Security officer, student helped stop active shooters at Colorado school
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. May 10 2019— A former Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was working as a private security officer, and a student, who was willing to give his life to protect others, were “instrumental in preventing more loss of life at the STEM School in Highlands Ranch Colorado.
The security officer was credited with taking down one of the shooters,” according to Grant Whitus, chief operating officer with BOSS High Level Protection.
That security firm was hired to handle security for the private school where two students opened fire on classmates in two separate locations, killing one and injuring eight, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the security company, the security officer confronted one of the shooters and physically took down one of the suspect’s and handcuffed him.
Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said the shooting at the school at South Ridgeline Boulevard and Plaza Drive began around 1:50 p.m. Tuesday. STEM School does not have an on-site school resource officer, Spurlock said.
Kendrick Castillo, 18, a student at the school also moved swiftly to stop the shooting and was killed while protecting others.
STEM School Highlands Ranch, located at 8773 S. Ridgeline Blvd. in Highlands Ranch, was founded in 2011 and has grown to more than 1,850 students, according to the school’s website. The school is broken up into three sections: an elementary school, a middle school and a high school.
Last week, in Charlotte North Carolina, another student made the ultimate sacrifice when a student opened fire in a classroom at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte campus.
Riley C. Howell, 21, saved the lives of others as he sacrificed his own by confronting the gunman.
