Three students disarmed Colorado school shooter

Three students leapt up from their desks and disarmed a gunman during the shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch in Colorado on Tuesday. Kendrick Castillo, 18, who led the charge, was shot and killed. Castillo, along with classmates Brendan Bialy and Joshua Jones, minimized the bloodshed from the attack that wounded eight students, authorities said. Jones was shot twice but survived, according to a statement from his family. “Kendrick went out as a hero,” Bialy said. “He was a foot away from the shooter and instead of running the opposite direction he ran toward it.”

Law enforcement identified the suspects as Devon Erickson, 18, and Maya McKinney, 16. McKinney’s attorney said the student uses male pronouns and goes by Alec. Investigators offered no immediate motive for the shooting. Erickson and McKinney appeared in court on Wednesday. District Attorney George Brauchler said he has not decided whether to file adult charges against McKinney. Formal charges are expected by Friday.

At a vigil Wednesday night planned by the gun control group the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, hundreds of students walked out, saying the event's organizers were politicizing their trauma. Democratic lawmakers spoke at the event, and the Brady Campaign invited reporters to attend, USA Today reported. Students who left in protest gathered outside in the rain and held their lit cellphones up in remembrance of Castillo and in support of the other victims.