One person was killed and two others were in a critical condition after they were shot at a Colorado school, police have said.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said a gunman opened fire just after noon local time at Evergreen High School, located 28 miles southwest of Denver.
Jacki Kelley, a spokeswoman for the office, said three people were taken to hospital including the gunman. A fourth juvenile who did not attend the school was also taken to hospital.
According to local media, the shooter was another student, and they were also wounded amid the chaos. It’s unclear whether they were shot or injured in another way. Kelley said police did not fire any rounds.
Several students caught up in the horror opened up about what they experienced in the hours following the shooting.
Evergreen High ninth grader Cameron Jones said he was eating lunch outside when he heard three gunshots. A security guard then told him to run.
He said how he never believed a shooting would happen in Evergreen, which is in a quiet, leafy south-west suburb of Denver.
‘I thought this was like a one-in-a-million thing, and it still feels surreal that it happened,’ Jones told Colorado Public Radio.
Three people are in a critical condition after they were shot at a Colorado school, police said. JeffCo emergency communications said there were reports of ‘an active assailant in the area’ at 12.40pm MST. The sheriff later said that ‘three people were transported to the hospital’
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said a gunman opened fire at Evergreen High School, located 28 miles southwest of Denver, just after noon local time. Photographs showed by police show several officers and sheriffs running towards the school wearing bulletproof vests
JeffCo emergency communications said there were reports of ‘an active assailant in the area of Evergreen High School’ at 12.40pm MST. ‘If you have children who attend the school, please do not go directly to the school as it is still an active scene,’ they wrote on X
Meanwhile, parents gathered outside a nearby elementary school waiting to reunite with their children.
Parent Wendy Nueman said her daughter didn´t answer her phone right away after the shooting. When the 15-year-old finally called back, it was from a borrowed phone.
‘She just said she was OK. She couldn´t hardly speak,’ Nueman told The Denver Post, holding back tears. She gathered that her daughter had run away from the school.
‘It’s super scary,’ she said. ‘We feel like we live in a little bubble here. Obviously, no one is immune.’
Police have not disclosed any information about the identity of the gunman. Kelley said they used a handgun to launch the attack.
‘This incident occurred on school property but potentially outside of the school,’ she told a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. ‘We have a lot of kids that heard it, saw it, indicated that they were shot at, so we have a lot of interviews to do.
‘This is the scariest thing that you could ever think that would happen. These parents were really frightened, and so were the kids. Honestly, I don’t know if our suspect is old enough to even drive.’
The Jefferson County Sheriff earlier said that at least two of the victims were students. They did not disclose whether the gunman had been arrested or identified
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said a gunman opened fire at Evergreen High School (pictured from above), 28 miles southwest of Denver, just after noon local time
Photographs showed by police show several officers and sheriffs running towards the school wearing bulletproof vests.
Several emergency vehicles could also be seen lining the streets close to the school.
Later on Wednesday, Jefferson County Sheriff said ‘parent student reunification’ had begun at a nearby elementary school, suggesting the gunman was no longer active.
The Daily Mail has contacted the sheriff’s office for more information.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis said he was praying for the victims.
‘I am closely monitoring the situation at Evergreen High School, and am getting live updates,’ he wrote on X.
‘State Troopers are supporting local law enforcement in responding to this situation.
‘Students should be able to attend school safely and without fear across our state and nation. We are all praying for the victims and the entire community.’
Colorado Governor Jared Polis said he was praying for the victims in a statement on X
Colorado Senator John Hickenlooper said that his office was ‘closely monitoring the shooting at Evergreen High School’.
‘We’re grateful for the ongoing response of law enforcement,’ he wrote on X.
‘Our hearts are with the students, teachers, and families affected. Violence has no place in our communities.’
Senator Michael Bennet said his office was also monitoring the situation, adding that he was ‘horrified’ to hear about the violence.
Evergreen High School is a public school with around 900 students in grades nine through 12.
It is located in Evergreen, a leafy town on the southwest outskirts of Denver.