DENVER — The body of a 17-year-old student suspected of shooting two administrators at his Denver high school earlier in the day was discovered Wednesday night in the woods of Colorado close to the student’s abandoned car, according to a sheriff.
The body was located next to the car in a remote mountain location about 50 miles southwest of Denver, close to the tiny hamlet of Bailey, according to Park County Sheriff Tom McGraw. The town had been told to stay put as police from various agencies, including the FBI, searched the forest.
Nevertheless, according to the officials, they have not yet determined who it was, and McGraw chose not to confirm whether it was a guy or specify the manner of death.
Austin Lyle was the suspect, according to Denver police’s earlier identification of him.
Due to Lyle’s behavioral concerns, two administrators had to search him daily for weapons when the shooting at Denver’s East High School took place, according to authorities. After the shooting, Lyle escaped.
It happened at a school that had recently lost a classmate to murder outside of it, prompting students from East High School to demonstrate outside the Colorado Capitol earlier this month.
When parents gathered at the 2,500-student school on Wednesday, they expressed anger that authorities had not done more to safeguard their children.
Jesse Haase declared, “I’m sick of it, and I will talk to my daughter about pulling her out of school for the rest of the year.
Denver school officials announced after the massacre that they will once more place armed officers in the city’s public high schools amid the uproar over insufficient security.
According to Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas, no school resource officers were present on the premises at the time of the incident on Wednesday.
According to officials, Lyle was being searched as part of a “safety plan” that required him to be patted down regularly when the shooting occurred just before 10 a.m. in an office area.
According to Thomas, the shooting’s gun was not found right away.
According to Heather Burke, a representative for Denver Health hospital, one of the injured administrators was discharged on Wednesday afternoon, while the second was still in serious condition.
Following the shooting murder of Luis Garcia, 16, who was killed while riding in a car close to East High School, hundreds of students left class on March 3 and participated in a march supporting stricter gun legislation.
The deployment of police officers in school facilities was phased out by Denver Public Schools in June 2020, after a summer of anti-racial injustice demonstrations in response to the death of George Floyd. Denver Public Schools was one of many school districts nationwide to make this decision.
Complaints sparked this movement that Black kids were disproportionately arrested by school resource officers and brought before the criminal justice system.
Following the shooting on Wednesday, two armed officers will be stationed at East High School through the conclusion of the academic year, and each of the other city high schools will also receive an officer, according to Superintendent of Denver Public Schools Alex Marrero.
In a Wednesday letter to the city’s Board of Education, Marrero acknowledged his action violated the district’s standards but added he “can no longer stand on the sidelines.”
“I am the district leader charged with keeping our scholars and staff safe daily,” he wrote. The school board declared that it agreed with the choice.
According to government analysts, there were more than 1,300 shooting occurrences reported in the U.S. between 2000 and June 2022, indicating an increase in the prevalence of gun violence at schools.
The gunshots resulted in 377 fatalities and 1,025 injuries, according to a database kept by the researchers.
The Colorado Legislature had scheduled testimony from East High School students on Wednesday afternoon regarding proposed laws about gun safety.
“This is the reality of being young in America: sitting through a shooting and waiting for information just hours before you’re scheduled to testify in support of gun safety bills,”
stated Gracie Taub, a 16-year-old sophomore at East High School and a Colorado volunteer for Students Demand Action.
Following disciplinary action and expulsion from a high school in nearby Aurora last academic year due to an undefined breach of school rules, Lyle relocated to East High School, according to Cherry Creek School District spokeswoman Lauren Snell.
Marrero claimed that safety plans are established for pupils in response to “previous educational as well as behavioral experiences,” noting that this is a typical procedure in Colorado’s public schools. The authorities withheld further information about the daily searches of Lyle.
Daily pat downs, however, are uncommon, according to Franci Crepeau-Hobson, a professor at the University of Colorado Denver who specializes in stopping school violence.
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“They were concerned,” said Crepeau-Hobson. “I can’t imagine they’d do that if there weren’t a history of the kid carrying a weapon.”
According to Christine Harms of the Colorado School Safety Resource Center, safety plans frequently come after a student exhibits threatening or suicidal behavior.
When police investigated the incident, East High School, which is not far from the city center, was closed down. Hundreds of parents gathered outside the school in a line.
As they approached the police chief, a few parents and students expressed disgust at the school’s violence. Thomas nodded and quietly listened, pledging to interact with the school board.
A man at the fringe of the crowd yelled, “I just want you to be able to do your job,” to a neighboring officer, demanding that the city’s school board members be removed for eliminating police in schools.
Following the shooting, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre echoed President Joe Biden’s plea for Congress to “do something” about gun control and more vital gun legislation, including bans on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines.
Also, ten people were shot and killed on Wednesday at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, two years ago.
Patricia Gault is a seasoned journalist with years of experience in the industry. She has a passion for uncovering the truth and bringing important stories to light. Patricia has a sharp eye for detail and a talent for making complex issues accessible to a broad audience. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a commitment to accuracy and impartiality, earning a reputation as a reliable and trusted source of news.