Hundreds of schools closed Wednesday because of a manhunt for a Florida woman “infatuated” with the Columbine shootings. The threat ended with the woman’s apparent suicide, but not all districts may be back to normal Thursday.<doc-sep>Several school districts in Colorado shut down on Wednesday, as authorities continued to search for an armed and “extremely dangerous” woman who made a “credible threat” Tuesday against schools in the Denver area, days before the 20th anniversary of the mass shooting at Columbine High School. Denver Public Schools and Jefferson County Public Schools, which includes Columbine High, are among those closed Wednesday. Authorities are searching for Sol Pais, an 18-year-old woman who traveled to Colorado from Miami on Monday night, obtained a pump-action shotgun and ammunition, and “made threats in the Denver metropolitan area,” the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post on Tuesday. “She has made some concerning comments in the past. She has expressed an infatuation with Columbine and the events, the shooting there that happened tragically 20 years ago. And because of that, we were concerned and we started looking into her actions once she got here,” Denver FBI Chief Dean Phillips said during a press conference Tuesday. “Because of her comments and actions, because of her travel here to the state, because of her procurement of a weapon immediately upon arriving here, we consider her to be a credible threat certainly to the community and potentially to schools.” Authorities said Pais was last seen Tuesday near the foothills of Jefferson County, west of Denver, and they said there was no specific threat to any particular school. “This has become a massive manhunt,” Phillips said. Schools districts across the Denver metro area were placed on lockout Tuesday due to the threat. The Denver Post reported that over 20 schools were affected. Under lockout procedure, students are gathered inside of their school in order to protect them from a threat that is believed to be outside the building. Some schools released their students after additional security was called in and canceled evening activities or moved them inside. Twelve students and one teacher were killed at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999 by a pair of students, who also wounded 24 others before killing themselves. The massacre was the deadliest school shooting in American history at the time. It has been followed by many others, including some that are believed to have been copycat attacks. In the years since the massacre, the shooting has become a grim obsession for people known as “Columbiners,” and the school continues to receive threats. “We take these threats seriously. It’s certainly not the first threat that we’ve had that involves Columbine High School or references it,” Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Shrader said Tuesday. “I know that this opens a wound, especially on an anniversary week, for those families who were most deeply impacted by this.” Hours before the threat emerged on Tuesday, 2020 presidential candidate and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper met with survivors of mass shootings and victims’ family members to commemorate the anniversary of the tragedy. Get The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. Please enter a valid email address. * The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. Please attempt to sign up again. Sign Up Now An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. Please try again later. Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thank you! For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder. Write to Katie Reilly at Katie.Reilly@time.com.<doc-sep>
Multiple Denver-area school districts have canceled classes for Wednesday after a Miami woman “infatuated” with the 1999 Columbine massacre made threats and traveled to Colorado where she bought firearms earlier this week, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI. Sol Pais, 18, who has a history of making “concerning” comments, arrived in Colorado from Miami early Monday and bought a pump action shotgun and ammunition, the FBI told reporters Tuesday evening. The FBI’s Miami office had reportedly alerted its Denver counterpart after learning of the potential threat. After consulting with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, Denver Public Schools, Douglas County School District, 27J Schools, Adams 12 Five Star, Aurora Public Schools, Englewood Schools, Jefferson County Schools and Cherry Creek Schools decided to cancel classes for Wednesday, the Denver Channel reported. Authorities said Pais was last seen in the foothills of Denver and remains at large. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is currently leading multiple agencies in a massive manhunt. While no warrant has been issued for her arrest, the FBI said that district attorneys and the U.S. attorney’s office are discussing appropriate charges. FLORIDA SCHOOL SHOOTING SUSPECT NIKOLAS CRUZ'S CRYPTIC LOVE LETTERS FROM JAIL TO UK WOMAN REVEALED The FBI's Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force issued a notice Tuesday describing Pais as "infatuated with (the) Columbine school shooting." The alert said police who come into contact with her should detain her and evaluate her mental health. More than 20 schools -- including Columbine -- were put on lockouts Tuesday, meaning classes were conducted as usual, but entry and exits were heavily restricted for nearly three hours. GET THE FOX NEWS APP Authorities said Pais hasn't singled out a particular school but has an "infatuation" with Columbine and the Columbine shooters. The threat comes just days ahead of the massacre's 20th anniversary. The Associated Press contributed to this report. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.