A “radicalized” 16-year-old student at Evergreen High School in Jefferson County, Colorado, critically injured two classmates as he continued to fire and reload his handgun Wednesday afternoon, police say.
It was 12:24 p.m. local time when police received their first call about the shooting. Some students had been at lunch when gunfire rang out.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspected shooter as Desmond Holly.
“He had to keep reloading. He would fire and reload. Fire and reload. Fire and reload,” Public Information Officer Jacki Kelley told reporters Thursday. “And as he did that, he tried to find new targets.”
Kelley said he was “radicalized by some extremist network” but didn’t give any more details beyond that.
A lot of students ran from the bullets fired out of Holly’s revolver, while others locked down inside the school, according to police.
It’s unclear at this point how many rounds were fired, but Kelley said the shooter brought “quite a bit” of ammunition with him and he fired the gun “a lot.”
Kelley painted an image of the scene inside the school: “Broken windows, lockers that have sustained gunshots.”
One student was shot inside the school and another was shot behind the school as the violence spilled into the neighborhood.
Holly, along with the two injured students, was taken to the hospital Wednesday. He died from “self-inflicted injuries,” the sheriff’s office announced Wednesday night.
Police have identified one of the injured victims as 18-year-old Matthew Silverstone.
His family said in a statement: “The family appreciates the community’s concern and support, but as we remain focused on our loved one’s recovery, we respectfully request privacy as we continue to heal and navigate the road ahead.”
Police previously talked about a fourth young person who was injured, but Kelley said Thursday, “We don’t think that that’s true anymore.”
Now the Jefferson County community is left picking up the pieces of the tragic day as police try to figure out what exactly happened and why.
“We can’t say yet whether this feels more targeted or more random,” Kelley said. “But based on what I’m telling you about firing and reloading and firing and reloading, it seems like it could be a bit of both.”
Kelley said the shooter tried to gain access to locked-down areas, adding he appeared to be “on a mission.”
“I have to believe when you bring a gun to school and you continue to fire and reload and fire and reload that you are on a mission, and we are grateful that he was less successful, but we’re devastated that he was successful at all,” she said.
FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement on X Thursday, “Our @FBIDenver team continues to work with our partners regarding the investigation of the shooting at Evergreen High School yesterday afternoon in Colorado.
“We have deployed our evidence response team and other specialty resources as part of our response to this incident.”
Patel added, “Most importantly, our thoughts continue to be with the two victims injured in the shooting and all those who have been impacted by this horrific attack. We will share more as we are able.”
Warrants have been issued for the shooter’s home, phone and locker, Kelley said, adding officers found “valuable information” at his house.
The shooter’s parents have been cooperative in the investigation, according to police. Authorities have not revealed how the 16-year-old was able to access the gun or ammunition.
A school resource officer was not Evergreen High School during the shooting as they were attending to another situation. Kelley said the officer did not break policy.
“It really sucks that we’re here again. We’ve had our fair share of school shootings,” Kelley said.
Jefferson County is also where the Columbine school shooting occurred in 1999, which saw 12 students and one teacher killed. Another student, who was paralyzed from the waist down in the shooting, died in February, and the coroner ruled her death a homicide, per The New York Times.
