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| 9/28/2006 11:45:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener addresses the press Wednesday afternoon outside the Bailey Substation to provide an update on the hostage situation at Platte Canyon High School. The gunman, who initially took six hostages, shot and killed student Emily Keyes and himself. (Photo by Tom Locke/The Flume) |
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Platte Canyon shooting summary
as reported on The Flume.com
A lone male gunman entered Platte Canyon High School late Wednesday morning, fired shots and took hostages.
During a press conference at the Bailey Substation at about 2:30 p.m., Jefferson County Sheriff's Public Information Officer Jacki Kelley confirmed that two female students are being held hostage by an armed man inside the high school.
Six hostages were initially reported but "We are down to two, " Kelley said.
Law enforcement officials were on the scene attempting to defuse the situation.
According to sheriff's dispatch reports starting at about 11:45 a.m., an adult male had fired a shot in a high school second-floor classroom after a teacher had refused to do what he asked.
Jan Howard, assistant to school district superintendent Jim Walpole, stated shortly after that the high school and the middle school had gone into lockdown mode, meaning no one could enter or leave the building except for authorized personnel.
The dispatcher described a situation in which the male had a "black squarish looking gun and fired one shot when the teacher refused to do what he asked."
At 11:50 a.m., the dispatcher said that the teacher had left the room five minutes before, but that students were still in the room with the man. Howard could not confirm whether a shot had been fired.
Flume reporter Cate Malek, who was on the scene, said U.S. 285 between the high school, administration building and Fitzsimmons Middle School was blocked and closed to traffic. The school campuses are 3.6 miles west of Bailey, an unincorporated community 40 miles southwest of Denver. The main access to both schools is on 285, a major highway traveling north to south across the state.
Flume reporter Cate Malek said no injuries have been reported and that a SWAT tank had pulled up to the school buildings at about 2 p.m.
As of 2:10 p.m. The Flume learned that students from the high school were evacuated to the gymnasium in the administration building, and students from Fitzsimmons Middle School were evacuated to an outside area. They were then bused to Deer Creek Elementary about four miles east of Bailey where parents could pick up their children.
At a 2:30 p.m press conference, Jacki Kelley, a spokeswman for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, said all students in Fitzsimmons Middle School and Platte Canyon High School were out of the buildings.
As of 2:55 p.m., Kelley confirmed that two female students were being held hostage by an armed man inside the high school. Six hostages were initially reported but "We are down to two, " Kelley said.
She also confirmed that the male described as being 30-50 year old has fired several shots inside a second floor classroom of the school. Kelley reports the man is also armed with "some suspicious device," but cannot confirm that the man had made threats about the device. Jefferson County SWAT and bomb squad are on scene."
The man has yet to be identified but Kelley has stated "that the right people know who he is."
20 jurisdictions are involved in the standoff with several agencies responding without being requested. Negotiations with the gunmen were reported as brief.
Shortly before 4 p.m. an explosion was heard at the high school. The report at the time said A SWAT team entered the classroom and had the suspected gunman in custody. The report said one female student hostage is in critical condition and has been transported to a Denver hospital via Flight for Life. The condition of the second female hostage is unknown at this time.
At a 4:30 p.m. press conference at the Bailey Sheriff's Substation, Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener said he had made a decision to send SWAT teams into the classroom.
Wegener said that the gunman was threatening the hostages "the whole time" and he was "shielding himself with one of the hostages."
At a press conference at St. Anthony's Hospital in Denver at about 6:30 p.m., officials pronounced the student dead.
The student victim, Emily Keyes, 16, was a junior at Platte Canyon High School.
The second hostage held by the gunman was not injured.
Through the evening, authorities focused on identifying the gunman and determining a motive for the attack.
Wegener, who said he knew the families of the hostages, spoke with emotion during the press conference. "I'm still somewhat shocked that this could happen in a rural county," he said.
According to the school district's website, Fitzsimmons Middle School serves grades six through eight and has an enrollment of 310 Platte Canyon High School serves grades nine through 12 and has an enrollment of 460. Platte Canyon School District # 1 has a total enrollment of 1,315.
Flume Editor Tom Locke and Malek covered the story.
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