EVERGREEN, Colo. — A colorful arrangement of flowers is on display at the Wulf Recreation Center, serving as a gesture of appreciation to the staff and people inside who helped shelter Evergreen High School students from the shooting on Sept. 10.
Elias Martinez Jr. is the athletics coordinator for Evergreen Park and Recreation District (EPRD). He, along with other staff members, jumped in to help when they heard the words "active shooter."
Martinez said a total of 74 students came from the high school to shelter inside the center.
"We have staff here standing guard, just in case the worst-case scenario happens," Martinez recalled. "At one point, I run outside because there are some girls hiding in their car, terrified, and I cannot, in all good consciousness, leave them out there. So, I ran outside to go ahead and bring them back into our recreation center. We got a list going of all the students up in the gym, and it was just a lot of very different things that needed to be done."
While everything was unfolding, Martinez said EPRD staff and people inside the rec center, including members of the senior volleyball league, were helping students. It took everyone working together to help ensure everyone was safe and cared for.
"We had a teacher who points out, 'Hey, I have somebody who's been wounded,' and we bring this student in, and we just apply first aid. We do what we can to help this person out and all that," Martinez said. "In the meantime, I mean, it's controlled chaos is basically what it becomes. We're sending students up to our basketball gym or standing by the door to make sure we can bring people inside."
The recreation center has been around for 50 years and was the first building for EPRD. Cory Vander Veen, executive director for EPRD, told Denver7 that they lease the land from the Jeffco Public Schools. He said many students go there to work out or coach younger sports programs.
"A lot of these kids know this facility very well and naturally came right into the facility, and staff started to react appropriately and started to realize the incident as we got locked down as well, being adjacent to the school," Vander Veen said.
According to Vander Veen, all of the EPRD staff are first aid and CPR certified, and are "really well trained and how to respond to emergencies." He said they have practiced lockdowns since they are close to Evergreen High School.
"You don't always know what the situation or scenario is going to be, but the staff did an incredible job," Vander Veen said. "But they do work on trainings and work on how to keep people safe in different capacities."
Sonya Sava is the owner of The Holly Berry in downtown Evergreen. Her freshman son ran to the rec center after hearing gunshots, and she dropped off a floral arrangement at the rec center as a token of appreciation.
"He has a broken ankle that's recovering, so he just got his cast off on Monday, so he had a walking boot and a crutch, so kind of wasn't as fast as he normally would be. But he made it to the stairs, and he was making his way up the stairs when, fortunately, two employees saw him and ran out and helped them to the rec center," Sava said.
The support her son and dozens of other students received is an example of the community looking out for each other. Sava said she wanted the rec center to have bright flowers as a "thank you" and to help "somebody smile."
"Every person will stop when they walk in and just stare at them and have their own moment, or even just appreciation for it," said Vander Veen. "I think that's the little things that we all get to appreciate, and so it's been nice to have that touch."
