Evergreen High Shooter Dead; Was Radicalized by ‘Extremists’

This is a follow-up to yesterday’s post about the shooting at Evergreen High School in Jefferson County, Colorado. On Wednesday afternoon, 16-year-old Desmond Holly opened fire inside the school with a revolver, shooting two of his classmates before turning the gun on himself. He later died at the hospital from his self-inflicted gunshot wound, aka, the coward’s way out.

One of the victims has been publicly identified as 18-year-old Matthew Silverstone. He remains in critical condition, while the second student has not been named but is also still hospitalized. Both families have asked for privacy while their children fight to recover.

What stands out most in this attack is how deliberate it was. According to investigators, Holly repeatedly fired and reloaded his revolver as he walked through the school. Witnesses and law enforcement described him as calm, moving from place to place while looking for new targets. That level of composure does not happen in a moment of impulse. It shows premeditation. It shows planning. It shows a mission.

Authorities still don’t know where he obtained the revolver. Officially, that question is “under investigation.” But let’s be honest here. In America, we all know the answer to that. Guns are rarely out of reach.

Investigators have also confirmed that Holly was “radicalized by an extremist network,” though they declined to say what kind. They don’t have to. I’ve been documenting these crimes for 26 years, and I know exactly what that means. It’s Columbiners. That’s what they call themselves, sometimes dressing it up under the softer term of ‘true crime community.’ These are the people who idolize Columbine, who obsess over school shooters, who trade manifestos and plans in online corners they think are hidden. They don’t just romanticize the killers; they encourage new ones.

Police are saying they don’t know the motive. Maybe they never will. But if I had to hazard a guess, this was just another copycat shooting. Another case of a teenager seduced by the mythos of Columbine, acting it out in the very land where it began.

This kid was not some martyr or hero. His name will be forgotten. In fact, as I mentioned yesterday, this shooting has already been mostly forgotten. More people are interested in the Charlie Kirk shooting than what happened at Evergreen. That alone should tell you how screwed up this country’s priorities have become.

And while the victims’ families grieve, and a community tries to recover, somewhere online there are others watching this unfold like it’s entertainment, already planning their own turn.

(Sources)