A student is at large after shooting two adult staff members at a Denver high school while being patted down, police said Wednesday.

Officers were called around 9:50 a.m. about a shooting at East High School and found two adults with gunshot wounds. The victims, both men, were taken to the hospital. One was in critical condition and the other was stable, Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said at a news conference.

Police are still looking for the suspect, who they identified as Austin Lyle, 17-year-old student who was under a safety plan that required him to be searched at the start of every school day. Lyle is wanted for attempted homicide, police said, and a cash reward is being offered for anyone who sees Lyle or knows his whereabouts. He is associated with a red 2005 Volvo SUV, police said.

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During the search, which officials said took place outside the school building and away from other students, a firearm was located on the student and "several shots were fired," Thomas said. The student then fled the scene.

Police said they know who he is and where he lives, and were executing a search warrant at his residence.

"He obviously is armed and dangerous and willing to use the weapon, as we learned this morning," Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said.

According to Thomas, school officials had not found a gun on the student in previous searches, until today.

Alex Marrero, the superintendent of Denver Public Schools, declined to elaborate as to why the student was put on a safety plan. But he said that students are put on safety plans based on "educational and also behavioral experiences that each individual student may have exhibited in the past."

At the time of the shooting, paramedics were already at the school because of an unrelated incident involving a student who had an allergic reaction, and so they were able to immediately administer treatment to the two adult victims, authorities said.

A spokesperson for the school district declined to comment on the police investigation.

"We are heartbroken by today's events, but we are hopeful that this further highlights the brave voices of our student, parent and faculty advocates in inspiring the genuine change we need for our local and national community," the school district said.

The shooting is the latest in a string of incidents involving gun violence at East High School. In February, Luis Garcia, a 16-year-old student, was shot while in sitting his car near school grounds. He died two weeks later.

His fellow East High students walked out of class to the state Capitol in early March to protest gun violence and advocate for more stringent gun control measures.

Since then, students have been subjected to multiple gun violence–related lockdowns, including on Wednesday.

Ben Roy, a parent to an East High senior, told the Denver Post that it has been "relentless" for students this year.

"It feels like every other week there’s been a perimeter lockdown," Roy said. "It’s just constant."

Marrero, the superintendent, said two armed officers will be assigned to East High until the end of the school year.

The American Public Health Association says gun violence in the US is a public health crisis. It is a leading cause of premature death in the country, responsible for more than 38,000 deaths annually. As of March 22, at least 3,944 people have died from gun violence this year, and another 5,346 have died by suicide, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive.