TRAGEDY

Colorado School Shooter Was ‘Radicalized’ Student, 16

The shooting 30 miles outside of Denver left the shooter dead and another student in critical condition.

Authorities in Colorado have named the shooter who injured two students at Evergreen High School on Wednesday. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said that Desmond Holly, 16, opened fire and repeatedly reloaded inside the school before he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said that Holly’s motive is not yet known, but that he “was radicalized by some extremist network.” The shooting resulted in the hospitalization of two students, one of whom is still in critical condition. FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X that his agency is assisting local law enforcement in its response. News of the shooting emerged shortly after word spread online that conservative activist Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot at an event in Utah. Kirk was scheduled to speak at an event in Colorado on Thursday, but he died from his wounds. Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert triggered a verbal skirmish Wednesday with another Colorado congresswoman, Rep. Brittany Petterson, when Boebert followed up a silent moment of prayer for Kirk on the House floor by proposing a vocal prayer. Petterson pointed out that the Evergreen shooting did not receive that response, and shouting ensued from Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna.