HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — One person was killed and multiple others injured from a shooting at the STEM School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said. Two suspects are in custody from this afternoon's incident.
Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said the suspects – a juvenile and an adult – were believed to be students at the school. Spurlock said there were no other suspects in the case, but authorities were still investigating at the scene.
Douglas County Undersheriff Holly Nicholson-Kluth said earlier in the day that eight people were injured in the shooting.
Two of the victims were in serious condition at Littleton Adventist Hospital, officials said, and three had been released from the hospital. One victim was in good condition at Children's Hospital. Two other victims were at Sky Ridge Medical Center, but their conditions were unknown.
Spurlock said the suspects walked into the building, "got deep inside the school" and shot at students at two separate locations. The shooting was reported shortly before 2 p.m., and deputies arrived about two minutes later and engaged the suspects, Spurlock said.
The STEM school is located off South Ridgeline Road and Plaza Drive in Highlands Ranch. The sheriff's office initially called the incident an "active and unstable" scene.
The school did not have a School Resource Officer assigned to the building, Nicholson-Kluth said.
FBI and ATF agents were also responding to the school, federal investigators confirmed.
Kelley Paulson, the mother of two students at STEM School Highlands Ranch, spoke to KMGH about what she knows about the shooting and said she was still waiting to hear about one of her children.
"I got a text from a friend who was actually in there," Paulson said. "She said 'guns, shooting, oh my god, oh my god.' And she could hear them and that's how I first knew. The next thing I know, I heard my son, who is calling me because all of the kids who were in middle school...all immediately ran out of the building."
Paulson's son, Christian, said he was in study hall at the school when he saw "a bunch of kids running out and saying 'School shooter, school shooter!'"
"And I'm like, what? Is this real or fake? And then I just went after them," Christian Paulson said. "And apparently, this is all real. And I tried to run with my life, but I'm out of breath."
The White House reacted to Tuesday's shooting.
Tragically, this community and those surrounding it know all too well these hateful and horrible acts of violence. The White House has been in communication with state and local officials, and the President has been briefed and continues to monitor the ongoing situation. We offer our full support to local law enforcement and first responders and thank them for their heroism,” White House spokesperson Judd Deere said.
