Denver school shooting: School board lifts ban on armed guards as students protest at Colorado Capitol
Austin Lyle was the prime suspect in the shooting at East High School in Denver, Colorado, on Wednesday morning
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The Denver school board has lifted its ban on armed guards and police officers in its schools in the wake of this week’s shooting.
On Thursday, the board voted unanimously in favour of temporarily suspending the almost two-year ban which was put in place as part of the racial reckoning after George Floyd’s 2020 murder.
The same day, a crowd of students held a rally at the Colorado state Capitol calling on lawmakers to take greater action on gun control and school safety following Wednesday’s violence.
Austin Lyle, a 17-year-old student, allegedly shot two faculty members at East High School on Wednesday morning while he was being searched for weapons.
The teenager had been required to be patted down each day at school due to his record, police said.
After the shooting, Lyle allegedly killed himself while on the run from police.
His body was found hours later in some woods close to his abandoned red Volvo.
The two victims – Eric Sinclair, a dean of culture, and Jerald Mason, coordinator in restorative practice – were rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds. Mr Sinclair remains in critical condition while Mr Mason was later released after treatment.
A Denver student on probation shot two people during a school security check. Who is suspect Austin Lyle?
Reporter interrupts broadcast to hug her son in midst of shooting at Denver school
Two staff members shot in active shooter incident at a Denver high school
Denver student, 17, was arrested over ghost gun two years before shooting two staff members at high school
Denver school shooting becomes personal for local reporting covering story on TV
A Fox News reporter immediately hugged her son after being reunited with him during a live broadcast of a shooting at his school in Denver, Colorado.
Alicia Acuna, the mother of a teenager, shared a heart-warming moment with her son outside East High School in Denver on Wednesday, where a student shot two faculty members.
Acuna told her colleagues in the studio to excuse her as she suddenly saw her son walking towards her. “I am sorry, I have not seen my kid since this all went down,” she said.
The reporter appeared to get emotional soon after and said there was no way anyone would let their kid walk by in such a situation.
She was asked by her colleague to step aside if she wanted to meet her son but she continued with her coverage, saying: “He’s ok. He’s good.”
Shweta Sharma has more.
Fox reporter reunited with son on air after Denver school shooting
Alicia Acuna appears to be emotional after hugging her son live on air
Austin Lyle brought a weapon into his previous school, says report
Denver school shooting suspect Austin Lyle once brought a weapon into his previous school before he was expelled and began attending East High School, according to a report.
Sources told ABC News that officials at Overland High School had told law enforcement that the 17-year-old was “potentially violent” and a “threat to the safety of the school”.
During the 2021 to 2022 school year, there was several incidents involving the teenager including at least one instance where he brought a weapon to the school, the sources said.
Gun violence in Colorado, by the numbers
The Wednesday shooting in Denver is the latest in a record season of violence for Colorado.
According to data from the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security, 2022 was a record year for school shootings in Colorado, with 303 incidents. That’s 10 times the level of gun incidents in schools that occured in 2013.
What are ghost guns?
Austin Lyle, the alleged student gunman who wounded two Denver school faculty in a shooting on Wednesday, reportedly had a previous arrest for posession of an untraceable “ghost gun.”
Here’s more information on this new and shocking type of weapon.
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Biden’s latest proposed action comes over a year after he promised to implement new regulations on ghost guns
Students hold rally at state Capitol
Denver students held a rally at the Colorado state Capitol on Thursday over the school shooting that left two staff members wounded and a teenage suspect dead one day earlier.
A crowd of students and parents gathered for the protest calling on lawmakers to take greater action on gun control and school safety.
One student told CBS Colorado that it is “scary” to attend school.
“I decided because I want safety for every student who is in high school and who is going to attend high school because it’s hard,” they said.
“As someone with anxiety problems, it gets really scary when you are paranoid being at school sometimes.”
Denver student, 17, was arrested over ghost gun two years before shooting
The student accused of shooting two staff members at a high school in Denver, Colorado, before allegedly killing himself had been arrested for possession of a ghost gun two years earlier.
Austin Lyle, 17, allegedly shot Eric Sinclair, dean of culture, and Jerald Mason, coordinator in restorative practice, at East High School in Denver, Colorado, on Wednesday morning.
Following an hours-long manhunt to track down the student, Lyle’s body was discovered in a wooded area.
Now, the teenager’s past brushes with the law have come to light, revealing that he was still on probation for possession of a ghost gun at the time of Wednesday’s shooting.
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:
Denver student, 17, was arrested over ghost gun two years before high school shooting
Austin Lyle, 17, was arrested in 2021 for possession of a ghost gun and high capacity magazine
School board lifts ban on armed guards
The school board has lifted its ban on armed guards and police officers in its schools in the wake of this week’s shooting.
Armed guards have been banned from local schools for almost two years as part of the racial reckoning after George Floyd’s 2020 murder.
His killing prompted calls for an end to systemic racism and, as part of this, critics argued officers in schools were disproportionately criminalising students of colour.
On Thursday, the board voted unanimously in favour of temporarily suspending the ban.
“Based on the emergency situation presented by the events of March 22, 2023, the Board of Education will hereby suspend (the ban on armed officers) through June 30, 2023,” the motion stated.
Shooting comes just one month after student was fatally shot
The shooting marks just the latest gun violence to rock East Denver High school in the space of a month.
In February, 16-year-old student Luis Garcia was shot as he sat in a parked car close to the school grounds.
He died weeks later.
Following his death, a group of fellow students called on local officials to take action to make their schools safer.
Several attended a city council meeting and spoke on their fears over gun violence in schools while the Denver East High School chapter of Students Demand Action staged a walkout demanding better gun control.
Juvenile tries to shoot police officer one day after school shooting
One day after the shooting at East High, Denver Police said they had arrested another juvenile who tried to shoot an officer.
10 guns seized from Denver schools so far in school year
In total, 10 guns were found on Denver school students and seized between the start of the school year and February, according to Denver Public Schools.
It has emerged that Austin Lyle was under a school safety plan where he had to be patted down for weapons every day on arrival at East High.