EVERGREEN — The first 911 call came at 12:24 p.m. Wednesday. Then the floodgates opened, as students — either running from Evergreen High School or hunkering down in classrooms behind locked doors — phoned for help.
Kai Taylor, a 15-year-old sophomore, was eating lunch with friends outside the school in the Jefferson County foothills when he got a frantic call from his twin sister asking if he was OK.
He said he laughed and told her he was fine, but she grew more serious, saying there was an active shooter at the school and she needed to know if he was hurt.
Kai’s heart dropped, he said. Then he saw his peers running.
Desmond Holly, a 16-year-old student at Evergreen High who had been “radicalized,” shot two of his schoolmates that afternoon before turning the gun on himself, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jacki Kelley said at a Thursday morning news briefing.
Armed with a revolver, Desmond systematically reloaded and fired as he wandered the three-level school, trying to find new targets, Kelley said. His exact path through Evergreen High is not yet known, she said, but the teen shooter’s movements were captured by the school’s surveillance cameras. That video is being reviewed by investigators.
The school’s lockdown procedures prevented the shooter from reaching many of the students, but two were critically injured and are being treated at Denver-area hospitals, Kelley said.
The family of one of the victims, 18-year-old Matthew Silverstone, issued a statement through the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday afternoon requesting privacy.
“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,” the statement said.
Sheriff’s officials have not yet publicly identified the second victim, or said how how many times the students were shot or where they were injured.
Paramedics took both victims and Desmond to CommonSpirit St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, where Desmond later died from his injuries.
One victim remained in critical condition at St. Anthony Hospital, Dr. Brian Blackwood said in a Thursday morning news briefing. The second victim was transferred Wednesday evening to Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, where that student remained in critical condition Thursday, hospital officials said in a statement.
One victim was shot inside the school and the other was shot in the street behind Evergreen High while attempting to flee, Kelley said.
‘I was so scared’
Kai was one of the dozens of students who fled the high school. He said he took off running toward a nearby neighborhood. He heard a gunshot and willed himself to run faster.
“I felt like I was going limp,” he said. “I felt like I was going to fall over. I was so scared.”
His twin sister had run in the opposite direction. Kai felt panicked that he had lost track of her.
“I was really worried for my sister’s safety,” he said.
He and his friends sheltered in the home of a nearby neighbor.
Kai is accustomed to annual active shooting drills. He never expected to have to use the information he learned.
“I felt like I was prepared, but it’s just so different when it actually happens,” he said.
Kai stood silently with his bike on Thursday as news crews packed up their equipment near his school.
“I just thought I needed to come down here and see it,” he said. “My heart beats when I look at the school. I feel so nervous to go back. It almost doesn’t feel real. It’s like a dream.”
‘Radicalized through an extremist network’
Desmond was “radicalized through an extremist network” before the attack, Kelley said. She did not elaborate on the type of radicalization, but said it was shown through his phone and belongings.
Authorities are still determining Desmond’s motive and said he brought a significant amount of ammunition with him to the school, where he fired in several areas with a revolver. Kelley said she did not know he total number of shots he fired.
“The reason we have so many crime scene areas inside is because we have windows shot out, we have lockers that were shot up, we’re finding spent rounds, unspent rounds,” Kelley said. “It’s a huge area.”
Hundreds of law enforcement officers responded Wednesday to Evergreen High School at 29300 Buffalo Park Road. Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies were on the scene just minutes after the first 911 call.
A school resource officer was not at Evergreen High when the shooting started. Kelley said the school’s full-time deputy is on medical leave, and multiple part-time officers are filling in the gap.
The officer working Wednesday was dispatched to a nearby accident between 10:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m., a routine task for school resource officers, Kelley said. The officer did not break policy, she said.
Desmond lived with his family in a sprawling mountain home, tucked away on a private lane near Kittridge, property records show. His parents did not immediately return requests for comment Thursday. Kelley said investigators will explore how Desmond accessed the gun and whether his parents could face criminal charges.
Law enforcement searched the home Wednesday evening, but the details of what they found inside were not available Thursday, Kelley said. Investigators also have warrants to search Desmond’s phone and locker.
“We can’t say yet whether this feels more targeted or more random,” Kelley said. “But… it seems like it could be a bit of both.”
School closed, resource center opened
Evergreen High School will be closed the rest of the week, Jefferson County Public Schools announced. Kelley said the school needs aesthetic renovations before students can come back, including repairing broken windows, fixing lockers with bullet holes, and cleaning up “fluids.”
Another eight schools in the Conifer and Evergreen areas were also closed Thursday.
A resource and information center will operate for two days out of Bergen Meadow Elementary’s old building at 1928 S. Hiwan Drive, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. That building was the reunification point for families and Evergreen students on Wednesday.
The center will host victim advocates, mental health professionals, victim compensation representatives and school personnel from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, sheriff’s officials said. It’s open to all students, faculty, families and community members.
It’s unclear when students will be able to re-enter the high school to retrieve their personal belongings, but that information will be available at the elementary school, sheriff’s officials said.
Anyone who witnessed the shooting and hasn’t yet spoken with investigators is asked to come to the resource center to do so, according to the sheriff’s office.
“We will do what we can as a community to heal from this,” Kelley said. “It really sucks that we’re here again.”
Suspect dead, 2 students injured in shooting at Colorado high school
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