Littleton schools address shooting reports

The Littleton community wants its own answers about the shooting at Arapahoe High School that took place in December 2013.

This, just days after a report exposed warning signs were missed.          

The report suggests Littleton Public Schools (LPS) obstructed justice by not giving investigators information after the shooting. The school district indicates that was simply a breakdown in communication.

Also, at the post-report meeting on Thursday, LPS superintendent, Brian Ewert, admitted LPS did not follow its own threat assessment process prior to the shooting at Arapahoe High School (AHS).

“Warning signs were missed by those both inside and outside of LPS,” said Ewert. “And we are profoundly sorry that this may have contributed to the loss of two student lives that day."

What remains in question is why the district allegedly stonewalled authorities, muzzled teachers and staff from talking to other district employees and purposely kept information from the public.

"There certainly was miscommunication about who had what information and who needed that information," Ewert said of records and documents not getting to the proper authorities.

As for the lack of public communication, Ewert indicated that was strategic so the district could control misinformation. He also said he didn’t know if he would do anything different in the future.

The reports are also critical of the district for not taking formal disciplinary action against the shooter who had threatened to kill a teacher weeks before the shooting.

"We looked at the threat assessment process and we found many gaps," said one of the researchers.

At the Thursday meeting, some district parents were also still critical of a quote, 'code of silence,' at AHS and ongoing issues surrounding the now completed shooting investigation.