JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — The parents of the Evergreen High School shooter who injured two of his classmates before turning the gun on himself back in September won’t face any charges in connection with the attack, officials from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday.
The announcement comes after a monthslong investigation by the sheriff’s office to figure out not only what motivated the 16-year-old shooter to attack the school that day, but how he obtained the weapon in the first place.
Deputies said they were unable to speak with the shooter's parents throughout the investigation, which hindered their ability to find out how the shooter gained access to the firearm and their ability to trace the weapon's history.
It was through a letter from the family’s attorney received by the sheriff's office on Jan. 23 that the lead investigator in the case found out the firearm — a Smith & Wesson .38 Special Revolver — was owned by one of the shooter's grandparents and that the gun was “rarely seen or used and stored out of sight." The family's attorney told deputies the shooter “did not have access to the safe, except for brief moments when it was opened by his father.”
A DNA analysis profile of the weapon, which was originally purchased in Florida in 1966, also did not match DNA samples taken from the shooter's parents, deputies said.
“Ultimately, investigators determined there was insufficient evidence to establish probable cause or meet the legal elements required to present the case to the District Attorney for charges,” they wrote in a news release Wednesday.
In a statement later Wednesday, Cindy Mazeika, the PTSA president of Evergreen High School, said the update from Jefferson County deputies "feels like a wound has been reopened."
Their full statement is below:
Following the recent statement from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO), I know many of you are processing a complex mix of emotions. For many in our community, today’s update feels like a wound has been reopened. There are lingering questions regarding the depth of cooperation and the specifics of the investigation that naturally lead to a sense of frustration and a desire for more transparency.
While the PTSA remains a neutral body focused on advocacy and support rather than legal oversight, we hear your concerns regarding transparency. It is our understanding—though not officially detailed in today’s JCSO release—that a separate federal investigation remains ongoing. We share your desire for a complete and transparent picture of the events that have impacted our school.
The shooter fired multiple rounds inside the school before crossing the football field to continue the attack, which lasted more than nine minutes. Two students were critically injured that day — a 14-year-old boy whose name was never released, and 18-year-old Matthew Silverstone.
Federal authorities had been tracking the shooter's online presence for about two months before the attack after they were tipped off by the Anti-Defamation League of his activities, which included visiting forums where users shared videos of killing and extreme violence, mixed in with content on white supremacism and antisemitism.
TikTok accounts tied to the shooter also contained white supremacist symbols, and the name of his most recent account included a reference to a popular white supremacist slogan.
A few days before the shooting at Evergreen High, the 16-year-old gunman posted a TikTok video posing in a similar way to how the suspect in a school shooting in Wisconsin posed before killing two people in December of 2024.
Because the FBI wasn’t able to identify the individual behind those accounts, however, “there was no probable cause for arrest or additional law enforcement action at the federal level,” a spokesperson for the federal agency said in the days following the shooting.
“The JCSO acknowledges that this was not the outcome many in our community hoped for," officials said. "In the wake of this tragic event, we remained fully committed to conducting a thorough and impartial investigation, guided by the facts and the law.”
Jefferson County deputies said the Evergreen Resiliency Center was now open and available "to support the community as healing continues."
The Evergreen Resiliency Center is located at 5120 CO Rd 73 in Evergreen. The center is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.
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