DENVER — Students across the nation walked out of school on Friday in protest of gun violence and to demand change from lawmakers. While participation wasn't as expected here in Colorado, the important conversation continued.
At East High School, lunchtime looked a little different for a group of students on the South Lawn, who instead chose to have conversations about gun violence instead of taking part in the nationwide walkouts.
The conversations come one day after an East High School student reportedly brought a gun to campus.
In a letter, Principal Terita Walker said a student reported their peer to a staff member, who then relayed that information to the district’s Department of Safety.
Officers entered the classroom where that student was located and escorted him to a private space. The student reportedly resisted, and he was placed in handcuffs. Officers later found a gun in his backpack, according to Walker's letter.
Education
East High School student detained after reports of gun on campus, principal says
Outside the school on Friday, community members also chose to take part in those gun safety discussions.
“So after today, what? What's the ongoing conversation? Is it just sort of business as usual, and we just pray and hope that nothing bad happens, or are we sort of waiting for the inevitable?” said Collinus Newsome.
Newsome is Wayne Mason's sister, one of two deans who was shot by a student at East High School in March 2023.
Austin Lyle, 17, pulled out a weapon and shot and injured Wayne Mason and Eric Sinclair while he was being patted down in the front office. The student died by suicide later that day.
“When Wayne did his press conference here, his first and only, he was very clear that this is going to happen again, because there were all these warning signs,” Newsome told Denver7.
It was one of several shooting incidents that occurred near East High School that year. A month before that, 16-year-old Luis Garcia was shot and killed while in his car outside of the school in February 2023.
“I can't believe we're having these conversations still," Newsome said. "And one thing I think that Wayne and Eric both talked about was that this is going to happen again if we don't figure out a way to solve this problem."
“At this point, I can say that we've either been incredibly lucky or there has been some change, but the event yesterday points out that we've probably been lucky and that we still have a long way to go,” said East High School parent Steve Katsaros, who co-founded the Parent Safety Advocacy Group shortly after the shooting in 2023.
The parents said today's conversation among students could be a catalyst for change.
“I hope that the school and Terita are really going to talk to the kids that assembled later, and to really sort of get their take on what it would mean for the school to take their feedback seriously,” Newsome said.
Denver7 reached out to Denver Public Schools (DPS) to find out more about what happens to the student who brought a gun to school. A spokesperson said the student was automatically suspended for five days, and the district's team is preparing documents for an expulsion hearing.
If the suspension concludes before the hearing, the school can ask to extend it. A third-party hearing officer certified by the State of Colorado will then uphold or deny the request.
By Colorado law, school districts must accept all students who live within the attendance area. This includes students whose expulsion has expired or has been overturned.
The only exception is if a victim involved in the original incident still attends that school. In that case, the expelled student may be prevented from re-enrolling in that school.
If a student is going to return to the school, either because their expulsion time has been served or the expulsion request is overturned by the hearing officer, a meeting is held with the student and family. The student must also agree to certain rules, such as a physical search by DPS patrol officers.
