Officials identified the Evergreen High School shooting suspect who allegedly injured two students and took his own life as 16-year-old Desmond Holly.

Holly allegedly entered the school with a revolver and fired and reloaded “on and on and on,” Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jacki Kelley said at a news conference on Thursday.

“The suspect’s gun was fired a lot,” Kelley emphasized, adding that they are lucky more students were not injured.

“I have to believe when you bring a gun to school and you continue to fire and reload, you are on a mission,” she said. “We are grateful that he was less successful, but we are devastated that he was successful at all.”

Three minors, including the shooter, who were taken to the hospital with critical injuries as a result of the shooting, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday. Holly died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds and the other two are in critical condition.

Initially, reports said that one of the victims was released Thursday morning. Kelley said that this was not true and the victim remains in the hospital. Reports also said a fourth person was injured, but that is also not true.

Authorities identified one victim

Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office authorities identified one of the victims in Wednesday’s shooting at Evergreen High School as 18-year-old Matthew Silverstone, they said on social media Thursday afternoon.

Additionally, the office provided a statement attributed to Silverstone’s family.

“The family appreciates the community’s concern and support, but as we remain focused on our loved one’s recovery, we respectfully request privacy as we continue to heal and navigate the road ahead,” according to the statement. 

The high school is one of 10 in Jefferson County between Evergreen and Conifer that are closed Thursday, school officials told 9News. The full list of closures is as follows:

• High Schools: Evergreen, Conifer
• Middle Schools: Evergreen, West Jefferson
• Elementary Schools: Bergen, Wilmot, Parmalee, Elk Creek, Marshdale, West Jefferson

Local businesses give back to Evergreen High and students

While the sidewalks of downtown Evergreen remained mostly quiet Thursday afternoon, multiple groups of high school students could be found eating pancakes at the Wildflower Cafe.

The local eatery on the town’s main street was offering Evergreen High School students free flapjacks in the wake of Wednesday’s shooting. Many took the restaurant up on its offer.

Sitting at tables outside the eatery, early afternoon rain pattering on the slanted roof overhead, groups of EHS students could be overheard recounting the events from the day prior and speculating why the shooter, now identified by authorities as 16-year-old Desmond Holly, decided to commit such an act.

None agreed to speak on the record with The Denver Gazette about their experience.

The cafe was one of several local businesses offering free or discounted goods to students from the local, 900-person high school. Others included The Lazy Butcher, which offered free smash burgers to students, and Beau Jo’s Pizza in Evergreen, which will be donating 20% of its sales to the high school through the weekend, according to their respective social media accounts.

The scene outside the restaurant provided a stark contrast to the rest of downtown Evergreen, which, besides the rumble of cars driving down Colorado Highway 74, was largely quiet. Many of those passing each other on the sidewalk quietly checked in before continuing with their respective journeys. Few broke even a smile.

What we know so far

The shooting took place outside on school property around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, officials said. Three minors, including the shooter, were initially hospitalized with significant injuries from the incident.

One of those three remains in critical condition in the hospital as of Thursday morning, a representative from St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood said.

Officials have not been able to confirm many details thus far, including the identity of the those shot or a motive, but they did say the weapon used during the incident was a handgun.

“This is the scariest thing that could happen. We always say, ‘Not again.’ But here we are,” said Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jacki Kelley at a media briefing Wednesday. “These parents are really frightened, so are the kids.”

More than 100 officers from multiple jurisdictions responded to the incident, Kelley said, adding that authorities had evacuated everyone and cleared the school within an hour-and-a-half of the first call.

Kelley added that there was one more person who sustained minor injuries in the incident but did not give more details about their condition.

Kash Patel, director of the FBI, said on social media Wednesday that agents were on the scene and “supporting local authorities.”

Jefferson County officials first reported the shooting just before 1 p.m. Wednesday on social media, saying there were reports of an active shooter in the area of the school.

Jeffco Public Schools officials later confirmed the shooting happened outside the school and the building in an email to parents.

“I, the Evergreen Community, and the entire State of Colorado are devastated by this tragedy and will keep the victims, as well as their friends and family, in our thoughts,” Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement Wednesday evening. “This kind of violence has absolutely no place in Colorado or anywhere, especially our schools, where kids should feel safe to learn and grow. No family should ever fear for their child’s life as they send them to school.”

