Send this page to someone via email One student has died and seven have been injured following a shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch, a charter school with students in every grade between kindergarten and Grade 12 that’s located near Denver, reports said Tuesday. There are two people in custody – one adult, one juvenile. The adult suspect was identified as 18-year-old Devon Erickson, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department tweeted on Tuesday night. #stemshooting Adult suspect has been identified as Devon Erickson, age 18. We will not be releasing any photos at this time as it could jeopardize this critical on-going invest. We still have interviews to conduct and we want to make sure we have the most accurate information — DC Sheriff (@dcsheriff) May 8, 2019 Story continues below advertisement Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said earlier that the suspects engaged students in two locations, and a number of students were subsequently shot and injured. The school notified police about the incident “almost immediately” after the first shots were fired, he said. WATCH: At least 7 injured in shooting at school in Colorado, 2 suspects in custody 7:02 At least 7 injured in shooting at school in Colorado, 2 suspects in custody At least 7 injured in shooting at school in Colorado, 2 suspects in custody – May 7, 2019 Several victims are in critical condition and police are working to unify family members with the students. READ MORE: Columbine school shooting – family, friends pay tribute to victims on 20th anniversary Most victims are believed to have been reunited with their families but police know of one other student who hasn’t been yet. Story continues below advertisement The suspects were not injured in the shooting. “We are going to do everything to investigate this to determine what happened,” Spurlock said. Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We are going to do everything to investigate this to determine what happened," Spurlock said. It’s not clear whether anyone in particular at the school was targeted. Police are investigating whether there was an exchange of gunfire between the suspects and sheriff’s deputies. All of the shooting victims are aged 15 and up, but Spurlock had no more information to identify them. Some victims have gone into surgery, while others are in stable condition at other hospitals. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the shooting at around 4:15 p.m. ET. STEM school incident: still getting info, believe 2 injured. Please find other routes. Media staging now on south side of AMC! — DC Sheriff (@dcsheriff) May 7, 2019 The sheriff’s office subsequently told parents to go to the Northridge Rec Center to pick up their children. Police initially said there were seven confirmed injuries, possibly eight. WATCH: Police in Colorado say multiple students injured, 2 shooters in custody 3:27 Police in Colorado say multiple students injured, 2 shooters in custody Police in Colorado say multiple students injured, 2 shooters in custody – May 7, 2019 The FBI’s crime scene unit will handle what happened in the school’s interior during the shooting. Story continues below advertisement Members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are also assisting. #BREAKING UPDATE: Littleton Adventist Hospital confirmed they have victims from the #stemshooting in Highlands Ranch. SkyRidge also says they have two victims in stable condition. https://t.co/zaLM5QID4H — CBSDenver (@CBSDenver) May 7, 2019 CBS Denver reported that Littleton Adventist hospital had victims from the shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch. Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree, Co., meanwhile, had two victims in stable condition, the network added. READ MORE: Alberta remembers Taber school shooting 20 years later Children’s Hospital Colorado, which is located in Aurora, is treating another patient who was hurt in the shooting, KDVR reported. One student told KUSA-TV he was left “a bit shaky” and “scared” following the shooting, but he was “glad I didn’t get hurt.” With files from Reuters<doc-sep>HIGHLANDS RANCH — Two students attending the STEM School Highlands Ranch brought at least one handgun into the school Tuesday afternoon and turned the weapon on their classmates, killing one 18-year-old male and injuring eight other students. It was the fourth school shooting in Colorado since the Columbine High School massacre 20 years ago. The male suspects, one adult and one juvenile, were taken into custody by Douglas County sheriff’s deputies within two minutes of a 1:53 p.m. report of shots fired, Sheriff Tony Spurlock said. Sheriff’s officials late Tuesday identified the adult suspect as Devon Erickson, 18. The names of the victims and the juvenile suspect were not released. “We know that two individuals walked into the STEM School, got deep inside the school and engaged students in two separate locations,” Spurlock said. “There were a number of students that were shot and injured.” At least four of the victims been treated and released from hospitals by Tuesday evening. STEM School Highlands Ranch will be closed the rest of the week, Douglas County School District officials announced Tuesday night. When reports of the shooting surfaced, worried parents raced to the school to search for their children. They were redirected to a nearby recreation center to wait to be reunited. The shooting renewed calls for more gun control and tighter school security as a community, fatigued