Reuters :
Two male students armed with handguns burst into a Denver-area school and opened fire on Tuesday, killing one classmate and wounding eight before being taken into custody, law enforcement officials said.
Two surviving victims of the attack at the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) School in Highlands Ranch, a Denver suburb, remained in serious condition, medical officials said. Others were stable or had been discharged from hospital.
An 18-year-old male was pronounced dead at the scene, Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said a short time later. “Two individuals walked into the STEM school, got deep inside the school, and engaged students in two separate locations,” Spurlock said.
He told Reuters in a brief interview that the suspects, each armed with a handgun, opened fire in two separate classrooms. Devon Erickson, 18, was named as one of the suspects, while the other was identified only as a juvenile. The school serves students from kindergarten through to 12th grade.
Television images showed police vehicles gathered outside a suburban house about 2 miles (1.2 km) from the school, where Erickson was believed to live.
Police towed a white car with “F*CK SOCIETY” spray painted in blue on one side away from the house.
‘ENGAGED SUSPECTS’ Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the school, located about 25 miles (40 km) south of Denver, within two minutes of the first reports, Spurlock said, and “engaged the suspects.”
Police dispatch tapes recorded officers looking for one suspect with black hair wearing a Nirvana hoodie and one with purple and black hair and a black hoodie.
Law enforcement officials declined to comment on a possible motive for the rampage, saying it was too early in the course of the investigation, which was being assisted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Colorado ABC affiliate Denver 7 reported a combination of factors, including revenge and anger, spurred the attack. One suspect faced bullying for wanting to change from female to male and identifying as a male, the station said, citing law enforcement sources.
The shooting occurred less than a month after the 20th anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre in nearby Littleton, about 5 miles (8 km) from the Highlands Ranch school. Two Columbine students killed 13 people there in 1999 before committing suicide in what remains one of the deadliest school shootings in US history.
