7 injured in school shooting outside Denver

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — Gunfire erupted inside a suburban Denver middle school Tuesday, wounding at least seven people before two suspects were taken into custody, authorities said.

Douglas County Undersheriff Holly Nicholson-Kluth said she did not believe there were any other shooters, but tactical teams were still conducting a room-by-room search of the building. She did not know if there were fatalities or offer any details about the wounded.

The shooting occurred at the middle school at STEM School Highlands Ranch, a public charter school with more than

1,850 students in kindergarten through 12th grades. The Highlands Ranch community is about 15 miles south of Denver.

Deputies responded around

1:50 p.m. to the school, which is near a sheriff’s department substation, and officers got there almost immediately, Nicholson-Kluth said.

“As officers were arriving at the school, they could still hear gunshots,” she said.

Rocco DeChalk, who lives near the school, told television station KUSA that he saw so many students running past his house that at first he thought it was a gym class. He went outside and saw a teenage boy who had been shot in the back being helped by a teacher and another student.

They brought the boy into his kitchen and alerted a police officer, who sent for an ambulance.

“He made a comment, ‘Oh, I’m starting to feel it now,’ ” DeChalk said. “I told him that was probably the adrenaline kicking in and he was going into shock.”

Lines of firetrucks, ambulances and law enforcement vehicles from multiple agencies were at the school, and medical helicopters landed on a grassy field.

The sheriff’s office directed parents to a nearby recreational center to pick up their children. A fleet of school buses arrived and dropped off students, some of whom were crying and holding hands with their classmates as they were helped off. An ambulance also pulled up and let out a halfdozen children, none of whom appeared to be physically injured.

“We know this is a very worrisome situation for parents,” Nicholson-Kluth said. “Relatives are worried, and we are trying to get them back together as soon as possible.”

Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement that he was making state public-safety resources available to help secure the site and evacuate students.

“The heart of all Colorado is with the victims and their families,” he said.