A solemn scene at the reunification point

As parents and family members gathered to pick up their high school students from the reunification point at Bergen Meadow Elementary School Wednesday afternoon, palpable feelings of anxiety and concern from the events that had just unfolded hung in the air.

Many waiting in line on the right side of the elementary school’s driveway embraced one another. Some wiped tears away. Others huddled together, sharing information about what had just unfolded.

As they walked back with their children to their cars — many of which were parked on the side of the road, a practice that disrupted the flow of traffic in the area — students could be overheard recounting their harrowing experience from just a few hours prior.

Several parties exiting the school declined to speak with The Denver Gazette.

Level 1 Trauma Center

It is not the first time St. Anthony’s Hospital — located at 11600 W 2nd Place in Lakewood — has treated victims from nearby school shootings.

The hospital, owned and ran by CommonSpirit Health, was opened in 1892 and remained in the West Colfax neighborhood in Denver until 2011, where it was moved to its new location.

The hospital was the first in the nation to have an airborne ambulance service with its Flight for Life program in 1972, making use of helicopters that had returned from war in Vietnam.

It’s also a Level 1 trauma center, meaning its staff is able to provide the highest level of comprehensive care to critical injuries.

While 1999 reports say some students in the Columbine High School shooting were treated at St. Anthony’s, most were sent to Swedish Medical Center, another Level 1 trauma center.

Emily Keyes, the 16-year-old victim in the 2006 Platte Canyon High School shooting, was sent to St. Anthony’s before being pronounced deceased after being shot by Duane Roger Morrison.

“It’s really hard. I try to be straight to the point. As a father, myself, I can put myself in their shoes,” St. Anthony’s Director of Trauma, Dr. Brian Blackwood, told The Denver Gazette’s news partner, 9News, on Wednesday about dealing with victims and families. “Unfortunately, these events don’t just affect the patient, it affects the families, the friends of the patients, the schools, the community, and we want to be mindful of all of those people.”

Thursday afternoon update

Desmond Holly, 16, was identified as the suspect in the Evergreen High School Shooting. He died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

Along with the release of Holly’s identification, the sheriff’s office announced new information at the Thursday afternoon press conference.

Holly allegedly had one revolver. He entered the school and began shooting and reloading, but faced various “roadblocks” with locked doors, according to Kelley.

Investigators do not know how Holly got the gun or how he got it into the school. He did take a bus to school in the morning.

The shooting did not stay on school property, but spilled out into the street behind the school as students were running. One of the victims was shot on the street.

Surveillance cameras in the school recorded the entire incident, helping investigators track his movement throughout the entire three-story school. There is also bodycam footage of police searching the school, but it will not be released to the public at this time.

Evergreen High School may open next week, but could be closed longer, according to Kelley.

While Kelley did not say that Holly’s parents are under investigation, she did say that “everything is on the table.”

She did say the parents are being fully cooperative, though.

School resource officer

Evergreen High School does have a full-time school resource officer (SRO) —trained Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputies there to assist with safety — but she was currently on medical leave during the shooting.

While the officer is on leave, the school had part-time SROs. There weren’t any on scene at the time, with one leaving around 10:30 a.m. for a nearby crash. The part-time SRO is allowed to come and go when needed elsewhere, Kelley said.

“Horrible timing, of course,” Kelley said of the full-time deputy’s medical leave.

Kelley said nearby schools still have a shared SRO, and a full-time SRO may be established in nearby schools in the future.

In a Wednesday statement, Jeffco Public Schools Superintendent Tracy Dorland said: “We cannot pretend this is just another tragic incident. The pain of this incident reopens old wounds. I know there are many in our Jeffco community hurting and grieving tonight, in Evergreen and beyond. The urgency this moment demands is undeniable. Student safety is not an abstract issue for us in Jeffco. It is the most important responsibility we hold. Safety is our number one priority every day, and yet, here we are once again, grieving with a community over gun violence impacting our students.”

Evergreen theater cancels weekend performances

Ovation West is canceling all three weekend performances of “Annie Get Your Gun” and instead will be holding a private cast gathering with trained therapists on hand.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Denver Gazette senior arts journalist John Moore contributed to this report.

For more on this story and others, please visit The Denver Gazette’s news partner 9News.