Evergreen High School shooting leaves suspect dead, 3 injured
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Law enforcement officers on the scene at Evergreen High School on Wednesday. Photo: Chet Strange/AFP via Getty Images
The suspected gunman who shot two students before shooting himself Wednesday at Evergreen High School has died, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office confirmed Wednesday night.
The big picture: The shooting happened just before 12:30pm on campus grounds, both in and outside the school — which has over 900 students and is about 30 miles southwest of Denver, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
- The three students, including the suspected shooter, were taken to CommonSpirit St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood.
- As of Wednesday evening, one remained in serious condition, and another was upgraded to stable condition and transferred to a different facility, spokesperson Lindsay Radford told Axios Denver.
- A fourth person was injured, though that individual was not shot, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Jacki Kelley told reporters.
Zoom in: The suspected shooter — a juvenile male armed with a handgun — fired on schoolmates before sustaining a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities confirmed Wednesday evening. His age, as well as information about the victims, have not been made known.
- Federal law enforcement, including the FBI, responded to the incident. Local authorities arrived within two minutes of being alerted, officials said.
State of play: Investigators plan to search the suspect's home, car and locker to learn more about him and his motive, Kelley said.
- They are also interviewing numerous students who witnessed the shooting.
What they're saying: "Students should be able to attend school safely and without fear across our state and nation," Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement, adding he was closely monitoring the situation.
- In a statement on X, Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet said he was "horrified" to hear what had happened.
Zoom out: The Colorado school shooting unfolded just two weeks after a shooter opened fire at a Catholic school in Minneapolis, killing two children and injuring more than a dozen others.
Flashback: Colorado has a tragic legacy of school shootings, with the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Littleton becoming a national flashpoint for school safety.
- Two students died after a shooting at Arapahoe High School in 2013, and another student was fatally shot at STEM School Highlands Ranch in 2019.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with new details throughout.