A lawsuit brought against Denver Public Schools by one of the administrators injured in the 2023 East High shooting can proceed, a federal judge ruled, saying Eric Sinclair has shown district officials “seem to have knowingly opened the door for a mass shooting and/or outbreak of gun violence” at the school.
“DPS appears to have exhibited a shocking disregard for the risk (the student) posed to an entire school full of children, faculty and staff — as well as to himself,” U.S. District Judge Gordon Gallagher wrote in his decision last week.
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Sinclair, a former dean at the school, sued DPS last year after he was injured in the March 22, 2023, shooting at East High. A student, Austin Lyle, shot Sinclair and another administrator, Wayne Mason, before fleeing and later dying by suicide.
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DPS said in a statement Thursday that the judge’s order “does not mean the court found DPS to have violated the law.”
“At this stage in the proceedings, the court must take what the plaintiff has alleged as fact and make a decision accordingly,” the district said. “DPS has not had the opportunity to present its own facts and evidence. Denver Public Schools is confident that the evidence will demonstrate that its actions in this case were consistent with legal requirements and looks forward to the opportunity to present its arguments in court in the near future.”
Read the full story from our media partners at The Denver Post.
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