An 18-year-old male student was killed and seven other students were injured in a shooting occurred Tuesday afternoon at a charter school near Denver, capital of the U.S. western state of Colorado, local police confirmed, Trend reported citing Xinhua.
"It is with extreme sadness that we can confirm that one student at the STEM School was killed in today's #stemshooting incident. The immediate family has been notified. Douglas County Coroner Jill Romann has not officially identified the student is stating it's an 18 year old male," Douglas County Sheriff's Office tweeted about five hours after the fatal incident.
Two suspects entered the school just before 2 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) and "got deep inside the school and engaged students in two separate locations," according to Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock.
Both suspects were arrested by the policemen arriving at the scene in time, Spurlock said at a press briefing, adding the investigators had recovered a handgun, but had no clue on the suspects' initiations and particular target.
03:47 (GMT+4) At least seven students were injured in a shooting Tuesday afternoon at a charter school near Denver, capital of the U.S. western state of Colorado, local police said, Trend reported citing Xinhua.
"7 possibly 8 students have been injured. Two shooters in custody. SWAT still clearing school," Douglas County Sheriff's Office tweeted about two hours after the incident.
The reports of shots fired came at 1:53 p.m. local time, according to Douglas County Sheriff's Office, which also confirmed later that two suspects were in custody so far.
Douglas County Undersheriff Holly Nicholson-Kluth was quoted by the local Denver Post newspaper as saying that authorities did not believe another suspect was still in the school, however deputies were still going room to room at the school, clearing the building.
She said it wasn't yet known whether the suspects were students at the school and she did not disclose the details of the shooting, just saying that when police entered the school, they found some sort of "struggle."
Meanwhile, Wendy Forbes, spokeswoman for Littleton Adventist Hospital, briefed reporters that five patients were transported the hospital, four of them in serious condition while one in fair condition.
The incident occurred at STEM School Highlands Ranch, located about 32 kilometers south from the Denver downtown. There are about 1,850 students in the K-12 charter school.
01:39 (GMT+4) Two suspects are in custody after multiple victims were shot at a Colorado school, a law enforcement source told ABC News, Trend reported.
Authorities are currently engaging a third suspect, the source said.
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office received reports that shots were fired at the STEM School in Highlands Ranch just before 2 p.m., according to a tweet. At least two people are believed to be injured, according to the sheriff's office.
The two injured people are students, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office told reporters during a news conference. The nature of their injuries is unclear.
The school has a school resource officer, but it is unclear if he or she was present during the shooting, authorities said. It is still an active shooter situation.
The charter school teaches kindergarten through 12th grade and has more than 1,800 students, the spokesperson said. More than 500 of those students are elementary age, ABC Denver affiliate KMGH reported.
The school was under lockdown as authorities went from classroom to classroom to clear them, KMGH reported. Nearby schools were placed on lockout, according to the local station.
Parents were instructed to pick up their children nearby at the Northridge Recreation Center.
One concerned mother named Kelly told KMGH that her sixth-grade son got out of the school but her third-grade daughter was still inside.
The school was surrounded by first responders, Kelly said.
Kelly’s son, Christian, said he was in study hall when he saw a “bunch of kids running out and saying, ‘school shooter, school shooter.’” At first, he wasn’t sure the situation was real, he said.
“I tried to run with my life but I’m out of breath,” Christian said.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said the state is making all public safety resources available to assist the sheriff's office.
"The heart of all Colorado is with the victims and their families," Polis said in a statement.