Evergreen High School Joins Colorado’s Bloody Legacy

At about 12:24 p.m. on September 10, 2025, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office started receiving calls about shots fired at Evergreen High School, about 28 miles southwest of Denver. Deputies were on the scene within two minutes and made contact with the suspect within five. Police engaged and neutralized the shooter, but not a single law enforcement round was fired. The suspect, a male juvenile student at the school, shot himself.

Authorities have not confirmed whether the one reported fatality is the shooter or another victim. What we do know is that at least three students under the age of 18 were hospitalized with gunshot wounds. Two are in critical condition. A fourth student injured themself while fleeing.

The suspect used a revolver. Who still uses a revolver? That’s not the weapon of choice for today’s would-be school shooters. That’s Grandpa’s gun, the kind you keep in a bedside drawer or the one your uncle keeps in a closet. It doesn’t take a leap of logic to think this weapon came from an older relative.

Sheriff’s spokesperson Jacki Kelley said at one point, “Honestly, I don’t know if our suspect is old enough to even drive.” This wasn’t a seasoned criminal or even an older teen with a deep plan. This was a boy who walked while firing. Students reported he wasn’t running. He started shooting on the grounds outside the building, then moved inside. Witnesses said he was calm enough to fire while his classmates bolted in every direction.

Jefferson County is also where Columbine happened in 1999. That was supposed to be the shooting to end all shootings. Instead, it became the model for every copycat that followed. Colorado has lived under this shadow for over 26 years, and Evergreen is just the latest scar.

Governor Jared Polis was quick to issue the standard line: “Students should be able to attend school safely and without fear across our state and nation. We are all praying for the victims and the entire community.” I’ll tell you where you can shove your prayers. Columbine was in your state. STEM Highlands Ranch was in your state. Arapahoe was in your state. The list goes on. How many times do you expect people to swallow ‘thoughts and prayers’ while kids bleed on the cafeteria floor?

Even Jefferson County Superintendent Tracy Dorland seems to be over the platitudes. She said, “The nation is tired of statements filled with platitudes and thoughts and prayers.” Finally, someone in power admits what everyone else has been screaming.

Yet, too many people in Colorado still think, ‘It can’t happen here.’ Evergreen parents said exactly that to local reporters. Let me remind you, you live in Colorado, the birthplace of modern school shootings. If it’s going to happen anywhere, the odds say it’s going to be Colorado or Texas. You’ve had at least 13 school shootings since Columbine, along with other incidents and mass shootings. No one there should be surprised anymore.

Here’s the list of school shootings in Colorado since Columbine:

Columbine High School – 4/20/99
Platte Canyon High School – 9/27/06
Deer Creek Middle School – 2/23/10
Arapahoe High School – 12/13/13
Pueblo East High School – 5/4/16
Grand Junction High School – 11/2/16
DSST: Cole Middle School – 8/28/18
STEM School Highlands Ranch – 5/7/19
Hinkley High School – 11/19/21
Denver East High School – 2/13/23
Denver East High School – 3/22/23
UCCS (Alpine Village) – 10/21/24
Auraria Campus – 10/21/24

Now, add Evergreen to that shameful roll call.

There was no school resource officer present when the shooting began. One is technically assigned to Evergreen but absent that day. Whether SROs actually stop shootings is a coin toss at best. In this case, it made no difference.

And to make matters worse, this attack happened less than an hour after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was gunned down in Utah. That national headline buried Evergreen. One of the deadliest moments in Colorado schools since STEM Highlands Ranch was pushed off the front page because another man was shot.

So here we are, 26 years after Columbine, and kids are still running from their schools, leaving their backpacks and shoes in the dirt, hiding in basements and strangers’ homes, texting their parents that they love them while shots echo outside. Another community broken, another headline in Colorado, another round of platitudes from officials. And absolutely no reason to be surprised.

(Sources)