Police and others are seen outside a recreation center where students are reunited with their parents, in the Denver suburb of Highlands Ranch, Colo., after a shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch May 7, 2019. (David Zalubowski/AP) Colorado School Shooting Suspect Shared Anti-Trump Facebook Post, Report Says The 18-year-old suspect in a school shooting in Colorado shared at least one social media post that was critical of President Donald Trump and Christians. According to the New York Post, Devon Erickson’s Facebook page showed no indication that he wanted to gun down his classmates at STEM School Highlands Ranch. It noted that he posted items about the Denver Broncos, paintball, and appearing in community plays. One day after Election Day in 2016, he shared a video from Seth Myers’ “Late Night” show that criticized Trump. The Post highlighted one post he made in May 2014 that blasted Christianity and the Bible. Devon Erickson, Colorado school shooting suspect, shared anti-Trump post on Facebook https://t.co/EYlll7VxJ6 pic.twitter.com/FqvqCKysWX — New York Post (@nypost) May 8, 2019 In 2015, he also shared a pro-Obama post from left-wing Facebook page Occupy Democrats. “In just six years I nearly tripled the stock market, cut unemployment in half, ended two wars, cut the uninsured rate in half, brought gas down to $2.75, and cut the annual Bush deficit by two-thirds. Oh, and I got bin Laden,” said the post, which included a photo of Obama. The report didn’t highlight any other posts referring to social issues or politics. In the shooting, one student was killed and nine others were hurt when he and another underage suspect allegedly opened fire inside a K-12 school on the afternoon of May 7. The lone fatality, 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo, died while he and two others tried to take down Erickson, CBS News reported. “He was amazing,” Cecilia Bedard, who knew the victim, told The Associated Press. “He was honestly the sweetest kid I ever met. Never said a mean joke.” Student Michael Schwartz said Erickson, in the past, had spoken about hurting other people. “I always thought he was just messing around and stuff, but sometimes he did hint at it here and there,” Schwartz said. After about two minutes following the shooting, police arrived on the scene. “We did struggle with the suspects to take them into custody and they are in custody right now,” Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock told CBS. Fernando Montoya told the outlet that his son was shot three times, but he was released from the hospital. “All of a sudden a guy pulled I believe a pistol, I’m not sure, out of a guitar case and start to shoot,” Montoya said. The shooting occurred about eight miles from Columbine High School where 12 students and a teacher died in a mass shooting 20 years ago. The Associated Press reported that two handguns were used in the shooting, but Spurlock noted that the suspects had a “number of weapons,” without elaborating. On May 7, officials identified the juvenile suspect, who has not been named, believing she was a boy at first. “We originally thought the juvenile was a male by appearance,” Spurlock told The Associated Press.<doc-sep>A 16-year-old biological female who authorities charged as the second suspect in Tuesday’s Colorado school shooting reportedly identifies as a male named Alec. Maya McKinney’s lawyers requested Wednesday that the court use “he” to refer to their client, The New York Post reported. McKinney said only “Yes, your honor” and “No, your honor” in response to the judge’s questions. McKinney and 18-year-old Devon Erickson stand accused of killing one student and wounding at others at STEM School Highlands Ranch near Denver. (RELATED: Students Weren’t Told Colorado School Shooting Vigil Was Organized By Gun Control Group) Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock told reporters Wednesday that authorities believed McKinney to be a male when they first apprehended the suspect at the school Tuesday, but learned later that McKinney is in fact a biological female. “We originally thought that we had a juvenile male in custody but through our interviews yesterday late afternoon determined that we had a juvenile female that is in custody right now who is the other suspect,” Spurlock said, according to CBS Denver. District attorney George Brauchler has not yet decided whether to charge McKinney as an adult, as the suspect is the youngest age possible to face adult charges in Colorado. Erickson, however, faces 30 criminal charges related to the shooting, including murder and several charges of attempted murder. Police apprehended Erickson and McKinney at the school after several students fought back against the alleged shooters and subdued them. One of those students, Kendrick Ray Castillo, paid for his courage with his life. Castillo tackled Erickson, as classmates Josh Jones and Marine recruit Brendan Bialy also lunged at the suspect, when he entered their classroom and drew a gun. The suspects reportedly shot and killed Castillo. “As the trend is now to propagate the name of the shooter, shooters and their intents just kind of glorifies it, if anything inspires other people,” Bialy told NBC. “So in this happenstance, the absolute legend of the events of yesterday, Kendrick Castillo is the name I think should not go away to the sands of time.” Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.<doc-sep>
Local affiliates are reporting that bullying was tied to the incident at the STEM School in Highlands Ranch, Colo. Devon Erickson, 18, and Alec McKinney, 16, appeared in court Wednesday as suspects in the shooting of the STEM School in Highlands Ranch, Colo. Eight students were injured and one, 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo, was killed in the attack of the K-12 school, located about 25 miles outside of Denver. Denver’s ABC affiliate, KMGH-TV, reports McKinney is transgender and was bullied for his gender presentation, according to "sources close to the investigation." When McKinney appeared in court Wednesday, his attorney said his client's name is Alec — which was different from the name listed in the court record — and he prefers male pronouns, reports the Associated Press. Sheriff Tony Spurlock, addressing reporters on Wednesday before McKinney's court appearance, declined to answer a question regarding the gender identity of the suspect, reports Reuters. “Right now we are identifying the individual as a female, because that’s where we’re at,” Spurlock said. “We originally thought the juvenile was a male by appearance.” Above: Devon Erickson Meanwhile, Erickson made his court appearance earlier in the day, appearing in an orange jumpsuit and a shock of purple dyed in his black hair. He faces one count of first-degree murder and 29 counts of attempted murder. Erickson was involved in musical theater and was a singer in a few rock bands, according to the Denver Post. The New York Times reports that a YouTube account in his name, featuring cover songs from bands like Panic! at the Disco, had recently been removed. Screenshots of Erickson's Facebook profile obtained by The Advocate show a self-portrait with a rainbow overlay in celebration of Pride among the posted photographs. It is not yet known if McKinney will be charged as an adult. Editor's note: The headline of this article has been modified after publication.