EVERGREEN, Colo. — A student at Evergreen High School fired "multiple" rounds inside the school before crossing the football field and continuing his attack on Sept. 10, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said in an update Tuesday.
While the investigation is ongoing, the sheriff's office said it "[wanted] to provide a little more clarity on what happened."
The first deputy was dispatched to the school at 12:24 p.m. on Sept. 10 "shortly after calls began to flood 911." Deputies arrived within 2.5 minutes.
According to JCSO, the 16-year-old shooter fired multiple rounds inside the school, injuring one student. He then left the building, crossed the football field, and shot a second student at the corner of S. Olive Road and Buffalo Park Road, JCSO said.
Deputies confronted the shooter, who then turned the gun on himself. He died from his self-inflicted injury that same day.
JCSO said the single shooter fired roughly 20 rounds.
In its update Tuesday, the sheriff's office again acknowledged quick actions taken by teachers, staff and students, crediting those immediate actions for "undoubtedly [saving] lives." The school "relied on the safety protocols and lockdown procedures they have practiced," JCSO said.
According to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, most school shootings are over within minutes, with many active-shooter events ending in five minutes or less.
The sheriff's office, citing federal studies, said school shootings historically last 10 to 12 minutes. The shooting at Evergreen High School lasted nine minutes, according to JCSO.
The two students who were shot are still hospitalized as of Monday evening. One of the victims was identified as 18-year-old Matthew Silverstone, while information on the second victim has not been released.
The 16-year-old shooter died by suicide. The sheriff's office said the teen had become radicalized and brought "quite a bit of ammunition" to the school on the day of the shooting.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was investigating social media accounts connected to the shooter two months before the attack, a FBI spokesperson confirmed to Scripps News Denver. However, the agency could not identify who was behind those accounts until the shooting.
"This is every FBI agent analyst worst nightmare, to understand that a lead came in with this individual social media and we were unable to to pursue it to the fullest extent can be really frustrating and disheartening," said Jennifer Doebler, former FBI Intelligence Analyst.
She helped explain why there wasn't more the FBI could do without knowing at the time who was behind the concerning online accounts.
"If something comes in that seems suspicious, there may be an assessment level inquiry done, where certain searches can take place and certain investigation can take place, but in order to use all of the tools that the FBI has at their disposal, there has to be an articulable threat or reason or probable cause to do so," Doebler said. "You don't always get it with these social media tips and with some of this information that's flooding in.
Scripps News Denver’s Allie Jennerjahn spoke with a former FBI analyst about the agency’s frustrations with being unable to fully pursue leads involving the shooter, plus how the FBI assesses threats.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is the group that flagged the shooter's online activity for the FBI.
"What was most concerning about the Evergreen shooters online footprint was that he was engaging in some online spaces A) that have animated previous school shooters, but B), combined the glorification of violence with kind of extremist ideas," said Oren Segal, Senior Vice President of Counter Extremism and Intelligence with ADL. "That combination can be not only toxic, but when you have a community online that is sharing those ideas and commenting ... it can be intoxicating for somebody and make them feel like their hate and glorification of violence is normal."
Segal called what happened at Evergreen High School a tragedy, but said it was not an isolated incident.
"There is a through line between the attack in Evergreen Colorado and other school shootings we have seen just in the last nine months," Segal said. "And that is these toxic online spaces where we know a handful of these school shooters spent their time."
When asked what online platforms the shooter was engaging in, Segal said "some of which are quite established" and "others a little bit more niche."
The school had a full-time school resource officer (SRO), but they were on medical leave at the time of the shooting, according to the sheriff's office. To fill in the gap, Evergreen High had been utilizing part-time SROs.
Evergreen High School PTA president Cindy Mazeika said they learned about the SRO change one day before the shooting.
Following concerns from parents, deputies with the sheriff’s office confirmed to Scripps News Denver on Monday that the school will have a full-time SRO on campus.
JCSO concluded its Tuesday update by thanking the public for their patience as deputies "conduct a thorough investigation.
"Our hearts are heavy for the two students who were wounded and for the trauma this community will carry long after today. At the same time, we are deeply grateful for the courage and calm shown by Evergreen High School students, teachers, administrators, and staff. Their training, quick thinking, and resilience helped prevent an even greater tragedy," the sheriff's office said.
Scripps News Denver's Colette Bordelon contributed to this report.
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