246webagency
A male student who was being patted down in a routine safety check shot two faculty members at a Denver high school early Wednesday morning, police and school officials said.
The suspected shooter was at large and known to police, and the weapon was not found at the school, Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said in a press conference.
The two school administrators were taken to a hospital, Thomas said. One was in serious but stable condition, and the other was in surgery in critical condition, he said.
“Certainly it is a concern that we have an individual who is not in our custody at this time, who is armed with a weapon,” Thomas said, adding, “We don’t have any sense of where he is.”
The student had a “safety plan” with school staff and was regularly searched upon entering school, Thomas said.
“He was secluded with just these school administrators during the safety protocol,” Thomas said.
Medical personnel were already in the building when the shooting happened because they were responding to a student who was having an allergic reaction, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said.
Thomas said officers were executing a search warrant at the student’s home.
Denver Public Schools said students were locked down and would be released once police allowed.
“Students who drove will be escorted to their cars in the parking lot & can leave. Students who ride the bus will be held until their bus arrives,” Denver Public Schools wrote on Twitter.
The Denver Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was on the scene, the agency said on Twitter.
The news comes more than a month after a 16-year-old student, Luis Garcia, was shot near the school, prompting a lockdown. Garcia was taken off life support in early March, and students gathered for a memorial outside the school the next day, locals news outlets reported.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings