Updated at 11:53 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025
The student who opened fire Wednesday at Evergreen High School, injuring two other students, died Wednesday night of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said.
One student remained in critical condition, according to doctors. Both remain in the hospital, according to sheriff officials.
The sheriff said the shooter was a 16-year-old male.
He had fired a revolver at students at 12:24 p.m. Wednesday, bringing scores of first responders to the school.
Three students — including the shooter — were treated at CommonSpirit St. Anthony Hospital for gunshot wounds. A fourth student took themselves to the hospital with injuries sustained while escaping the high school and fleeing to a nearby elementary school.
"This is the scariest thing you could ever think could happen," said Jacki Kelley, public information officer with Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. “Honestly, I don't know if our suspect is old enough to even drive.”
The sheriff’s office said calls of an active shooter were received around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. Officers were at the school in two minutes, Kelly said, and encountered the shooter within five minutes. Kelley said officers did not discharge their guns during the encounter.
Law enforcement officers from across the metro area offered services, or even drove up unasked to the foothills to help at the scene, Jefferson County Sheriff Reggie Marinelli said.
Federal officials also helped with the dozens of student interviews and the forensic investigation at the two crime scenes at the school — shootings occurred on the inside and the outside of the building.
Parents were asked to go to Bergen Meadow Elementary School at 1928 Hiwan Dr. to reunite with their students. Hundreds of parents waited in a line at the school until they met their students.
As of late Wednesday, the students had all been reunited with their families or friends, and the school was shuttered.
The sheriff’s office said there were “hundreds” of witnesses. It was unclear whether the victims were targeted.
The sheriff’s office also said it would be seeking search warrants for the shooter’s home and locker.
Evergreen High School is about 28 miles southwest of Denver. It enrolls about 900 students, according to the state Department of Education.
All Jefferson County school athletics and activities for Wednesday have been canceled.
'I always knew it was "When, not if?"': Students and parents react
Cameron Jones is a ninth grader at Evergreen High School. He said he was eating lunch outside when he heard three gunshots. A security guard then told him to run.
He said he never thought a shooting like Wednesday’s would happen in Evergreen.
“Absolutely not,” Jones said. “I thought this was like a one-in-a-million thing, and it still feels surreal that it happened.”
Jen Weber, a mother of a freshman student at the school, said she was washing her car when her son sent her a text message that a shooting was happening.
“I think if I’m being honest with myself, I always knew it was ‘When, not if?’” Weber said. “But having been born and raised in Evergreen, I didn’t ever really think it would happen here in Evergreen.”
‘Colorado has lived through this pain too many times’
The Jefferson County Education Association, a teachers union in the district, said in a statement that every time a school shooting happens, it retraumatizes the community that lived through the Columbine shooting in 1999.
“Colorado has lived through this pain too many times. We cannot become numb. We cannot accept this as normal. We demand that our leaders at every level — local, state, and national — take real, meaningful action to end the epidemic of gun violence in our schools,” the association’s leaders said in a statement.
Gov. Jared Polis offered his condolences to the victims and their families in a statement.
“My heart goes out to the victims and their families as they grapple with this senseless act of violence. I, the Evergreen Community, and the entire State of Colorado are devastated by this tragedy and will keep the victims, as well as their friends and family, in our thoughts,” Polis wrote. “State law enforcement is assisting at the scene, and I am offering the assistance of my administration in the days ahead to get children and families the resources needed to cope with this terrible act of violence. This kind of violence has absolutely no place in Colorado or anywhere, especially our schools, where kids should feel safe to learn and grow. No family should ever fear for their child's life as they send them to school. I will continue to monitor and receive updates from my public safety team.”
Flatirons Community Church in Golden was planning a vigil on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
CPR reporters Kevin Beaty, Molly Cruse, Alejandro A. Alonso Galva, Tony Gorman, Ben Markus, Haylee May, Yesenia Robles and Allison Sherry, as well as The Associated Press, contributed to this report.
