{"id":1310065,"date":"2019-05-08T14:02:58","date_gmt":"2019-05-08T20:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=977795"},"modified":"2019-05-08T14:02:58","modified_gmt":"2019-05-08T20:02:58","slug":"teen-who-charged-attackers-was-lone-death-in-south-denver-area-school-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/teen-who-charged-attackers-was-lone-death-in-south-denver-area-school-shooting\/","title":{"rendered":"Teen who charged attackers was lone death in south Denver-area school shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery\" readability=\"6.7722152690864\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-977795-700\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/AP19128658794369-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/AP19128658794369-1024x885.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"School Shooting-Colorado | This undated photo provided by Rachel Short shows Kendrick Castillo, who was killed during a shooting at the STEM School Highlands Ranch on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, in Highlands Ranch, Colo. (Rachel Short via AP)\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"9.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/AP19128658794369-1024x885.jpg\" alt=\"This undated photo provided by Rachel Short shows Kendrick Castillo, who was killed during a shooting at the STEM School Highlands Ranch on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, in Highlands Ranch, Colo. (Rachel Short via AP)\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"14\">\n<p><strong>This undated photo provided by Rachel Short shows Kendrick Castillo, who was killed during a shooting at the STEM School Highlands Ranch on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, in Highlands Ranch, Colo. (Rachel Short via AP)<\/strong><br \/>School Shooting-Colorado<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/AP19128514879172-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/AP19128514879172-1024x628.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"STEM Highlands Ranch | Police tape remains near the scene following Tuesday's shooting at STEM Highlands Ranch school, Wednesday, May 8, 2019, in Highlands Ranch, Colo. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"9\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/AP19128514879172-1024x628.jpg\" alt=\"Police tape remains near the scene following Tuesday's shooting at STEM Highlands Ranch school, Wednesday, May 8, 2019, in Highlands Ranch, Colo. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"13\">\n<p><strong>Police tape remains near the scene following Tuesday&#8217;s shooting at STEM Highlands Ranch school, Wednesday, May 8, 2019, in Highlands Ranch, Colo. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)<\/strong><br \/>STEM Highlands Ranch<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/AP19128553300152-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/AP19128553300152-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"STEM Highlands Ranch | A Douglas County, Colo., Sheriffs Department deputy walks past the doors to the STEM Highlands Ranch school early Wednesday, May 8, 2019, in Highlands Ranch, Colo. Two high school students used at least two handguns in a fatal Tuesday shooting at the charter school authorities said Wednesday. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"10.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/AP19128553300152-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"A Douglas County, Colo., Sheriffs Department deputy walks past the doors to the STEM Highlands Ranch school early Wednesday, May 8, 2019, in Highlands Ranch, Colo. Two high school students used at least two handguns in a fatal Tuesday shooting at the charter school authorities said Wednesday. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"16\">\n<p><strong>A Douglas County, Colo., Sheriffs Department deputy walks past the doors to the STEM Highlands Ranch school early Wednesday, May 8, 2019, in Highlands Ranch, Colo. Two high school students used at least two handguns in a fatal Tuesday shooting at the charter school authorities said Wednesday. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)<\/strong><br \/>STEM Highlands Ranch<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/teen-who-charged-attackers-was-lone-death-in-south-denver-area-school-shooting\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/teen-who-charged-attackers-was-lone-death-in-south-denver-area-school-shooting\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (AP) \u2014 The lone fatality in the Colorado high school shooting was Kendrick Castillo, a friendly 18-year-old who leaped from his desk in a literature class and charged the two attackers, sacrificing his life to buy classmates time to escape.<\/p>\n<p>Another 18-year-old preparing to enter the Marines also tackled the shooters. And an armed security guard then confronted and detained one of the shooters.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities said these acts of bravery helped minimize the bloodshed from the attack, which also wounded eight people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re going to hear about very heroic things that have taken place at the school,\u201d Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>The attackers were identified by law enforcement officials as 18-year-old Devon Erickson and a younger student who is a juvenile and was not named. They allegedly walked into the STEM School Highlands Ranch through an entrance without metal detectors and opened fire in two classrooms.