from violence inside schools, reeled at the news. Politicians from the White House to the Denver mayor’s office sent condolences, and Denver’s professional sports teams who had games Tuesday night held a moment of silence. The STEM School, which has 1,850 students in kindergarten through 12th grade, was put on lockdown until police cleared the school room by room. Other Highlands Ranch schools were placed on lockout. The school has private security but does not have a school resource officer. The suspects had at least one handgun, but Spurlock said he did not know how many or what types of other weapons they used. Undersheriff Holly Nicholson-Kluth told reporters at a news conference that the first deputies to arrive found some sort of struggle and then took the suspects into custody. Spurlock also said the deputies struggled with the suspects. The suspects were not hurt, Spurlock said. The two male students accused in the shooting were not on any type of law enforcement watch list, the sheriff said. He said he would not talk about any possible motives or methods they used in the attack. RELATED: How to talk to children after STEM School shooting in Highlands Ranch The FBI is assisting in the investigation, and the Colorado State Patrol also was called to help, the sheriff said. The 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office was applying for search warrants for the suspects’ homes and cars. Police could be seen outside the Erickson family’s home on Mountain Maple Avenue in Highlands Ranch on Tuesday night. The house itself was cordoned off with police tape and investigators could be seen inside. Authorities eventually towed a white Honda sedan from the property. A pentagram with the numbers “666” could be seen on the hood of the car, as well as the phrase “(expletive) society” on the passenger-side door. “It was so scary” Diego Palmer, 13, said he was in study hall in the cafeteria when several students bolted through the door yelling, “School shooting! School shooting! Get out now!” He wasn’t sure if it was real but didn’t take any chances, running outside with other students to a nearby brewery where his mother picked him up. “It was so scary,” he said. People headed toward Highlands Ranch Rec Center, where parents have been told to stage. Helicopter overhead. @denverpost pic.twitter.com/ebOUtHgzkq — Elise Schmelzer (@EliseSchmelzer) May 7, 2019 The injured were taken to area hospitals. Littleton Adventist Hospital said it received five patients, and three were treated and released. SkyRidge Medical Center confirmed it had two patients, who did not have life-threatening injuries, according to a spokeswoman. Children’s Hospital Colorado had another patient, who was treated and released. Parents first went to the school and then were directed to Northridge Recreation Center, where they were organized by alphabet to be reunited with their children. At the center, parents focused on their cell phones as they waited to hear from their children or to catch updates from law enforcement and the media. Preeti Grover received three frightening texts from her 12-year-old son Vivaan Kalura at 1:59 p.m. “THERE IS A SHOOTING AT SHOOL.” “IM FING SCARED.” “TWO KIDS HAVE BEEN SHOT.” At first she thought he was talking about another school. But the messages continued. “IM CRYING. I SWEAR TO GOD THIS IS NO JOKE.” Vivaan had been inside his math classroom when he heard a loud thud. And then two gunshots, in what seemed like the next classroom over. His teacher huddled the students under tables in the back of the classroom. The teacher told them to stay calm, he said. Soon police escorted the children from the classrooms. Vivaan said they were told to keep their hands on their heads. They walked past pools of blood in the hallway, he said. Grover raced to the school — her 8-year-old son was also there. The 8 minutes were an eternity, she said. Waiting for their children She then joined the hundreds of parents who packed into the Northridge Recreation Center on Tuesday afternoon to wait for their children. They typed text messages on their phones, made phone calls and refreshed news websites looking for details. Some cried into the shoulders of friends. Others cried alone. Glass-walled racquetball courts served as playrooms for the kids too young to be in school who waited with their parents. A state trooper slowly released parents to meet their children in separate rooms. The youngest — who were 5 years old — were released first. “I’m just trying not to vomit or cry,” one mother said, who asked that her name not be used. Her son had been able to text her, but she was waiting to see him again. Some parents went to the school first.<doc-sep>HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. – The Latest on a school shooting in suburban Denver (all times local): 9:40 p.m. Authorities have released the name of an 18-year-old student accused of opening fire with a classmate inside a charter school in an affluent suburb of Denver, killing a teenager and wounding eight others. