Colorado authorities identify suspected school shooter as teenage student

Local authorities in Colorado on Thursday identified the alleged shooter responsible for the shooting at Evergreen High School as 16-year-old Desmond Holly, who was a student at the school.

The shooting occurred just after noon local time on Wednesday, and two students were injured in the incident. Both remain in critical condition as of Thursday afternoon. Holly allegedly died Wednesday of self-inflicted injuries, the New York Times reported.

Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jacki Kelley told reporters that Holly appeared to have been “radicalized by an extremist network,” but did not expand on what the network was, or describe what it stood for. 

Kelley also said Holly brought "quite a bit of ammunition with him" to the school and that one student was shot inside the school and one was shot outside of it. The school is located approximately 30 miles southwest of Denver.

“I have to believe when you bring a gun to school, and you continue to fire and reload, and fire and reload, that you are on a mission,” Kelley said. “We’re very, very grateful that there were not more injuries, but saddened that there were any.”

One of the victims has been identified as 18-year-old Matthew Silverstone, but the family of the second victim did not wish to reveal their loved one's name. 

Kelley said that the school will remain closed for the remainder of the week, and likely into next week.

“I can’t praise the staff and the students enough for doing what they learned to do,” she said. “They did the right thing. They locked down.”

The shooting occurred the same day that conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot at a college in Utah. There has been no evidence that the two shootings are linked.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.