Two students were wounded and the suspected shooter died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after a shooting at Evergreen High School in Jefferson County, Colorado, authorities said Wednesday.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jacki Kelley said authorities received the first report of a shooting at the school in Evergreen, west of Denver, shortly before 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. Officers responding to numerous calls found that a juvenile male student had fired a revolver both inside and outside the campus, Kelley said, and that three students who suffered gunshot wounds — including the shooter — were taken to a local hospital.
Kelley said law enforcement officers did not fire any shots. The sheriff’s office later confirmed the suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities have not released the suspect’s name or age, and investigators have given no information about a motive as the probe remains active.
More than 900 students are enrolled at Evergreen High School. Officials initially said the students who had been shot were in critical condition. The Associated Press reported that by early Wednesday evening one student was in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries. Hospital officials told ABC News on Thursday that a student with non-life-threatening injuries had been released from the hospital and another remained in critical condition.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement on social media that he and the community were “devastated” by the attack and that the victims and their families were in his thoughts. “This kind of violence has no place in Colorado, especially our schools where kids should feel safe to learn and grow,” Polis wrote.
The shooting at Evergreen occurred in a county long shadowed by school violence; Jefferson County was the site of the 1999 Columbine High School attack.
The incident came on the same day that conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at an event he was hosting at Utah Valley University. It also followed a mass shooting two weeks earlier at a Catholic school Mass in Minneapolis that left two children dead and 17 others injured.
National databases and groups tracking gun violence say shootings have continued at a high rate this year. The Gun Violence Archive reported there had been about 300 mass shootings in the United States so far in 2025 as of Thursday. A CNN analysis counted about 47 school shootings through Wednesday. Everytown for Gun Safety reported at least 100 gunfire incidents on school property this year, resulting in 32 deaths and 98 injuries.
Law enforcement officials at the Evergreen scene urged anyone with information to contact investigators as they continue to piece together the sequence of events and the shooter’s motives. School district officials temporarily locked down campus operations and said counseling and support services would be offered to students, staff and families affected by the attack.
Authorities said additional details, including the suspect’s identity and the timeline of events inside the building, would be released as the investigation allows. The sheriff’s office and the school district did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.