Two school administrators were shot and injured by a student armed with a handgun at East High School in Denver, US, reported ABC News. The suspect, who was subject to daily "pat-down searches" as part of a safety plan, fled the scene, but the police said to be aware of his identity, and the search is going on. Cops did not disclose the reason for the daily searches, only citing "prior behaviour" to be the cause.
The school was placed under lockdown after the incident, but were later released.
The Denver Police Department said that it is responding to the shooting at East High School. "If investigators need assistance from the community in identifying or locating a suspect, they will provide us with information to share with the public. Right now, they are in the very early stages of the investigation, and no additional info is available," it said.
One of the injured staff members is in critical condition and undergoing surgery, while the other is in stable condition and has spoken to the authorities. The incident occurred during the daily pat-down in the school's office, which is reportedly isolated from other students and staff. The police have yet to recover the gun.
USA Today quoted Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas as saying: "Certainly it is a concern that we have an individual who is not in our custody at this time, who is armed with a weapon... We don't have any sense of where he is." According to the police, the shooter "was secluded with just these school administrators during the safety protocol".
Last month, East High School students appealed to the city council to take action on school safety and gun violence following the serious injury of a 16-year-old student in a shooting near the school. The superintendent of the school has announced the deployment of two armed officers for the rest of the academic year. It is worth noting that this shooting occurred on the second anniversary of the Boulder King Soopers grocery store mass shooting that killed 10 people.