Denver school shooting: School board lifts ban on armed guards as students protest at Colorado Capitol
Austin Lyle was the prime suspect in the shooting at East High School in Denver, Colorado, on Wednesday morning
The Denver school board has lifted its ban on armed guards and police officers in its schools in the wake of this week’s shooting.
On Thursday, the board voted unanimously in favour of temporarily suspending the almost two-year ban which was put in place as part of the racial reckoning after George Floyd’s 2020 murder.
The same day, a crowd of students held a rally at the Colorado state Capitol calling on lawmakers to take greater action on gun control and school safety following Wednesday’s violence.
Austin Lyle, a 17-year-old student, allegedly shot two faculty members at East High School on Wednesday morning while he was being searched for weapons.
The teenager had been required to be patted down each day at school due to his record, police said.
After the shooting, Lyle allegedly killed himself while on the run from police.
His body was found hours later in some woods close to his abandoned red Volvo.
The two victims – Eric Sinclair, a dean of culture, and Jerald Mason, coordinator in restorative practice – were rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds. Mr Sinclair remains in critical condition while Mr Mason was later released after treatment.
A Denver student on probation shot two people during a school security check. Who is suspect Austin Lyle?
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Denver student, 17, was arrested over ghost gun two years before shooting two staff members at high school
Report: Austin Lyle shot himself with ghost gun
Austin Lyle shot himself with a ghost gun, according to a report.
Lyle, 17, was found dead in a wooded area on Wednesday night, hours after he allegedly shot two staff members at East High.
His official cause of death has not been released.
However, sources told Fox News that the teenager fatally shot himself with a ghost gun with no serial numbers, with the gun found close to his body.
Superintendent was ‘committed’ to armed police at school regardless of policy
School district Superintendent Alex Marrero said that he was “committed” to placing two armed police officers at East High School until the end of the academic year regardless of policy.
“I am willing to accept the consequences of my actions,” Mr Marrero said in a letter to the Board of Education before they voted on Thursday to change the policy to allow armed officers on campus.
“Today was my fourth visit to Denver Health’s Intensive Care Unit due to victims of gun violence. These events should not have happened on my watch or this Board’s Watch.”
Denver public schools closed for ‘mental health day'
All schools in the Denver Public Schools district will be closed on Friday for a “mental health day.”
“I want to extend my heartfelt apologies to the East High School community and the larger DPS community,” said Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero in a letter.
“No student or employee should have to carry the fear of potential violence when they walk into our buildings each day.”
Shooting victim remains in serious condition
Eric Sinclair was a 1998 graduate of Cedar Falls High School and was also the 1997 Iowa state wrestling champion, KWWL reports.
“When you meet him, you’re going to come away feeling like you had a great interaction with someone that truly cares,” said his friend Kyle Klingman.
“In high school, I guess I wouldn’t have seen him as a teacher, but now that he’s in it and you just see the great skillset that he has, you can see why he would be an effective teacher.”
Students and teachers protest at Colorado state capitol
Hundreds of students and teachers rallied at the state capitol on Friday to urge lawmakers to take action on gun violence once again.
The protest took place just days after two school administrators were shot at East High School by a student on Wednesday.
“Just unbelievable the amount of trauma these students go through. Almost all of my students were in tears,” said Kjersten Ostrom Condojni, who teaches prevention education for substance abuse and mental health across DPS high schools.
“To have these tragedies happen day in and day out is horrible. Their mental health continues to decline; their anxiety skyrockets. It’s hard to have a kid focus on their education when they can’t even rely on the fact that they can be safe in a classroom.”
