欧博allbetEvergreen High shooter, 16, had been '
EVERGREEN, Colo. — The shooter at Evergreen High School, a 16-year-old student at the school, had been radicalized and came to the school Wednesday with "quite a bit of ammunition," Jefferson County authorities said on Thursday morning.
That teen, who had shot two of his peers before turning the gun on himself, was identified as Desmond Holly by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO). Holly died on Wednesday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, JCSO said.
Denver7 Investigates' Tony Kovaleski learned from two high-ranking sources that the shooter had been identified as Holly, and he was the first to report this earlier on Thursday morning.
Two other students were transported to a hospital following the shooting. One of them is still at CommonSpirit St. Anthony Hospital and is in critical condition. The other, who authorities said is also still in critical condition, was taken to another facility and is expected to recover. Security is present at both hospitals. Authorities said they initially thought a fourth person may have been injured in connection with the shooting, but no longer believe that is the case.
Evergreen
Resources available for community impacted by Evergreen HS shooting Wednesday
Katie Parkins
During a press conference on Thursday morning, Jacki Kelley, public information officer with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, praised the Evergreen High School community for their quick thinking as the tragedy unfolded Wednesday.
“The students and the staff at the school were amazing. They did their job," she said. "They did it well. And lives were saved yesterday because of the actions they took during their lockdown drill... I do know that he tried to gain access to areas that were locked down and those teachers and those students did their job and took into account what they learned and it kept them safe."
You can watch Thursday's full conference, where Kelley shared a broad timeline of the shooting, an update from the two victims, and more about the shooter, in the video below:
News conference: Jefferson County Sheriff's Office provides update on Evergreen High School shooting
Kelley said that the investigation has revealed that Holly had been "radicalized by some extremist network," though few other details about this were available.
Holly had one revolver of unknown caliber, which he repeatedly reloaded during the incident, Kelley said, adding that he had "quite a bit of ammunition." An exact amount is unknown as of publishing time.
“The suspect’s gun was fired a lot," she said. "The reason we have so many crime scenes is because we have windows that were shot up, we have lockers that were shot up. We have spent rounds, unspent rounds. It’s a huge area.”
One of the injured students was shot inside the school and the other was shot outside, she said.
“This went on and on," she continued, explaining that Holly tried to find new targets. “... He came up against a roadblock on many of those doors. He couldn’t get to those kids. So, there's not enough to be said for the work (of) the teachers, the coaches, the staff, the students. Lots of kids ran. But the ones who didn’t were locked down and cared for. So, really, really proud of those people today.”
Cameras inside the school captured his movements as Holly moved around the school, Kelley said. That will be part of the investigation.
Investigators are in contact with his parents and they have been cooperative, Kelley said.
Jefferson County Sheriff's Office
Scene outside of Evergreen High School in Colorado.The JCSO is working to learn how Holly obtained the firearm and if the shooting was random or targeted.
There is no known motive as of Thursday afternoon.
“We will do what we can as a community to heal from this," she said. "It really sucks that we’re here again. We’ve had our fair share of school shootings in Jeffco. But we’re going to do everything — everything — that we can to help these kids heal, to help the teachers and parents get back to life and a lot of that is just going to take time. But the resources are available and we’re encouraging everybody to use them.”
Denver7 Investigates was the only crew on-scene as law enforcement searched the Holly family home in a remote, gated community several miles from the high school on Wednesday. We saw nearly a dozen law enforcement vehicles enter the property, and what appeared to be officers taking photos and collecting evidence inside.
Kelley could not say what investigators found at the house, but said on Thursday that "I think they found valuable information for our case.”
Watch Denver7 Investigates' report below on the search warrant execution at the Holly family home from Wednesday evening:
Law enforcement conducts search of suspected Evergreen High School shooter's home | Denver7 Investigates
Sources also told Denver7 Investigates that law enforcement was looking into Holly’s school locker and personal vehicle Wednesday evening. Kelley said he rode the bus to school on Wednesday morning.
Denver7 Investigates also uncovered a social media account appearing to belong to Holly's father, which had posted photos of the house that matched photos from where the search warrant was executed.
Jeffco Public School classes are canceled on Thursday. Classes at Evergreen High School are canceled for the rest of the week.
Evergreen High School shooting | Denver7 coverage
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