Denver school shooting latest: Austin Lyle ghost gun arrest revealed after student suspect found dead in woods

East High School, not far from downtown near a busy road that bisects the city, was placed under lockdown as police investigated the shooting.

Hundreds of parents lined up along a road near the school, with police cordoning off the crime scene.

Some parents and students vented their frustration at the school’s violence by surrounding the police chief. Others argued about the causes of the violence.

Police Chief Ron Thomas listened quietly, nodded, and promised to deal with the school board.

At the edge of the crowd, a man said members of the city’s school board should be called back for getting rid of the police at the school, telling a police officer nearby, “I just want you to be able to do your work to do.”

Another man shouted that it was an “evil in the world” issue, while a girl replied that the violence wouldn’t happen if guns weren’t so readily available.

Parent Jess Haase said her daughter, a senior, texted while hiding in a classroom with the lights off during the lockdown. Haase said the school had had too many lockdowns this year, and she was frustrated. She planned to talk to her daughter about pulling her out of school for the rest of the school year.

“I’m fed up,” she said.

Denver Public School confirmed that the victims were administrators.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said she wasn’t sure if President Joe Biden had been notified of the school shooting, but said, “Our hearts go out to the families of the two school administrators in Denver today and.” to all school community”.

She reiterated Biden’s call for tougher gun laws, including bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and urged Congress to “do something” about gun control.

One of the employees who was shot dead in Wednesday’s incident remains in critical condition.

Alleged gunman Austin Lyle opened fire at East Denver High School, meeting Eric Sinclair, a dean of culture, and Jerald Mason, coordinator of restorative practices.

After opening fire, the suspect fled the scene.

The two faculty members were taken to the hospital, where Mr. Sinclair remains in critical condition.

Mr Mason was discharged from hospital later on Wednesday following treatment.

Wednesday’s shooting is just the latest in a long line of shootings that have rocked students and school staff across America.

According to the Gun Violence Archive so far in 2023 there have been at least 18 shootings resulting in at least one injury or death in elementary or secondary schools across America.

Gun violence and mass shootings in all settings have also increased sharply.

America has witnessed another act of gun violence in one of its schools.

This time it took place at East High School in Denver, Colorado, where two faculty members were shot and a suspect student is now dead.

Austin Lyle, a 17-year-old student who was arrested two years earlier for possession of a spirit weapon, allegedly shot dead Eric Sinclair, dean of culture, and Jerald Mason, coordinator of restorative practice, in a high school office on Wednesday morning.

Lyle was being searched for weapons by staff at the time – a search the teenager had to undergo every day due to his history.

After the shooting, Lyle fled the scene before his body was discovered in a wooded area hours later.

Officials have not released his cause of death, but it is believed he died by suicide.

Here’s what we know so far about the shooting and the alleged shooter:

The shooting is just the latest gun violence to rock East Denver High School in a month.

In February, 16-year-old student Luis Garcia was shot and killed while sitting in a parked car near school grounds.

After his death, a group of fellow students urged local authorities to take action to make their schools safer.

Several attended a city council meeting and spoke out about their fears about gun violence in schools, while the Denver East High School chapter of Students Demand Action staged a walkout demanding better gun control.

The student, who is accused of shooting two staff members at a high school in Denver, Colorado before allegedly killing himself, had been arrested two years earlier for possession of a ghost gun.

Austin Lyle, 17, allegedly shot and killed Eric Sinclair, Dean of Culture, and Jerald Mason, Coordinator of Restorative Practice, at East High School in Denver, Colorado on Wednesday morning.

After an hour-long manhunt for the student, Lyle’s body was discovered in a wooded area.

Now the teenager’s previous struggles with the law have come to light, showing 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:

The suspect in Wednesday’s shooting transferred to East High School from another county, said Denver Public Schools superintendent Alex Marrero.

The officials did not reveal why the student was searched daily.

Marrero said student safety plans are enacted in response to “past educational and behavioral experiences,” adding that it’s a common practice in all Colorado public schools.

But daily scans are rare, said Matthew McClain of the Colorado School Counselor Association and Franci Crepeau-Hobson, a professor at the University of Colorado Denver who specializes in school violence prevention.

“They were clearly concerned,” Crepeau-Hobson said. “I can’t imagine they would do that if there wasn’t a story about the kid carrying a gun for some reason.”

School safety plans are often imposed after students exhibit threatening or suicidal behavior, said Christine Harms, director of the Colorado School Safety Resource Center. A team, which may include counselors, administrators and police officers, will assess the potential threat and develop a security plan that may include mental health support, more surveillance and searches, she said.

The student accused of shooting two staff members at a Denver, Colorado high school – one in critical condition – has now been found dead.

Park County Sheriff Tom McGraw said Wednesday night police found a male body in a woods near an abandoned red Volvo linked to 17-year-old suspect Austin Lyle.

The sheriff said the body has not yet been identified as belonging to the student, but a shelter for residents in the Park County area has been cleared.

On Thursday morning, the county coroner’s office confirmed that the body was that of Lyle.

Read the whole story here:

On Thursday morning, the Park County Coroner’s Office confirmed that a body found during the search for the shooter was that of suspect Austin Lyle.

Park County Sheriff Tom McGraw said Wednesday night police found a male body in a woods near an abandoned red Volvo that has been linked to the 17-year-old suspect.

The sheriff said the body has not yet been identified as belonging to the student, but a shelter for residents in the Park County area has been cleared.

The coroner confirmed early Thursday that the body belonged to Lyle.

The coroner said an inquest into his death was ongoing and that no further details would be released until an autopsy was completed.