The teenage boy who shot two schoolmates and then himself at a high school in Evergreen, Colorado, Wednesday, was “radicalized by some extremist network” before the attack, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
The shooter, 16-year-old Desmond Holly, has reportedly died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His two victims were transported to Denver-area hospitals, where they remained in critical condition, Thursday, the Denver Post reported. Investigators believe he opened fire at the school just before 12:30 p.m.
Spokeswoman Jacki Kelley did not provide details about Desmond’s radicalization other than the the fact the evidence was found in Desmond’s phone and home. Kelly said more info about his radicalization would be released “down the road.”
Desmond lived with his family in a sprawling mountain home on a private lane outside Kittridge, property records show. A road to the family’s house was blocked by a gate more than half a mile from the property.
On Wednesday, he rode the bus to school, Kelley said.
It was not immediately clear how he accessed the revolver he used in the attack or how he kept it hidden until midday.
Desmond brought “quite a bit of ammunition” with him, Kelley said. Authorities are still working to determine whether he targeted specific students, but noted he fired his gun many times throughout the school, she said.
“He would fire and reload, fire and reload,” Kelley said. “This went on and on. He tried to find new targets. He came up to a roadblock on many of those doors — he couldn’t get to those kids.”
She added: “We have windows shot out, lockers shot up. We are finding unspent rounds. It is a huge area… He fired multiple, multiple times.”
The spokeswoman said Desmond’s parents have “cooperated with the investigation” and that authorities are considering whether to file charges related to Desmond’s access to the gun.
Desmond’s father, Morgan, has scrubbed his social media pages, but previously, he had allegedly posted anti-Trump content on Facebook, according to screen captures shared online.
Evergreen High student Kai Taylor, 15, told the Post she “fled the shooting and sheltered in a nearby neighbor’s home.”
Taylor said he knew Desmond in middle school and talked with him on the school bus frequently, although they’d lost touch over the years.
“Even so, to know that you talked to someone like that — it almost disgusts me,” Taylor said.