A 16-year-old student who authorities say had been radicalized by an unspecified “extremist network” opened fire Wednesday at Evergreen High School in suburban Denver, wounding two students before shooting himself and later dying, Jefferson County sheriff’s office officials said Thursday.
Jefferson County sheriff’s office spokesperson Jacki Kelley said the suspect, identified by authorities as Desmond Holly, fired a revolver multiple times on the 900-student campus about 30 miles west of Denver. One victim was shot inside the school and another outside; both were in critical condition Thursday. A family statement from one of the victims, 18-year-old Matthew Silverstone, asked for privacy as he recovers.
Kelley said investigators concluded Holly had been radicalized "by some extremist network" after searches of his home and phone, but she did not immediately identify the network or provide further details. Authorities were searching the suspect’s room, backpack and school locker and said they were in contact with his parents as they assess whether the parents should face criminal charges for allowing him access to the gun.
The sheriff’s office described a chaotic scene as students either fled or sheltered in place when the shooting began. "He would fire and reload, fire and reload," Kelley said. "This went on and on." Secure doors prevented the shooter from reaching areas where students were sheltering, she added, and investigators found spent and unspent rounds, broken windows and lockers struck by gunfire.
School officials said the resource officer was on medical leave and two part-time officers who share the job were not present. An officer assigned to the school that day had been sent earlier to a nearby accident. Deputies who responded to the shooting located Holly with a self-inflicted gunshot wound within five minutes of arriving; no deputies fired their weapons, Kelley said.
Parents and community members described scenes of fear and confusion. Ines McCanna said her 15-year-old son ran from the cafeteria with friends after an announcement about an active shooter and later sheltered at a fire station until he could be picked up. "Those couple of seconds where you don’t know what’s going on are probably the worst you could have as a mom," she said. Nearby, people left flowers and messages at the school’s fence.
Jefferson County was the site of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, and officials said improvements in protocols and school safety have been implemented since then. John McDonald, the district’s former safety director, said schools installed panic buttons, built partnerships with law enforcement and developed evacuation and lockdown procedures to speed responses to active-shooter incidents. "From my perspective it was a successful response. But any time you’ve had shots fired in a school you’ve already lost," McDonald said.
Investigators were still seeking to determine whether Holly knew the victims or whether the shootings were random. Authorities declined to provide motive beyond the reference to radicalization, and they did not immediately identify the second wounded student.
Officials said Holly had substantial ammunition and that investigators were cataloging numerous crime-scene areas inside the building. The sheriff’s office pledged more information as the probe continued, including further details on the alleged extremist network and whether others were involved. Authorities also said they would examine whether the parents could be held criminally responsible for the suspect’s access to the firearm.
The incident rekindled concerns about school safety in the Denver area and around the country, and it prompted renewed attention to how young people are exposed to extremist content online and elsewhere. Evergreen High School and the Jefferson County district set up a command post outside the campus Thursday as investigators continued their work and counselors were made available to students.
No arrests other than the deceased suspect were reported Thursday. Local officials asked for patience as they continued to investigate and work with families affected by the shooting.