Authorities confirmed on Thursday that the student who opened fire Wednesday at a high school in suburban Denver, injuring two other students, died Wednesday night of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The incident was reported shortly after 12:30 p.m. at Evergreen High School, located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains about 30 miles west of Denver. Gunfire broke out both inside the school and on the grounds outside, with deputies arriving within minutes and locating the suspect about five minutes after they arrived.
The shooter was identified on Thursday as 16-year-old Desmond Holly. At a press conference, Jacki Kelley, a public information officer with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, said Holly had been “radicalized by some extremist network.” Kelly noted that Holly had taken a bus to school that morning, used a revolver in the attack, and had “quite a bit of ammunition.” She added that “the suspect’s gun was fired a lot. The reason we have so many crime scenes is because we have windows that were shot up, we have lockers that were shot up. We have spent rounds, unspent rounds. It’s a huge area.” (per local news outlet Denver7.)
The attack appeared to be both “random and targeted,” Kelley said. One of the victims was shot inside the school while the other was shot outside; the two injured students were taken to nearby St. Anthony Hospital. One was released and the other was in critical condition, the sheriff’s office said. It did not release their names.
Kelley confirmed that none of the responding officers discharged their weapons, and said that more than 100 law enforcement personnel from across the region rushed to assist. Three students — including the shooter — were treated for gunshot wounds, while a fourth student took themselves to the hospital with injuries sustained while escaping the high school and fleeing to a nearby elementary school.
More than 900 students attend Evergreen High School, located about 28 miles southwest of Denver and less than a mile from the center of Evergreen, a mountain town of about 9,300 people. Jefferson County is the same community where the 1999 Columbine High School shooting took place that killed 14 and injured more than 20. Those shootings were carried out by two Columbine students.
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