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office confirmed late Tuesday that Devon Erickson was taken into custody after the shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch. The other suspect is a juvenile whose name has not been released. Sheriff Tony Spurlock says the gunmen were both students at the school and that he had no information about whether anyone was targeted. At least a handgun was recovered, but Spurlock didn’t release additional information about other weapons. The public charter school has more than 1,850 students in kindergarten through 12th grades. Parents gather to pray at a recreation center where students were reunited with their parents after a shooting at a suburban Denver school Tuesday, May 7, 2019, in Highlands Ranch, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) ___ 9:20 p.m. A Colorado man says his 17-year-old son was shot three times at a suburban Denver school but is expected to make a full recovery. Fernando Montoya told KMGH-TV his son said one of the shooters pulled a gun from a guitar case and began firing in a classroom. Montoya says his son doesn’t believe he was targeted. “Thank God he is fine,” Montoya said. “Even though he got shot, he’s OK. He’s going to walk out on his feet, so I’m glad. We’re so lucky.” ___ 7 p.m. Authorities say an 18-year-old male student was killed in a shooting at a suburban Denver school. The Douglas County sheriff’s office confirmed the death in a tweet Tuesday but didn’t identify the student killed in the shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch. The death appears to be separate from the eight people who were treated at hospitals. Two students are listed in serious condition, two are listed as stable with injuries that are not life-threatening, one is in good condition and three have been released. Authorities have taken two students into custody after the shooting in the affluent community of Highlands Ranch near where two students shot and killed 13 people at Columbine High School 20 years ago. ___ 6:20 p.m. The White House says its prayers are with those affected by a shooting at a suburban Denver school. Eight people were injured in Tuesday’s shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch, and two students were taken into custody. White House spokesman Judd Deere says President Donald Trump has been briefed on the shooting and that the White House has been in touch with state and local officials.The White House also thanked law enforcement officials and first responders for their “heroism.” Deere noted that the shooting took place not far from Columbine High School, which recently marked the 20th anniversary of a shooting that killed 13 people. ___ 5 p.m. Authorities say eight students were injured in a shooting a suburban Denver school, and several are in critical condition. Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said at a news conference Tuesday that two shooters walked into the school and opened fire on students in two classrooms. He said a number of students were shot and wounded. The victims are all 15 and older. Spurlock says the gunmen were both students at STEM School Highlands Ranch and that he had no information about whether anyone was targeted. The sheriff says the shooters are in custody, believed to be a man and a minor boy. Parents hug as they wait for the arrival of their children at the recreation center where the students were reunited with their parents Tuesday, May 7, 2019, in Highlands Ranch, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) ___ 4:10 p.m. School buses are delivering young children to a recreation center to be reunited with their parents after a shooting at a suburban Denver middle school injured at least seven people. Some children were crying and others held hands with schoolmates as police officers, sheriff’s deputies and school administrators helped them off the buses in a light rain Tuesday. Eleven buses carrying children pulled up to the center in a matter of minutes. An ambulance also arrived and dropped off a half-dozen children. None appeared to be physically wounded, but some were crying. Parents also were streaming into the center, but no reunions with their children occurred outside in public view. A man who appeared to be a pastor was walking among small groups of parents, praying with them. ___ 3:40 p.m. Authorities say at least seven people have been injured in a shooting at a suburban Denver school. Douglas County Undersheriff Holly Nicholson-Kluth said Tuesday that two suspects have been taken into custody in the shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch. She says there’s a possible eighth injury and doesn’t believe there are any other shooters, but tactical teams are still searching room by room. Nicholson-Kluth didn’t know if there are fatalities or other details about the victims or the extent of their injuries. She said the shooting started in the middle school area and shots were being fired as officers arrived. The school is near a sheriff’s department substation, and authorities responded quickly. Students were being bused to a nearby recreational center to reunite with their families. Students exit an ambulance at a recreation center for students to get reunited with their parents after a shooting at a suburban Denver middle school Tuesday, May 7, 2019, in Highlands Ranch, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) ___ 3:10 p.m. Authorities say two suspects are in custody following a shooting at a suburban Denver school that injured multiple students. A Douglas County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman told reporters Tuesday that there could be a third suspect in the school, which is still being searched. Lines of firetrucks, ambulances and law enforcement vehicles are at the scene, and medical helicopters have landed. The shooting occurred at STEM School Highlands Ranch, a public charter school with more than 1,850 students in kindergarten through 12th grades.