JCSO Evergreen High School Shooting Investigation Update
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to transparency and keeping our community informed about the Evergreen High School shooting. We continue to receive questions about this tragic event, and we hear your frustration. Our investigators are working non-stop on this case to ensure they leave no stone unturned. The shooting survivors, their families, the Evergreen High School students and staff, and the community deserve our very best. As such, there is still some information we cannot release because it could compromise the investigation.
When there are gaps in information being shared, people tend to create their own narrative based on speculation. We strongly discourage community members from spreading rumors and unconfirmed information, which causes unnecessary fear and panic. We want to give you the complete picture from that day, and we will as soon as we can. Meanwhile, we can now share a few pieces of information that should help put some of the rumors to rest.
School Resource Officer (SRO)
The School Resource Officer assigned to Evergreen and Conifer High Schools was on the Evergreen campus the morning of the incident. The deputy left for Conifer High School prior to the shooting. After arriving at Conifer he was dispatched to a nearby car accident. Before arriving at the accident, the call came out for the shooting, and he returned to Evergreen. We have no evidence or indication that the shooter waited for the deputy to leave the school before carrying out the attack.
A question we’ve received is whether having an SRO on campus could have prevented this tragedy. Unfortunately, that is something we will never know. We can tell you that national data on school shootings show that it is rare for an SRO or armed security to be the first to engage a shooter. Many school campuses are large, and depending on where the shooting begins, the SRO may have a significant distance to cover to locate and confront a suspect. In most cases, the shooter is stopped by responding officers, or they take their own life before they are confronted.
Deputy Response
We’ve also been asked why deputies from the nearby JCSO Mountain Precinct did not respond to either the car accident or the school during the shooting. Deputies do not wait at substations for calls to come in. They are actively patrolling the community. Some of the deputies in the area were enroute to the car accident, while others were handling other calls or patrolling neighborhoods. When a call comes in for an active shooter, every available deputy will stop what they are doing and get to the scene as quickly as possible.
Firearm Used
The shooter used a revolver-style handgun. Because this portion of the investigation remains open, we cannot yet release information about how the shooter obtained the weapon.
Some have questioned whether the time it takes to reload a revolver is consistent with the response timeline. It is. Surveillance video from the school showed the shooter was able to reload in seconds.
“Hit List” Rumor
We are aware of rumors about a so-called “hit list.” The Sheriff’s Office has found no evidence of any such list through the course of the investigation.
Safe2Tell and Prior Reports
We have been asked about the Safe2Tell program and why the Sheriff’s Office did not act on reports of concerning behavior by the shooter in the years before the incident. To clarify: The only Safe2Tell report the Sheriff’s Office received involving the shooter was made three days after the event. We have no record of any prior reports or complaints involving this individual.
FBI Tip
It is true that a tip was sent to the FBI Office in New York in July about a concerning social media post. The tip did not identify the person who posted it. In these cases, law enforcement must obtain warrants to request information from social media platforms. By law, these companies have up to 35 days to respond to each warrant, and typically two or three warrants are needed to determine who made a post and from where. That process was still underway when the shooting occurred. The FBI did not fail to act; this delay is a limitation of the current legal system. The FBI is an important partner and continues to offer support and resources in this ongoing investigation.
Jefferson County Sheriff Reggie Marinelli is currently drafting a federal bill to address these delays, focusing on a mandate to provide faster responses to warrants.
Bullet Found in September 2024
In September 2024, a bullet was found in a school stairwell and turned over to school officials. The school district took a report and notified the Sheriff’s Office. We have no reason to believe that incident had any connection to the shooting that occurred a year later, on September 10, 2025.
School Lockdown and Response
During the shooting, Evergreen High School students and staff did an outstanding job following their lockdown procedures. The lockdown was initiated about 40 seconds after the first shot was fired. Their quick and calm actions saved lives.
While classrooms were locked down, some reported hearing officers identifying themselves and asking to open doors. Teachers and students correctly followed their training by keeping doors locked. Once it is safe to clear classrooms, deputies use school-provided keys to unlock them. Multiple law enforcement agencies assisted in clearing the building. Upon reviewing tapes, there were law enforcement officers who announced their presence. We strive for consistency in our training, but we realize that the intent of all law enforcement officers present that day was to ensure students’ safety.
Timeline of Events
Below you will find the timeline for first responder actions and a separate timeline for the shooter. A few important things to keep in mind:
Some have criticized the 2-minute “delay” from when the first 911 call went out to when the first unit was dispatched. Let’s put this into perspective for you. Notice that the first 911 call lasted about 40 seconds. It takes time to gather information from someone, especially when they are in crisis.
Response times are always longer in mountain communities due to the terrain, smaller roadways, and greater distances between places.
This is the timeline of emergency response – based on Jeffcom 911 records:
12:21:14 – First shot fired inside the school
12:21:56 – Lockdown initiated by school staff
12:22:15 – First call came in to 911 – a call-taker gathered information.
12:22:59 – Call transferred into a queue on a computer for dispatchers to then dispatch (Deputies can also see that queue. Based on the nature of the call, our first deputy began heading toward the school immediately (12:23:00), before it was officially dispatched.)
12:23:17 – Call opened and read by dispatcher
12:24:01 – Call toned and aired to patrol
12:24:09 – First responding unit was officially dispatched.
12:24:26 – Another deputy self-deployed toward the school.
12:27:22 – First unit on scene (this is a 3-minute response time – we originally stated 2.5 minutes)
12:30:29 – Deputy confronts gunman at gunpoint
Shooter’s movements – based on school surveillance video:
12:21:14 – First shot inside the school
12:21:26 – First shot at an individual
12:21:40 – First victim shot
12:23:30 – Shooter exits the building
12:23:30 – 12:26:21 – Shooter looks for people and then tries to get back into the school through several doors
12:27:21 – Shooter walks/runs across the track moving NE, then goes out of camera view
12:30:29 – Gunman at gunpoint confronted by deputy
12:31:37 – Life-saving measures started by deputies on the second victim
12:33:24 – Suspect reported down by self-inflicted wound
Note: The shooter either walked or ran throughout the school and fired several rounds at individuals as he encountered them and reloaded the gun several times as he moved.
Ongoing Updates
As the investigation continues, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office will share verified information with the community as we are able. We appreciate your patience, understanding, and continued support.
Support
If anyone in the Evergreen Community needs support, they may contact the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Victim Services Unit at 303-271-5339 or victimservices@jeffco.us
You may also call or text the Colorado Mental Health Line at 988. This resource is available 24/7/365 for general mental health support in addition to crisis support.
