The shooting that took place at Evergreen High School last week lasted about nine minutes, investigators shared on Tuesday.
Although details of the investigation have been limited in the days since the incident, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office has said it hoped to put to rest some rumors by providing more details.
Timeline of the shooting
The agency now has shared that the shooter in the incident fired 20 rounds in about nine minutes.
After calls started flooding the 911 dispatch center, deputies were dispatched at 12:24 p.m. and arrived on campus within 2.5 minutes, according to the sheriff’s office. The shooting had started inside the school, where the 16-year-old used a revolver to shoot a student, as well as windows and lockers. He was unable to reach more students behind locked doors.
Then the gunman stepped out of the school building and crossed the football field, striking a second student outside at the corner of Olive Street and Buffalo Park Road. Deputies confronted the shooter, who then took his own life.
The sheriff’s office still has not answered questions about how the teenager got the gun he used, or about his motive.
The two students who were shot are still hospitalized and their conditions have not changed. One is in critical condition and another is in serious condition, according to hospital spokespersons.
Reopening plans
Meanwhile, the Jeffco Public Schools district is meeting with the Evergreen community on Tuesday and sending surveys to students this week as leaders craft a plan to reopen the high school following a shooting.
The school district plans to announce a plan to families by Sunday and wants to hear from every student before that.
Karlyn Tilley, a spokesperson for the Jeffco Sheriff’s Office, said that a full-time School Resource Officer will be assigned to the school when it reopens. To do so, the department will rearrange its officers to provide coverage.
School Resource Officers have specialized training, Tilley said, and a regular patrol deputy can’t necessarily be placed at a school in place of an SRO.
Armed security
In addition to that, the district said in a letter to the community that it is committing to also place a full-time, armed security officer in the school, as well as to provide district patrol coverage in the Evergreen area.
The district is also preparing to place administrative support, including a floating substitute teacher to help out, and extra mental health professionals.
The Jeffco facilities team was also expected to spend the day in the high school Tuesday before formulating a plan to share with school families. That plan would include information about when staff and students may be able to return to the building “for support, opportunities for connection and eventual return to learning.”
“We understand this will be a process and not everyone will be ready to experience this transition at the same time,” the district shared in its letter. “The transition is something we will plan for with input and intention.”