<doc-sep>Sheriff Spurlock said neither suspect had been on law enforcement’s radar before the shooting and that the motive was unknown. The sheriff said the injured students were age 15 or older. Students who were not injured were taken to Northridge Recreation Center in Highlands Ranch, where hundreds of anxious parents gathered to look for their children on Tuesday afternoon. “I heard a gunshot,” said Makai Dixon, 8, a second grader who had been training for this moment, with active shooter drills and lockdowns, since he was in kindergarten. “I’d never heard it before.” Makai’s parents said they joined thousands of others in rushing to the school as news blazed through this suburban community. “We’re more messed up than they are,” Makai’s mother, Rocio, said as they walked to their car. The shooting at the Highlands Ranch charter school is the latest at an educational institution, rattling communities nationwide because young people have been put in mortal danger in places long considered safe havens. One week earlier, a man with a pistol shot six people on the last day of spring classes at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, killing two.<doc-sep>
One person died after two suspected student shooters opened fire at a STEM school in the Denver suburb of Highlands Ranch. Eight others were injured and both suspects are in custody, officials said. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said it responded to the STEM School Highlands Ranch just before 2 p.m. Tuesday when a school administrator called dispatch to report shots fired. Authorities believe the suspects used a handgun. "Two individuals walked into the STEM school, got deep inside the school and engaged students in two separate locations," Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said. The sheriff's department confirmed that one student, an 18-year-old male, was killed in the shooting. The father of Kendrick Castillo told NBC News that his son was the student killed, but the family declined to be interviewed Tuesday night. The adult suspect was identified by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday night as Devon Erickson, 18. Authorities identified a second suspect as a juvenile female, but a public defender clarified that the juvenile prefers to use male pronouns. NBC News is not identifying the underage suspect, who has not yet been charged. Devon Erickson, a suspect in the shooting at a STEM School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. via Facebook Spurlock said that several of the people who were injured are in critical condition and some were in surgery. At least three of the injured have since been released from an area hospital Tuesday evening. The shooting occurred in the middle school and officers heard shots as they were entering the school, officials said earlier in the day. “The only thing that we know of right now from one interview is that we have a handgun. Other than that I cannot tell you of other weapons,”Spurlock said. Authorities secured a suspect's vehicle and were seeking warrants to search the car as well as the suspects' homes. Multiple agencies, including the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, responded to the scene to assist. The White House said in a statement that it was in contact with law enforcement and that President Donald Trump was monitoring the situation. "Our prayers are with the victims, family members, and all those affected by today’s shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch in Littleton, Colorado," the statement said. "Tragically, this community and those surrounding it know all too well these hateful and horrible acts of violence." Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics Students at the public charter school for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics were being evacuated. STEM School Highlands Ranch has 1,850 students — 550 elementary age students, 700 in middle school and 600 high school students, according to the district. Kendrick Castillo was fatally shot at a STEM School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. John Castillo / via Facebook Rocco DeChalk, who lives blocks from the school, heard a stampede of students running past his house. “I saw all of them running, so I thought it was a gym class at first,” he said. “But then I saw there were so many of them.” After going outside, he saw a teenage boy shot in the back and sitting by a mailbox two doors down. The boy was with a teacher and a friend, who had been applying pressure to a bullet wound. They called 911 and the dispatcher told them to take cover, so they helped the young victim into DeChalk’s kitchen. The man eventually flagged a passing policeman who then caught the attention of an ambulance, which rushed the youngster away. All the while, the boy remained conscious. “He made a comment, 'Oh, I’m starting to feel it now,'" DeChalk said referring to the pain. “I told him that was probably the adrenaline kicking in and he was going into shock.” Nyki Giasolli said her daughter, Kamananui, was in the classroom when a shooting happened. Giasolli said she was told by her daughter that people came in shooting. “She said that two of her classmates took the shooters down, and she was able to escape,” Giasolli told KUSA. "She just said there were people shot; that’s all I know.” Her daughter, who is a senior, and her son, Kupono, a freshman, are both safe. “She called me, and she was hysterical and she told me that there had been a shooting,” Giasolli said. Giasolli said her daughter said the shooters were students.