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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Denver-area high school shooting suspect was ‘radicalized,’
officials say
By Emma Tucker, CNN
Updated:
3:10 AM EDT, Fri September 12, 2025
Source: CNN
The suspected shooter who critically wounded two students at Evergreen
High School in Colorado during their third week of classes this
semester appeared to have been “radicalized by some extreme
network,” officials said Thursday.
The suspect, a student at the school, took the school bus that morning
and brought with him a significant amount of ammunition, said Jacki
Kelley, public information officer for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s
Office. He roamed the campus, searching for new targets, as he shot out
windows and lockers covering a “huge area” of the school, she said.
“He would fire and reload, fire and reload, fire and reload,”
Kelley said. “This went on and on.”
But the suspect, on Thursday as 16-year-old Desmond Holly, was thwarted
by locked classroom doors, preventing further tragedy, Kelley said.
Over 100 law enforcement officers swarmed the scene after authorities
arrived within two minutes of the first 911 call reporting gunfire
about halfway through the school day, and were in contact with the
shooter within five minutes, as more than 900 students remained on
lockdown while officers cleared each room, police said. Some of the
students ran, while others huddled in classrooms together during
lockdown, according to Kelley.
In the end, Holly was taken to the hospital with a self-inflicted
gunshot wound and later died, officials said.
For most students, their day ended waiting at a nearby reunification
center for their loved ones as the high school tucked away in the
mountains of Evergreen became a series of crime scenes both inside and
outside of the school.
Law enforcement has obtained warrants for the suspect’s phone, home
and locker, said Kelley.
Investigators are also working to interview many of the students who
witnessed what happened to piece together how the school became the
site of the 47th shooting that took place at a school in the United
States so far this year – 24 of which were on college campuses and 23
on K-12 school grounds.
The tragedy took place less than an hour after conservative activist
Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.
Colorado is a since the 1999 massacre at – from Aurora, where 12
people were killed at a in 2012, to an LGBTQ in Colorado Springs where
five were fatally shot and the mass shooting at in Boulder, which
killed 10.
Suspect was ‘radicalized by some extreme network’
Two students were in critical condition at nearby hospitals, said
Kelley.
The high school is served by part-time school resource officers who are
Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies while its full-time school
resource officer is on medical leave, Kelley said. A school resource
officer was not at the school at the time of the shooting, as the
deputy left campus around 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday to respond to a
traffic incident, Kelley said.
The search warrants for the suspect’s phone and home have revealed
early indications he had been “radicalized by some extreme
network,” said Kelley, adding more details would likely be released
at a later time.
It’s not yet clear if the shooting was entirely targeted or random,
but Kelley noted “it could be a bit of both.” She was not able to
provide any information about how the suspect obtained the handgun or
who owned it.
The grandfather of twin brothers attending 10th grade at the school –
who were not injured in the shooting – said he was in shock after
learning his family was touched by gun violence for the second time
within five years.
Mike Webb, whose ex-wife was one of eight people killed in the 2021
Atlanta-area spa shootings, said the boys’ father texted him that an
active shooter was at the school, but the brothers were safe.
“One of the boys was in the main hallway when the shooting broke out
and he just ran,” Webb said. “The other boy was outside of the
music room, and he ran too, but he ran into police who had weapons
drawn.”
‘We always say not again, and here we are’
One of the shooting victims was identified as 18-year-old Matthew
Silverstone, whose family released a through the sheriff’s office on
Thursday saying they appreciate “the community’s concern and
support.”
“… (B)ut as we remain focused on our loved one’s recovery, we
respectfully request privacy as we continue to heal and navigate the
road ahead,” the statement continued.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI are
assisting with processing crime scenes at the school, which is located
roughly 28 miles southwest from Denver.
“This is the scariest thing you could ever think that could happen
and these parents were really frightened and so were the kids,” said
Kelley. “And I know we always say not again, and here we are.”
Colorado Governor Jared Polis said his administration is offering to
help in the days ahead “to get children and families the resources
needed to cope with this terrible act of violence.”
“This kind of violence has absolutely no place in Colorado or
anywhere, especially our schools, where kids should feel safe to learn
and grow,” Polis . “No family should ever fear for their child’s
life as they send them to school.”
Senator Michael Bennet said he was “ and thanked law enforcement
officers for their “swift response.”
“Our children deserve to grow up in a country free from the trauma
and terror of senseless gun violence,” he said .
The news of an active shooter at the school was Webb’s greatest fear
realized, he said. He worried every day about his grandsons’ school
being the next target of a shooting, but felt reassured by its
tight-knit community.
“I thought, at least they’re up in the mountains and it’s
unlikely anything like this would happen. And sure enough it did,” he
said.
Webb said he spoke with one of the brothers, who was clearly shaken up,
and told him he understands what they will be dealing with in the
aftermath of the shooting.
“I told him none of us should have to go through this,” said Webb.
“I said this is the world we live in and thank God you guys are
OK.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
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