EVERGREEN, Colo. — The shooter at Evergreen High School, a 16-year-old student at the school, had been radicalized and came to the school with "quite a bit of ammunition," Jefferson County authorities said on Thursday morning.
The shooter, who had shot two of his peers before turning the gun on himself, was identified as Desmond Holly by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO). Holly died on Wednesday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, JCSO said.
Denver7 Investigates' Chief Tony Kovaleski learned from two high-ranking sources that the shooter had been identified as Holly, and he was the first to report this earlier on Thursday morning.
Two other students were transported to a hospital following the shooting. One of them is still at CommonSpirit St. Anthony Hospital and is in critical condition. The other was taken to another facility and is expected to recover. Security is present at both hospitals. Authorities said they initially thought a fourth person may have been injured in connection with the shooting, but no longer believe that is the case.
During a press conference on Thursday morning, Jacki Kelley, public information officer with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, praised the Evergreen High School community for their quick thinking.
“The students and the staff at the school were amazing. They did their job," she said. "They did it well. And lives were saved yesterday because of the actions they took during their lockdown drill... I do know that he tried to gain access to areas that were locked down and those teachers and those students did their job and took into account what they learned and it kept them safe."
Kelley said that the investigation has revealed that Holly had been "radicalized by some extremist network," though few other details about this were available.
You can watch Thursday's full conference, where Kelley shared a broad timeline of the shooting, an update from the two victims, and more about the shooter, in the video below:
Holly had one revolver of unknown caliber, which he repeatedly reloaded during the incident, Kelley said, adding that he had "quite a bit of ammunition."
“The suspect’s gun was fired a lot," she said. "The reason we have so many crime scenes is because we have windows that were shot up, we have lockers that were shot up. We have spent rounds, unspent rounds. It’s a huge area.”
“This went on and on," she continued, explaining that Holly tried to find new targets. “... He came up against a roadblock on many of those doors. He couldn’t get to those kids. So, there's not enough to be said for the work (of) the teachers, the coaches, the staff, the students. Lots of kids ran. But the ones who didn’t were locked down and cared for. So, really, really proud of those people today.”
Cameras inside the school captured his movements as Holly moved around the school, Kelley said. That will be part of the investigation.
The JCSO is working to learn how Holly obtained the firearm and if the shooting was random or targeted.
Denver7 Investigates was the only crew on-scene as law enforcement searched the Holly family home in a remote, gated community several miles from the high school on Wednesday. We saw nearly a dozen law enforcement vehicles enter the property, and what appeared to be officers taking photos and collecting evidence inside.
Kelley could not say what investigators found at the house, but said on Thursday that "I think they found valuable information for our case.”
Sources also told Denver7 Investigates that law enforcement was looking into Holly’s school locker and personal vehicle Wednesday evening. Kelley said he rode the bus to school on Wednesday morning.
Watch Denver7 Investigates' report below on the search warrant execution at the Holly family home from Wednesday evening:
Denver7 Investigates also uncovered a social media account appearing to belong to Holly's father, which had posted photos of the house that matched photos from where the search warrant was executed.
Jeffco Public School classes are canceled on Thursday. Classes at Evergreen High School are canceled for the rest of the week.
Evergreen High School shooting | Denver7 coverage
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