Nov 29, 2021 - News

Aurora schools confront rising gun violence among teens

 People gather outside Hinkley High School in Aurora after three people were shot in the school parking lot. Photo: Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images

People gather outside Hinkley High School in Aurora after three people were shot in the school parking lot. Photo: Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Crisis response teams for Aurora Public Schools are reacting today to Hinkley High School after the third shooting involving teenagers in just two weeks.

  • Superintendent Rico Munn tells Chalkbeat, our education reporting partner, that rising crime is "a growing crisis in our community."

Catch up quick: Three teens were shot and injured in the school parking lot Nov. 19, in what appears to be a gang-related incident.

  • Just four days earlier, a drive-by shooting injured six students at Aurora Central High School.
  • Five people ages 16-20 were shot just after midnight Sunday near Dayton Street and Colfax Avenue.

What they're saying: The violence feels like it's escalating, says Lolita Angelcheva, a student at Aurora's Rangeview High School who is fundraising for the shooting victims

  • "In past years, it was a threat, or kids getting into fights and a gun being pulled," she says. "It's definitely bolder this year."

Go deeper: More from our partners at Chalkbeat

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