby accident.

Kelley said Holly had been “radicalized by some extremist network,” and suggested authorities came to that conclusion after examining the suspect’s home and phone.

But details on how he allegedly had been radicalized and by what group were not immediately released, with Kelley promising more information at a later date.

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It also remained unclear if Holly knew the victims and had a dispute with them, or if they were shot randomly. Both were reported in critical condition Thursday.

Officials released a statement from the family of one of the victims, Matthew Silverstone, 18, expressing appreciation for the support they’ve received and requesting privacy as the family focuses on his recovery.

The other victim had not been publicly identified.

Kelley described a chaotic scene as the students sheltered in place or fled the 900-student campus, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Denver.

“He would fire and reload, fire and reload, fire reload,” she said. “This went on and on.”

But the shooter was blocked by secured doors and couldn’t get into areas where students were sheltering, Kelley said. She added that Holly had lots of ammunition and his movements through the three-level school were tracked on camera.

“The reason we have so many crime scene areas inside is because we have windows shot out. We have lockers that were shot up. We’re finding spent rounds, unspent rounds. So it’s a huge area,” she said.

Investigators were searching the suspect’s room, backpack and locker, she said, and they were in contact with his parents. Kelley said authorities would be looking at whether the parents should face any criminal charges for allowing him access to the gun.

Holly’s family could not be reached. Telephone calls to residents with the Holly surname in Evergreen and nearby areas did not go through or messages left were not immediately returned.

Most high schools in Jefferson County, including Evergreen’s, do not have metal detectors, the school district said in a statement. The Evergreen school’s annual lockdrown drill had been scheduled for last week but was postponed because of a medical emergency at the school.

Ines McCanna said her 15-year-old son was in the cafeteria eating lunch with friends Wednesday when there was an announcement about an active shooter. Almost simultaneously, they heard shots and ran out of the school.

When no one was home at a nearby house, they went to a fire station and waited to be picked up. McCanna said her other son, a junior, was eating lunch off campus and called to say he was safe.

“But honestly, until they were in my hands, it didn’t go away — the fear,” she said.

No responding officers fired any shots and they located the suspect within five minutes of arriving, Kelley said.

The school district’s former safety director, John McDonald, said it has worked since Columbine to improve shooting responses. That includes installing panic buttons in schools, building partnerships with law enforcement and protocols for staff and students to evacuate or lock down.

Regarding Evergreen, he said, “From my perspective it was a successful response. But any time you’ve had shots fired in a school you’ve already lost.”

Cars of students and staffers remained in the parking lot Thursday. A command post was set up outside and authorities could be seen entering and leaving the school.

Sila Reilly stopped by to lay flowers for the injured. She secured several bouquets of white flowers to a fence near the school’s baseball field.

“I’m tired of this being an everyday crisis,” said Reilly, noting her son will soon attend a high school much like Evergreen in a nearby school district.