Classes canceled at Jefferson County schools after Evergreen High School shooting

Classes were canceled for the rest of the week at Evergreen High School after a shooting shook the school on Wednesday, leaving two students hospitalized and the suspected assailant dead.

“Our hearts are broken with grief by the tragedy at our school earlier today,” Evergreen officials said in a Wednesday night community bulletin announcing the canceled classes.

It’s currently unknown when students will be able to re-enter the high school to retrieve their personal belongings, school officials said.

Another eight Jefferson County schools were closed Thursday in the Conifer and Evergreen articulation areas, according to Jefferson County Public Schools.

Closures include Evergreen Middle School, Wilmot Elementary, Parmalee Elementary, Conifer High School, West Jefferson Middle School, Elk Creek Elementary, Marshdale Elementary and West Jefferson Elementary.

Three students were shot at Evergreen High School just before 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, law enforcement officials said. As of that night, one had died and one remained in critical condition, hospital spokesperson Lindsay Foster said.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the student who died was the suspected shooter, but did not release the teen’s name. The suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The second victim was stable Wednesday night and transferred out of the hospital to a different facility, Dr. Brian Blackwood, the trauma program medical director at CommonSpirit St. Anthony Hospital, said in a Thursday morning news briefing.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office victim services unit plans to operate a resource and information center at the old location of Bergen Meadow Elementary on Thursday and Friday, according to the agency.