Shots Fired, One Killed, Several Injured at STEM School in Highlands Ranch

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office says shots were fired at the STEM School Highlands Ranch.

By Conor McCormick-Cavanagh and Ana Campbell

May 7, 2019

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Editor's note: Click to access our latest post about this incident, "Highlands Ranch STEM School Shooting Update: One Dead, 8 Hurt, Shooter ID'd." Continue for our previous coverage.

One person died and at least eight students were injured, several seriously, after shots were fired just before 2 p.m. in the middle school at STEM School in Highlands Ranch today, May 7, according to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

An unidentified adult and a juvenile male, both STEM students, are in custody.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office tipped off the public to the incident at 2:04 p.m., when it tweeted this: "Unstable situation, shots fired at STEM school at Ridgeline and Plaza. Avoid area. Media go to north side of AMC."

The K-12 public charter school, formally known as STEM School Highlands Ranch, serves over 1,850 students and is part of the Douglas County School District.

Updated at 6 p.m.: This story has been updated to reflect that one person died in the shooting.

Conor McCormick-Cavanagh is a former staff writer at Westword, where he covered a range of beats, including local politics, immigration and homelessness. He previously worked as a journalist in Tunisia and loves to talk New York sports; he now lives in upstate New York.

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Ana Campbell has been Westword's managing editor since 2016. She has worked at magazines and newspapers around the country, picking up a few awards along the way for her writing and editing. She grew up in south Texas.