A school shooting at Evergreen High School in Colorado’s foothills left three students wounded, including the suspect who survived self-inflicted gunshots. The incident occurred just before 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the school located at 29300 Buffalo Park Road in Evergreen, 28 miles southwest of Denver.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Jacki Kelley reported that deputies arrived on the scene within two minutes of receiving calls about the shooting at 12:24 p.m. and made contact with the suspect within five minutes. No law enforcement officers fired weapons during the response.
The preliminary investigation revealed shots were fired inside and outside the school building, with the suspect using a handgun. Kelley did not specify how the juvenile male suspect sustained his injuries. St. Anthony’s Hospital in Lakewood confirmed three Evergreen High School students were treated for gunshot wounds, including two with critical injuries and one with non-life-threatening conditions.
Hundreds of law enforcement officers from the Denver metro area responded to the scene, clearing the school room by room after initial chaos. The Jefferson County Schools established a reunification center at Bergen Meadow Elementary School to help parents locate their children.
A teacher at Evergreen High School told CBS Colorado that students were in lockdown in a game room before exiting single file around 1:30 p.m. A parent described her son as hearing 15–30 gunshots while in the lunchroom during the attack.