Apr 17, 2019

Denver schools close due to Columbine-related threat

Marisa Fernandez

Denver-area public schools announced they would close on Wednesday after a Florida woman known to be infatuated with the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine High School flew to Colorado and purchased a gun, the AP reports.

The big picture: The FBI considers 18-year-old Sol Pais a credible threat after she "made threats to commit an act of violence in the Denver metropolitan area." The decision to close all Denver-area schools comes just days before the 20th anniversary of the Columbine shooting.

Details: The threat posed by Pais is "credible and general," according to a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Public Safety.

  • About 20 schools, including Columbine, were placed on lockdown for three hours on Tuesday before the decision to close Wednesday.
  • The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department said Tuesday that Pais was last seen in the foothills of Jefferson County outside Denver wearing a black T-shirt, camouflage pants and black boots. It noted that she is "considered armed and dangerous."

Go deeper: 2018 was a record year for school gun violence

  • See the full list of school closings here, via CBS Denver.

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