What to Know
- One student died and eight others were wounded in a shooting at a STEM school in Colorado Tuesday; 3 victims remained in ICU Wednesday
- Authorities said two suspects -- both students, one an 18-year-old man and the other a juvenile -- were taken into custody
- The school is not far from Columbine High School, site of a notorious school shooting
Two high school students, one of them a juvenile and the other an 18-year-old man, allegedly stormed into a charter school with at least two handguns and opened fire Tuesday, killing a classmate and wounding eight others, three of whom remained in intensive care Wednesday morning, authorities said.
The shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch, in a Colorado community that marked the 20th anniversary of one of the nation's worst school shootings just weeks ago, spanned two classrooms, prompting students to run shouting through the halls or to hide out of sight as gunfire echoed through school.
Officials identified the male suspect as Devon Erickson. The juvenile suspect has not been identified.
Authorities are still working on determining a motive for the attack, officials said.
The father of 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo told NBC News that his son was the student killed, but the family declined to be interviewed Tuesday night.
"At the moment no one really knew what was going on so I didn't know they were bullets," said seventh-grader Sophia Marks. "I just kind of saw like flashes and we heard bangs."
Within minutes, deputies at a nearby sheriff's department substation entered the school and arrested the two suspects after a struggle. Both were students at the school and they were not previously known to authorities, Sheriff Spurlock said Tuesday.
Spurlock said Wednesday morning that police did not exchange gunfire with the suspects and he believed that a security officer had restrained one of the two.
"They were not apprehended together," he said.
Josh Dutton, 18, told The Associated Press that he was close friends with Devon Erickson in middle school but hadn't seen him for four years as he went to a different high school. On Sunday, he spotted Erickson at a local light rail station and said he was shocked at how much his friend had changed.
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Erickson wore all black, a hat and sunglasses, was significantly skinnier and didn't seem interested in talking. "He said he'd just turned 18 and he owned rifles," Dutton said.
A message left at a phone number listed for Erickson's home was not immediately returned.
The shooting took place exactly a week after a gunman killed two students and wounded four at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. It also comes nearly three weeks after neighboring Littleton marked the grim 20th anniversary of the Columbine school massacre that killed 13 people. The two schools are separated by about 7 miles (11 kilometers) in adjacent communities south of Denver.
"Tragically, this community and those surrounding it know all too well these hateful and horrible acts of violence," White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement. President Donald Trump had been briefed on the shooting and was in touch with state and local officials, Deere said.
"The heart of all Colorado is with the victims and their families," Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement.
STEM is a public charter school with a focus on science, technology, engineering and math. It has more than 1,850 students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
As the gunfire rang out, students ran through the halls shouting "School shooter!" Some wondered at first if it was a joke or a drill.
Chris Elledge, 15, said his teacher told the class to hide behind weight equipment in the room, where they stayed until police arrived.
"They busted in the room, and they were asking if there was any suspects in the room, if we were OK, and they escorted us out to go out to the front of the building," Elledge said.
Frantic parents used their cellphones to find their children as news of the shooting spread. Sophia Marks' mother, Sara Marks, said she has two other children who also go to the school.
"When you have no idea what's going on and the children are texting you that they're hiding under a desk and bullets are hitting their window, or things are hitting their window, it's a horrible feeling," she said.
Three hospitals reported treating eight people in connection with the attack, including two who were listed in serious condition. At least four others were released by Tuesday night.
Fernando Montoya told television station KMGH that his 17-year-old son was shot three times but was expected to make a full recovery.
"Thank God he is fine," Montoya said. "Even though he got shot, he's OK. He's going to walk out on his feet, so I'm glad. We're so lucky."
AP writer Nicholas Riccardi contributed to this report.
