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FILE – In this Wednesday, May 8, 2019 file photo, Devon Erickson, an accused STEM School shooter, appears at the Douglas County Courthouse in Castle Rock, Colo. Erickson and another suspect in the suburban Denver school shooting are due back in court as prosecutors file charges in the violent attack that killed a student and wounded multiple others. Prosecutors also are expected to decide Friday, May 10, whether to charge the younger suspect, Maya McKinney, 16, as an adult. (Joe Amon/The Denver Post via AP, Pool, File)
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FILE – In this Tuesday, May 7, 2019 file photo, police officers and students are seen outside STEM School Highlands Ranch, a charter middle school in the Denver suburb of Highlands Ranch, Colo., after a shooting. Both suspects in the suburban Denver school shooting are due back in court Friday, May 10, as prosecutors file charges in the violent attack that killed a student and wounded multiple others. Authorities have identified the suspects as 18-year-old Devon Erickson and 16-year-old Maya McKinney, whose attorney said uses male pronouns and the name Alec. (Courtney Harper via AP, File)
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A light snow covers bouquets of flowers placed on the sign for STEM School Highlands Ranch following Tuesday’s shooting, in Highlands Ranch, Colo., Thursday, May 9, 2019. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
STEM Highlands Ranch school, STEM Highlands Ranch
DENVER (AP) — Prosecutors leading the case against two students suspected of shooting nine classmates, one fatally, in a suburban Denver charter school have until next week to decide what charges to pursue, a judge ruled Friday.
The decision by District Judge Theresa Slade delays hearings that had been scheduled for Friday for Devon Erickson, 18, and 16-year-old Alec McKinney, who is listed in court documents as Maya, to learn the criminal charges they face in the shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch on Tuesday.
Court spokesman Rob McCallum said that both the prosecutors and defense agreed to postpone the hearing until Wednesday.
Vicki Migoya, a spokeswoman for District Attorney George Brauchler, said the office could not explain the reason for the delay.
A motion to continue the hearings until next week is under seal along with the entire file in both cases. In an initial court appearance on Wednesday, Brauchler asked to wait until Monday to file charges so that authorities would have the weekend to make progress on their investigation.
The latest delay gives prosecutors more time to decide whether to charge McKinney as an adult. Colorado law permits prosecutors to file adult charges of serious felonies against 16- and 17-year-olds without prior approval from a judge.
Kendrick Castillo, the 18-year-old senior killed during the shooting, and two classmates at the school have been credited with helping thwart the attack by charging at one of the shooters when he entered a classroom. Authorities have said an armed private security guard restrained the second shooter.
Erickson and McKinney have been in jail since Tuesday on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
The two students walked into their school with handguns and opened fire in two classrooms, authorities said. Investigators have offered no motive and refused to discuss how the students obtained the weapons.
Student Joshua Jones told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Friday that he, Castillo and Brendan Bialy reacted as soon as they saw the gun.
“We rushed him,” Jones said. “Kendrick pushed him against the wall. Me and Brendan grabbed him and threw him to the ground. I stayed on top of him while Brendan went off and tried to help Kendrick.”
Jones said he never specifically thought how he would react in such a situation.
“When it actually happened, I had to make that decision that nobody should really ever have to make, which was run towards a gunman or run away from them. I chose to run towards them,” he said.
The attack unfolded nearly three weeks after neighboring Littleton marked the 20th anniversary of the Columbine attack that killed 13 people. The two schools are separated by about 7 miles south of Denver.