<\/p>\n<p>Because the attack happened only miles from Columbine and just weeks after the shooting\u2019s 20th anniversary, questions quickly arose about whether it was inspired by the 1999 massacre. But investigators offered no immediate motive.<\/p>\n<p>Student Nui Giasolli told NBC\u2019s \u201cToday\u201d show that she was in her British literature class when Erickson came in late and pulled out a gun.<\/p>\n<p>Castillo lunged at the gunman, who shot the teen. Castillo\u2019s swift action gave the rest of the class time to get underneath their desks and then run across the room to escape, Giasolli said.<\/p>\n<p>A member of the school\u2019s robotics club and a relentless tinkerer, Castillo had an infectious smile and gentle sense of humor, according to friends. He worked part-time at a local manufacturing company that had offered him a job after an internship because he was such a standout employee.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo find he went down as a hero, I\u2019m not surprised. That\u2019s exactly who Kendrick was,\u201d said Rachel Short, president of the company, Baccara.<\/p>\n<p>Cecilia Bedard, 19, had known Castillo since elementary school and said he was always friendly, modest and excited to help people. He made a point of always joining his father at Knights of Columbus fundraisers and bingo nights.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was amazing,\u201d Bedard said. \u201cHe was honestly the sweetest kid I ever met. Never said a mean joke.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brendan Bialy, also 18 and a senior who was enrolled in a delayed-entry program for the Marines, charged the shooters as well, helping fight them off, according to authorities and witnesses. \u201cHis decisive actions resulted in the safety and protection of his teachers and fellow classmates,\u201d Marine Capt. Michael Maggiti said.<\/p>\n<p>Then, as the shooters moved through the 1,800-student campus, an armed security guard detained one of them, Spurlock said.<\/p>\n<p>The guard was employed by Boss High Level Protection, a company started by a former SWAT team leader who responded to the Columbine shooting. The owner, Grant Whitus, told The Associated Press the security guard is a former Marine who ran to the area of the shootings and confronted one of the armed students in a hallway.<\/p>\n<p>The guard drew his weapon and apprehended the person, Whitus said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe doesn\u2019t even realize how many lives he saved by stopping a school shooting,\u201d Whitus said.<\/p>\n<p>Both suspects were students at the school, and they were not previously known to authorities, Spurlock said. A message left at a phone number listed for Erickson\u2019s home was not immediately returned. He was scheduled to make an initial court appearance later Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>Josh Dutton, 18, said he was close friends with Erickson in middle school but had not seen him for four years while attending a different high school. On Sunday, he spotted Erickson at a local light rail station and said he was shocked at how much his friend had changed.<\/p>\n<p>Erickson wore all black and was significantly thinner and did not seem interested in talking.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said he\u2019d just turned 18 and he owned rifles,\u201d Dutton said.<\/p>\n<p>The shooting took place exactly a week after a gunman killed two students and wounded four at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.<\/p>\n<p>It also came nearly three weeks after neighboring Littleton marked the anniversary of the Columbine attack that killed 13 people. The two schools are separated by about 7 miles (11 kilometers) in adjacent communities south of Denver.<\/p>\n<p>Douglas County District Attorney George Brauchler said the community remains resilient in the face of multiple shootings, including Columbine, the 2012 theater shooting in the Denver suburb of Aurora and the 2013 shooting at Arapahoe High School.<\/p>\n<p>The attacks are \u201caberrant acts\u201d although they might seem otherwise to the rest of the world, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho we are is a kind, compassionate, caring people, and this does not define us. It won\u2019t today and it won\u2019t tomorrow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/teen-who-charged-attackers-was-lone-death-in-south-denver-area-school-shooting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This undated photo provided by Rachel Short shows Kendrick Castillo, who was killed during a shooting at the STEM School Highlands Ranch on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, in Highlands Ranch, Colo. (Rachel Short via AP)School Shooting-Colorado Police tape remains near the scene following Tuesday&#8217;s shooting at STEM Highlands Ranch school, Wednesday, May 8, 2019, in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1310065","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-17 02:44:18","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1310065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310065\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1310065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1310065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1310065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}