EVERGREEN, Colo. — The actions of teachers and students inside Evergreen High School “saved lives” as a chaotic shooting scene unfolded there Wednesday, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said during a news briefing in which officials provided more insight into what happened a day after the shooting occurred.
Two students remain in critical condition as of Thursday afternoon. The shooter, a 16-year-old student who may have been “radicalized by some extremist network,” died hours after turning the gun on himself.
A motive for the shooting remained unclear 24 hours into the tragedy, which a sheriff’s office spokeswoman said could have been a lot worse without the quick thinking of people at the school.
“Lots and lots of kids and teachers locked down in those rooms, did what they were supposed to do, and we know that it saved lives,” Jacki Kelley, a public information officer with the sheriff’s office, said Thursday. “They're heroes.”
Kelley then went on to describe more details as to the chaos that was unfolding at the time of the shooting.
“The suspect had a handgun. He had to keep reloading. He would fire and reload, fire and reload, fire and reload,” Kelley said. “This went on and on and as he did that, he tried to find new targets. He came up on a roadblock on many of those doors. He couldn’t get to those kids.”
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Evergreen High shooter, 16, had been 'radicalized,' JCSO says
Kelley added that the gun used by the shooter was a revolver but she was unsure as to the weapon’s caliber. She was also unsure whether the shooting was targeted or random.
“Based on what I’m telling you about firing and reloading and firing and reloading – it seems like it could be a bit of both,” she said.
One of the victims was hospitalized at CommonSpirit St. Anthony Hospital and the other at a different facility. Kelley said earlier reports indicating that one student had left the hospital was incorrect. She also said the families of the students were expected to release a photo and a statement to the public at some point on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Denver7 Investigates confirmed through top sources the identity of the shooter as 16-year-old Desmond Holly, which was corroborated during Thursday’s press briefing.
Kelley added that law enforcement had been in contact with Holly’s family, describing the shooter’s family as “cooperative.”
“We have not run into a roadblock with this family,” Kelley said.
The first calls poured into 911 at around 12:24 p.m. Wednesday and deputies with the Jeffco Sheriff’s Office arrived on scene within 2 minutes. Deputies then “made contact” with the shooter within 5 minutes of arriving at the school.
Kelley said one of the student victims was shot outside while trying to flee and the other was injured inside the high school. All of the shooter’s movements were captured on the school’s internal surveillance system.“
"There are cameras inside of the school, which is very powerful and important for us in our investigations,” said Kelley.
Asked if Evergreen High School had a school resource office (SRO) on duty at the time of the shooting, Kelley said that while the school has a full-time SRO, that person was on medical leave.
“We have a couple of part-time SROs that share this school right now. There was no one from the SRO unit at the school when the shooting started,” said Kelley, who added that the part-time SROs are also Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputies.
The part-time SRO on duty Wednesday was dispatched outside to respond to an accident, said Kelley, calling it “horrible timing.”
She added there was no information to believe that the shooter was waiting until the SRO left to begin the attack.
On Wednesday, there were initial reports of a possible fourth victim, but the sheriff’s office confirmed during Thursday’s briefing that there were only two victims along with the shooter. All rode to Evergreen High School on the bus. It was unclear how the shooter secured the weapon during the morning hours before the rampage started.
Law enforcement continued to process the scene on Thursday and began allowing students limited access to retrieve vehicles from the high school’s parking lot.
Students and parents looking to retrieve vehicles from the high school’s west parking lot can go to Bergen Meadow Elementary School until 4:45 p.m. Thursday.
“Head over there with your keys. We'll bus you here, escort you to your vehicle and get you out of here,” said Kelley. “There'll be another push later on for the other side of the school.”
The sheriff’s office said students and parents must have a key to their vehicles and would not be allowed to enter the high school.
As for personal items left inside Evergreen High School, it’s unclear when students would be able to access the building, but that could happen as early as this weekend.
“They'll also need to get these kids and these teachers back in the classroom, to get their books, to get their cell phones, to get their purses and all the stuff that got left behind as a result of the shooting,” said Kelley. “There'll be an opportunity for us to get the school open for those that need to get in there to get their personal property.”
The enormity of the crime scene also came into focus during Thursday’s press briefing.
“The suspect's gun was fired a lot there,” Kelley said. “The reason we have so many crime scene areas inside is because we have windows shot out. We have lockers that were shot up. We're finding spent rounds, unspent rounds.”
Kelley said Evergreen High School will remain closed this week, and it was unclear when the campus might reopen.
“Maybe next week. We have a lot of work to do and probably a few things that they'd like to do aesthetically, to make that just a more healthy environment for the kids and the teachers,” said Kelley.
As investigators dig into the shooter’s background, actions and possible motivations, Kelley said a main focus remains on helping students, staff and parents get through this difficult period.
“We will do what we can as a community to heal from this. It really sucks that we're here again,” said Kelley. “We've had our fair share of school shootings in Jeffco, but we are going to do everything, everything that we can to help these kids heal, to help the peach, the teachers and the parents get back to life. And that's a lot of that is just going to take time, but the resources are available, and we are encouraging everyone to use them.”
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