DENVER — According to 9NEWS, the person suspected of shooting and injuring two East High School employees was discovered de@d on Wednesday morning.
Law police discovered the red Volvo that belonged to 17-year-old Austin Lyle on County Road 68, also known as Wellington Lake Road, west of Bailey on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Park County Sheriff’s Office.
Just before 6 o’clock in the evening, Denver police said that the culprit was still being sought.
According to Park County Sheriff Tom McGraw, a body was discovered in the woods about two-tenths of a mile from the automobile around 8:15 p.m. on Wednesday. According to McGraw, no one has been able to identify the body.
According to a law enforcement source, Lyle’s body was found and it appears that he committed suicide, the source informed 9NEWS.
Due to the inquiry, Park County issued an emergency alert for the town of Bailey and the surrounding area. People were urged to remain put and dial 911 if they noticed anything unusual.
The shelter-in-place warning has been lifted, according to McGraw. According to police, Lyle, a current East High School student, was sought for the Wednesday morning shooting just before 10 a.m.
According to a safety plan, he was being checked for weapons when the shooting occurred, according to the Denver Police Department (DPD).
“They [Lyle] were undergoing a search, and during that search, obviously a weapon, a handgun was retrieved and several shots were fired,” DPD Chief Ron Thomas said.
Both administrators on staff were transported to the hospital for treatment. One was transported to the hospital for surgery to treat potentially fatal wounds. Although in critical condition, the second victim could communicate with the detectives.
East High School lists Jerald Mason and Eric Sinclair as deans, and Denver Health confirmed that both men are active patients. According to Denver Health, Mason was released from the hospital and was in good condition just before 5:30 p.m. Sinclair’s health is still critical.
According to DPD, a student was also hospitalized due to an allergic reaction, even though they weren’t injured in the gunshot.
East High School will be closed for the remainder of the week due to the shooting, which took place in an office area away from other students. Classes will resume after spring break.
“I just think we should spread awareness about what’s happening,” East freshman Scarlet Cooper. She claimed to have seen an ambulance outside the school during a break.
“It’s really scary and worrying,” she said. “Like when you go to school, you’re not expecting people you know to get shot at. You’re not expecting anyone to have a weapon in the school. So it’s scary to hear about someone being innocent and being shot for no reason.”
Michael Hancock, the mayor of Denver, recognized that perhaps schools need to be more secure.
“This should never – as a parent, I can tell you – never – be a concern of a parent of whether or not their kids are safe in their building,” he said.
“The police department had been working to have a presence outside this building for quite some time,” Hancock said. “I think it’s clear now that we need to do even more interdiction with our police officers inside the buildings.”
According to the safety protocol, Lyle had already been examined, and no weapons were discovered, Thomas added.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protects Lyle’s safety plan, according to DPS Superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero, who declined to speak further on it (FERPA).
“It’s a result of previous behavior,” he said. “Each student may have exhibited past educational and behavioral experiences.”
Additionally, he said that all schools in DPS and other districts use these kinds of strategies “often.”
Daily pat-downs of a pupil are “rare,” according to Clayton Cranford, a former SRO in California who now conducts school security training for school districts across the US.
“I’m sure parents are concerned because they’re thinking if a student at my child’s school is so concerning that they must pat them down every day. They must wonder, ‘Is this the appropriate educational setting for that particular student?’ And I think that’s a discussion schools need to have with parents as well,” Cranford said.
Lyle was “removed” from Overland High School in Aurora for “violations” of board policy, a Cherry Creek School District spokesman stated late on Wednesday.
Sources inform 9NEWS that Lyle was accused of “possessing a de@dly weapon” in 2021. Outside of Arapahoe County, the case was.
Shooting at East High School
After the shooting, police remained on the scene of an apartment complex at 1061 Elizabeth Street in Congress Park for most of the day.
Lyle and his father reportedly shared an apartment there, according to law police. According to investigators, it was Lyle’s last known address.Police were observed removing manila envelopes, bags, and cartons from the flat.
They did not mention their search terms or the flat’s contents. Denver Public Schools first claimed in a tweet that the lockdown was caused by police action before adding that kids were being kept in their period classes.
According to the district, parents could pick up their children at 17th and Esplanade as of 11:30 a.m.. Students who had cars were taken to them and permitted to drive away.
Bus riders were detained until their bus arrived. To assist students in getting home, DPS added that they collaborated with RTD to increase the number of buses on the 15 lines.
“I’m deeply sorry that we’re here,” Marrero said. “We shouldn’t be here, but here we are.”
East High School will stay closed for the balance of the week, according to DPS, and two armed police will be stationed there for the academic year once classes begin.
“We are looking forward to expanding that conversation into how we can re-establish a relationship with a presence at our schools, particularly our high schools,” said Marrero.
Later on Wednesday, Marrero wrote a letter to the Board of Education stating that he is “committing” to having armed police at every comprehensive high school. He acknowledged that this is against executive constraints but indicated that he is “ready to take the repercussions” of his actions.
Check out more related articles of school news we publish on this site:
- Arrests Made In Bell Gardens High School Threat After Weapons And Body Armor Found By Police
- Hudson Valley, NY: Five Children Tragically Killed In Unimaginable Incident
School resource officers were eliminated by a unanimous resolution of the district school board in 2020. (SROs).
DPD school resource officers were pulled out after that vote, and the district began relying on its security staff.
SROs unfairly target students of color and instill a fear of law enforcement in them early in life, according to one of the arguments used to support their removal.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said in a statement following the massacre on Wednesday that the removal of SROs was “a mistake” and that “we must move rapidly to remedy it.”
Last month, a shooting outside the school claimed the life of Luis Garcia, a student there. Around 2:30 pm on February 13, he was shot and hurt while riding in a car near 17th and Esplanade. On March 1, he passed away.
According to the police, there is no evidence that he fired any rounds. Later that afternoon, two teenagers in another car were apprehended, although neither suspect was charged explicitly with the shooting.
Students left class after Garcia’s shooting because they were worried for their safety.
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.