Live scanner audio documented a chaotic scene with injuries at a K-12 STEM School in Douglas County, Colorado. The shooting reports were at the STEM School Highlands Ranch. Two people were in custody, and rescue teams were entering the school to clear it, according to live scanner traffic, which you can listen to below.
There were eight injured, and one death, the latter of an 18-year-old student, authorities said in their latest update. Devon Erickson was named as one of the suspects. The second suspect was named as Alec McKinney, a juvenile.
You can listen to the live scanner audio here. Authorities were sending teams through the school “looking for victims.” They were going through with a key to look for wounded. They were marking room doors with an “X” after they had cleared them, according to scanner traffic. Be aware that details often shift or are even wrong in the early stages of active shooter situations.
Authorities say nine people were wounded overall with one of them dying. That student, Kendrick Castillo, was described as a hero for lunging at a shooter in a classroom.
“#stemshooting, at 1:53 pm responded to STEM school off Ridgeline Blvd in HR on call of shots fired in school, first update, 2 injured, deputies in process of identifying and locating shooter(s). Still active and unstable scene,” wrote the Douglas County Sheriff at 2:42 p.m. on May 7, 2019. “PARENTS please go to Northridge Rec Center not Elementary School to pick up children.” The injury account sadly grew.
The Shooting Incident Started in the High School
“This started in the middle school,” a sheriff’s official said in the first press conference. She said it wasn’t clear whether there were fatalities. “We do believe they are juveniles,” she said of the suspects. She did not have an age range on the victims.
However, that information was later clarified to report that the shooting broke out in the high school instead and that one suspect was an adult and one was a juvenile. It’s not uncommon for there to be conflicting information early on in fast-breaking active shooter situations.
“We don’t know if they were students in the school or not,” she said. She said there was a “struggle” with someone from the school “when they got there.”
She did not know how many shots were fired. Officers “could still hear gunshots” as they were arriving and entering the school.
“School admin called police. Over the next few minutes, “many shots were fired.” A substation was only a block away. “Two suspects were taken into custody. I don’t have any information on them right now.”
Many students “self-evacuated,” she said. “We don’t believe there’s another suspect in the school.”
The Reports of Two Suspects Emerged First on Scanner Traffic
Live scanner traffic said that a suspect might be wearing a “hoodie.” There might be two suspects, according to scanner traffic, in which authorities gave out a description of a vehicle. “#stemshooting, media will be given an update at staging area. Parents go to Northridge Elementary at 555 Southpark Rd, to pick up your child,” said the Douglas County, Colorado Sheriff’s Department on Twitter.
“Obviously, that’s a very scary call to get. We did discover we have at least two injured… we do have two shooters in custody,” a Sheriff’s spokeswoman said. “I have no information on the gender or age or anything like that. In situations like this, we always assume there will be more. We’re in the process of looking for more shooters, room for room… I don’t have any information on the extent of (the victims’) injuries…We are evacuating all of the children.” She would not say whether the suspects were part of the school.
The specific details of the situation were still unclear, but they could be gleaned from the live scanner audio, which painted a now all-too familiar and frightening scenario as authorities scoured an American school looking for wounded. The ages or motive of the suspects was also not clear. However, the best real-time accounting of what was going on comes through the scanner audio on Broadcastify.
A school employee told Denver7 she called into the school and was told to “just get away from the building” by her boss, who was locked in an office.
Police Said the Situation Was ‘Unstable’ & Were Transporting Suspects
Shooting at Stem school. Tons of police @DenverChannel
Scanner audio made it clear that there were multiple suspects and multiple victims. Authorities said the situation was unstable on the afternoon of May 7, 2019.
“Unstable situation, shots fired at STEM school at Ridgeline and Plaza. Avoid area. Media go to north side of AMC,” the Douglas County Sheriff wrote on Twitter. According to Denver7, at least one victim was wounded. However, scanner traffic indicated there might be multiple victims, as law enforcement officers scoured the building to clear rooms.
The Douglas County Sheriff then wrote, “STEM school incident: still getting info, believe 2 injured. Please find other routes. Media staging now on south side of AMC!” The shooting broke out on the afternoon of May 7, 2019. The injury count later grew, as noted.
Scanner Traffic Indicated People Were Wounded
On the scanner, authorities reported finding a wounded person, a male, who had an injury to the foot. They indicated a female student was shot in her leg. “Applying a tourniquet now,” said a police officer on the scanner. “Can we get a gurney for a medical evac over here for another wounded individual,” a law enforcement officer asked dispatchers on the scanner.
This was confirmed by media.
An ABC News correspondent wrote on Twitter, “A high ranking law enforcement source says ‘multiple’ victims have been shot at a school in suburban Denver. Two suspects are in custody. Police are ‘engaging’ a third. @ABC.”
“The school is not secure,” an officer indicated on the scanner around 2:22 p.m.
Incident command was set up outside the school. There was a “rescue force task force.” Authorities were discussing “bringing the shooter out” at one point on the scanner audio. Authorities told rescue teams to reference a classroom map of the school.
“At STEM School Highlands Ranch we put innovation in the center of learning to unleash the potential of all students and prepare them for an exponentially changing world,” the school’s website reads.
“Welcome to STEM School Highlands Ranch. We are an innovative, free, public, charter learning community that exists to innovate K-12 education in order to prepare every student to lead change, solve problems and succeed in an exponentially changing world.”