On Sep. 10, a school shooting at Evergreen High School in Colorado left two students injured. The incident has left many people across the country, mainly students, concerned. 

Jacki Kelly, spokeswoman for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, shared the known information about this shooting the following day. In a press conference, officials announced that both injured students were moved to Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora. One of the two shooting victims has since been identified as 18-year-old Matthew Silverstone. 

The school shooter was later identified as Desmond Holly, a 16-year-old student at Evergreen. Investigators searched his home under the permission of his parents, who have been cooperative during the investigation. While his motive is still unclear, Holly seems to have been radicalized by an unnamed extremist group, officials reported. 

The shooting has reignited questions about how schools can really keep students safe in the wake of gun violence across the country. For the Evergreen community, the immediate focus remains on supporting the victims and their families. But, as the investigation continues, and the district faces increasing pressure from the community to address safety concerns, this incident raises nationwide concerns on how to keep schools safe. 

In light of these events, the safety of our own school has been disputed. 

Zoey Huie, a senior at Cardozo said, “Especially in the Colorado shooting, the security was being stretched more than what should have been allowed.”

Here at Cardozo, we have security guards and metal detectors to protect us. But it always feels like you need more,” she added. 

It is not just a matter of a school’s policy, but government action taken to address the safety of children. Huie expressed that gun violence, “is getting extremely out of hand where it feels like the norm for everyday life.”

Fellow senior Alexandra Fannell argued,“Instead of worrying about other useless things that don’t help our government…there should be more gun control and mental health support for students.” 

The Evergreen student brought a revolver handgun that he repeatedly reloaded while making his way through the school. Kelly shared, “This went on and on, and as he did that, he tried to find new targets, and he came up against a roadblock on many of those doors. He couldn’t get to those kids.” 

It is believed that Holly was not targeting specific students, but instead firing indiscriminately. 

At around 12:30 pm calls of an active shooter were made to the sheriff’s office and officers were on the scene in two minutes. Within five minutes, officers encountered Holly, who then took his own life. Although there is body camera footage, it is yet to be released and the officers did not draw their guns, according to Kelly. 

Investigators are still working to identify a motive and how Holly came into possession of the revolver. Kelly said “the reason we have so many crime scene areas inside is because we have windows shot out. We have lockers that were shot up, we’re finding spent rounds, unspent rounds, so it’s a huge area and the school, I was told, is three levels, so lots of work to be done.”

It is unclear when classes at Evergreen high school will resume, but the school has said it will continue offering mental health resources to staff and students. 

The high school has not had a full-time School Resource Officer (SRO) for 11 months, since the assigned office was on medical leave. This was brought up by the Parent-Teacher Association during a meeting on Sep. 9. The meeting minutes show that the school principal told parents, the “district had deprioritized SROs for mountain schools because district officials believed the school was in a safer location.” A part-time SRO was issued and assigned to several schools; he had left campus prior to the shooting for an unrelated call nearby. 

Jefferson County Public schools so far has not responded to direct questions about whether or not the district deprioritized SROs for mountain schools because they were seen as safer. 

The question of school safety and gun violence has never been more relevant, especially in the Cardozo community. On Sep. 18, a 16-year-old student was arrested after issuing a social media threat and bringing a loaded weapon into the school building. The student was apprehended within minutes by the school’s safety staff, deans, and school administration, showing why proper safety measures are crucial in these situations.