Colorado STEM School Endures Vicious Shooting

On Tuesday, May 7, 2019, two shooters entered a school in Colorado. This current school shooting is painfully close to the site of Columbine. The murderers engaged students in two separate classrooms. One of the classes attacked by the shooters was learning about British Literature. A young man named Kendrick Castillo was in attendance.

When the shooter pulled his gun, Kendrick Castillo tackled him. This gave his fellow students time to seek cover. One student described it this way, “The next thing I know he is pulling a gun and is telling nobody to move. That’s when Kendrick lunged at him, and he shot Kendrick, giving all of us enough time to get underneath our desks, to get ourselves safe, and to run across the room to escape.” Kendrick Castillo has passed away, due to the injuries he sustained while saving others.

What Came Next

The school did not have a resource officer but it did have a security guard. Said Security Guard, who is a former marine, heard an alert on the intercom and immediately ran to the scene. He spotted one of the two suspects (an 18 year old male) exiting a room. The Security Guard drew his weapon but no shots were exchanged. The suspect was taken into his custody.

When the shooter pulled his gun, Kendrick Castillo tackled him.

Within two minutes of the start of the incident Sheriffs deputies were on the scene. The on site Security guard turned over the male suspect. They were also able to apprehended the other shooter as well, a young female. All said, the school shooting in Colorado injured eight people and killed one.



Painful Memories

For the local citizens this has been another in a long string of attacks. It was not long ago that Denver recognized the 20 year anniversary of the Columbine shooting. District Attorney George Brauchler said on Wednesday, “If you had suggested to anyone behind me, or in this room, that in 20 years in 20 miles we would have dealt with Columbine, Aurora Theater, Arapahoe High School, the shooting of Zack Parrish and four other deputies, we’d have thought you mad, yet here we are again.”