A tragic school shooting in Colorado left one student dead and two others injured on Wednesday after gunfire erupted at Evergreen High School, a campus of more than 900 students located about 30 miles west of Denver.
According to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the violence began around 12:30 p.m. when a student opened fire both inside and outside the school building. Authorities said the shooter struck two classmates before turning the gun on himself. He was found within five minutes of police arriving at the scene but later died from his self-inflicted wound.
Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jacki Kelley confirmed that none of the responding officers fired their weapons during the incident. More than 100 law enforcement officers from across the region rushed to the scene, underscoring the scale of the emergency response.
The shooting immediately drew comparisons to Jefferson County’s dark history with school violence. The 1999 Columbine High School massacre, just 20 miles away, left 14 dead and remains one of the most infamous mass shootings in U.S. history.
Hospital officials initially listed both student victims in critical condition. By evening, St. Anthony Hospital CEO Kevin Cullinan reported that one teen had been upgraded to stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries. Dr. Brian Blackwood, the hospital’s trauma director, declined to provide additional details. The age and grade level of the victims have not yet been released.
Evergreen, a mountain community of about 9,300 residents, is known for its close-knit feel. Many parents rushed to a nearby elementary school, which was set up as a reunification point, anxiously waiting to reconnect with their children.
Parent Wendy Nueman told The Denver Post that her 15-year-old daughter, a sophomore, didn’t answer her phone for what felt like an eternity. When she finally called back from a borrowed phone, Nueman said she could barely speak.
“She just said she was OK. She couldn’t hardly speak,” Nueman said tearfully. “It’s super scary. We feel like we live in a little bubble here. Obviously, no one is immune.”
In the chaotic aftermath, some students fled the building and sought shelter at nearby homes. Resident Don Cygan, a retired educator, told Denver’s KUSA-TV that 18 teens pounded on his door for help. He welcomed them inside, wrote down their names, and later helped reunite them with their parents. His wife, a retired nurse, worked to calm the students and treat them for shock.
“I hope they feel like they ran to the right house,” Cygan said.
The motives behind the shooting remain under investigation, and authorities have not yet released the identity of the shooter. Police confirmed that the firearm involved was a handgun but did not say how the student obtained it.
As Evergreen and surrounding communities grapple with the aftermath, officials emphasized that counseling and crisis resources will be made available for students, staff, and families.
For now, a quiet town that thought itself immune to such violence is left shaken, once again reminded that school shootings can strike anywhere.
