One student is dead and seven others are injured after two classmates opened fire at Denver high school before being tackled by police, as yet another community is devastated by campus shooting
- Shots were fired at STEM School Highlands Ranch at 1.53pm local time Tuesday
- Two shooters, one adult male and one juvenile male, were taken into custody
- Police said they believe the gunmen were both students at the school
- Eight students, all 15 or older, were hospitalized, some in critical condition
- Law enforcement sources claimed that one of the victims had died hours later
One student is dead and seven others are injured after two classmates, one adult male and one juvenile, opened fire at a school in Denver, Colorado.
Gunfire erupted at STEM School Highlands Ranch on Tuesday afternoon at 1.53pm local time.
Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said shots were fired in two separate locations in the high school section of the campus, which serves grades kindergarten through 12th.
Administrators reported the gunfire immediately and deputies arrived on the scene within two minutes.
Spurlock said officers engaged the suspects and there was a struggle to bring them down. Neither suspect was injured in the confrontation.
Spurlock declined to identify the suspected shooters but said they are both believed to be students at the school.
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A teacher embraces young students in a parking lot near the STEM School Highlands Ranch in Colorado on Tuesday after a shooter opened fire, injuring at least eight people
A massive police presence descended on the school minutes after shots were fired at 1.53pm
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office tweeted that two suspected gunmen were in custody and seven to eight students had been injured
Multiple law enforcement sources told The Denver Channel that one of the eight victims had died about two hours after the shooting.
Local media outlets previously reported that five victims were taken to Littleton Adventist hospital, where four are in serious condition and one is in fair condition.
Another two patients, both juveniles, were reportedly transported to Sky Ridge hospital where they are both in stable condition.
An eighth victim is said to be in good condition at Children's Colorado hospital.
Spurlock declined to identify any of the students by name but said they were all aged 15 or older.
He said the families of seven victims were in contact with authorities, who have yet to make contact with the eighth victim.
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Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock would not identify the names of the suspects as the investigation is ongoing but said they are both believed to be students at the school
Local media outlets reported that eight victims were injured in the shooting
Elementary school children were seen walking out of the school with their hands in the air as authorities started evacuating the scene.
Frantic parents have told how their children sent them texts and called them to tell them that shots had been fired.
The more than 1,800 students who attend the STEM school are being connected with their parents at reunification centers.
There was no school resource officer at the scene when the suspects opened fire.
Witnesses say one victim was seen being carried out by a cop on their shoulder. Another was seen being taken out on a stretcher, according to a witness.
Elementary school children were seen walking out of the building holding hands
An air ambulance is shown arriving at the scene of an active shooting at the STEM school in Highlands Ranch on Tuesday
Hundreds of people took to Twitter after news of the shooting broke to express their horror that yet another American school had been targeted.
The so-called #stemshooting is the 43rd incident of gunfire reported on a school campus so far in 2019 and the 116th mass shooting overall this year.
The STEM campus is located just seven miles from Columbine High School, where 13 people were killed and more than 20 were injured on April 20, 1999 - just over 20 years ago.
One student at a nearby high school tweeted: 'Being a student in Colorado is terrifying. Threats, secure permitters, lockdowns, missing school because of credible threats, and now another school shooting. I'm tired. What is the government doing to help us? My death is inevitable. Please talk about this.'
Another user tweeted: '20 years later, 7 miles from Columbine, and 0 actions taken in Washington to protect kids from gun violence.'
