Local media is reporting that one of the suspects in the STEM School Highlands Ranch shooting in Colorado is transgender. On Tuesday, two students at the STEM School opened fire on their classmates, killing one and injuring eight others before they were stopped. Both of the shooters were taken alive by police and appeared in court yesterday. Devon Erickson, 18, was one of the shooters. The senior has a purple streak in his hair and, according to The Advocate, had a selfie with a rainbow overlay to celebrate pride in his Facebook account. The other, Alec McKinney, is 16. While police and court records deadnamed him, his public defender said that he goes by Alec and uses “he” pronouns. Related: Now conspiracy theorists are claiming the YouTube shooter was a trans woman Prosecutors have not said whether McKinney would be tried as an adult. He faces charges of suspicion of murder and attempted murder. A source close to the investigation told KMGH-TV that the shooters’ motivations went “beyond bullying” and “involved revenge and anger towards others at the school.” One of the suspects was known to be taking illegal drugs, but the source did not specify which. Erickson’s best friend Aiden Beatty told The Denver Post that Erickson enjoyed musical theater and had just gotten a job as a vocal instructor. He said that his friend wasn’t bullied all that much at the school. “He would say so-and-so doesn’t like me,” Beatty said, but he said that Erickson didn’t mention anything more serious. A car that was spray-painted “Fuck society” was towed from Erickson’s home. “F—k society,” read a message spray painted across a vehicle that investigators have towed from one of the suspect’s home https://t.co/NDWoNJlVxY pic.twitter.com/VYvHo5JRN4 — Denver7 News (@DenverChannel) May 8, 2019 Local authorities say that Kendrick Castillo, 18, was shot and killed during the shooting while he was trying to save other students. Student Nui Giasolli said that she was in a British literature class when one of the shooters entered. Castillo lunged at him, giving the other students time to hide or escape the room. “To find he went down as a hero, I’m not surprised, that’s exactly who Kendrick was,” said Rachel Short, Castillo’s employer.<doc-sep>Devon Erickson, 18, pictured, was identified as one of the school shooters who killed one student and shot eight others at STEM School Highland Ranch. A transgender schoolboy was named as the second shooter. (Picture: Facebook) A transgender schoolboy has been identified as the second gunman who went on a rampage at a high school that killed one person, police said. Authorities said they arrested the ‘juvenile female,’ who is transitioning to be a male, and is not being named, as well as Devon Erickson, 18, after the duo opened fire on students at STEM Highlands Ranch in Denver on Tuesday afternoon. Both suspects are believed to be students at the school and were allegedly driven by revenge, according to The Denver Channel. Sources told the station that the unnamed boy’s motive went ‘beyond bullying and involved revenge and anger towards others at the school,’ adding ‘that at least one of the suspects was involved in legal and illegal drug use and had been in therapy.’ The Douglas County Sheriff wrote: ‘We originally thought the juvenile was a male by appearance.’ The two reportedly began shooting after they walked into a classroom and pulled guns from a guitar case. Police say they got ‘deep’ into the school’s campus during their rampage. Kendrick Castillo, 18, was killed during the school shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch (Pictur: Facebook) Students are evacuated from the Recreation Center at Northridge in Highlands Ranch after a shooting at the STEM School Highlands Ranch on Tuesday (Picture: Getty Images) One student was killed, who police identified as 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo, and eight others were shot, but survived, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s office Students in a classroom tried to tackle one of the shooters, Brad Baily, a father of a boy at the school told The New York Times. Capitol riot probe commission blocked from being created by Republicans Baily said his son Brendan and two friends tried to wrestle one of the gunmen to the ground, but one of the boys was shot in the chest during their heroic response. Other students began putting pressure on the boy’s wound. His condition is unknown. Fernando Montoya said his 17-year-old son was shot three times – but miraculously was not seriously injured and was released from the hospital Tuesday night. Eight students survived being shot during the deadly rampage that killed Castillo (Picture: Getty Images) Brendan Bialy has been identified as one of the students who tackled one of the two STEM Highlands Ranch shooters (Picture: Instagram) Students were reunited with their parents after being evacuated to the Recreation Center at Northridge (Picture: Getty Images) Car towed from #stemshooting suspect's home apparently has "F*** SOCIETY" spray painted on the side. Also "666" and a what looks like a pentagram sprayed on the hood. pic.twitter.com/e6QX3lq4v3 — John Fenton (@higuysimjohn) May 8, 2019 Montoya told KMGH: ‘Thank God he is fine. Even though he got shot, he’s OK. He’s going to walk out on his feet.’ He continued: ‘It’s hard to believe that someone in the classroom is going to have a weapon and is just going to open fire like nothing.’ Amazon mocked for AmaZen mental health 'cry closets' set up on factory floor The school teaches approximately 1,850 students, aged five to 18, and will be closed the rest of the week, officials said. Police have obtained search warrants for the suspects’ homes and a vehicle they allegedly used that was found in the school parking lot. Authorities also towed a car from Erickson’s home that had ‘Fuck Society’ spray painted on the side. It also had ‘666’ and what appeared to be a pentagram sprayed onto the hood, according to CNN.<doc-sep>The alleged juvenile shooter at STEM School Highlands Ranch Tuesday has been identified as Maya McKinney, a girl who is reported to be “transitioning” from female to male, said the Denver Post. McKinney, 16, who uses the name “Alec,” is being charged under her legal name of Maya Elizabeth. According to the report, McKinney and the other shooting suspect, Devon Erickson, 18, appeared at Douglas County Courthouse Wednesday. McKinney sat next to her mother, who reportedly remained at the table in the courtroom alone, crying, after her daughter was removed. While both suspects remain in custody, District Attorney George Brauchler is scheduled to announce formal charges against them Friday. He also plans to announce whether he will charge McKinney as an adult. The shooting at the school left an 18-year-old male student dead and eight others injured, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. The Post reported: McKinney’s attorney offered some clarity to his client’s gender identity during the court hearing after Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock identified the Juvenile suspect as a boy immediately after the shooting and then as a girl during an early Wednesday morning news conference. … During the hearing, McKinney’s defense attorney, Ara Ohanian, asked that his client’s handcuffs be removed. The judge declined, citing what she had read in court filings. [District Court Judge Theresa] Slade also withheld bond, saying, “The court does find that Mr. McKinney is a danger to others.” Freshman Ben Lemos told the Post McKinney was transgender and had personal problems that included “a negative experience with school.” Heavy reported McKinney posted to her Twitter account that her mother said she missed “my Alec can you find him for me,” and that McKinney responded, “I miss my dad can you find him for me.” The report also noted that a friend of McKinney’s and Erickson’s also posted to Instagram that both suspects are “struggling with mental health issues.”<doc-sep>
One of the suspects in a school shooting in Colorado in Tuesday identifies as transgender, according to local reports. One person was killed and another eight were injured on Tuesday when two students opened fire at STEM School Highlands Ranch outside of Denver. Both suspects in the shooting, Devon Erickson, 18, and Alec McKinney, 16, appeared in court on Wednesday, with both also being linked to the LGBTQ community in subsequent media reports. The Advocate obtained screenshots of Erickson’s Facebook page, which show one of the teen’s profile images containing a rainbow overlay celebrating Pride. According to the Denver Post, Erickson was involved in musical theater and was working as a vocal instructor. Aiden Beatty, his best friend, told the Post that Erickson wasn’t bullied, to his knowledge. “He would say so-and-so doesn’t like me,” Beatty said, but didn’t talk about anything beyond that. McKinney appeared in court under the name Maya McKinney, but his public defender told the court that his client prefers male pronouns and is called Alec, according to the Associated Press. Local ABC affiliate KMGH-TV cited multiple sources close to the investigation as saying that McKinney identifies as transgender and is in the process of transitioning to male. The sources also reportedly said that the motive went beyond the suspects being bullied at school, and that the shooting was an act of revenge. Sheriff Tony Spurlock spoke to reporters prior to McKinney’s appearance in court and refused to comment on the youth’s gender identity. “Right now we are identifying the individual as a female, because that’s where we’re at,” Spurlock told reporters. “We originally thought the juvenile was a male by appearance.” The shooting at STEM left one student, 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo, dead. Another student at the school, Nui Giasolli, told NBC’s Today that one of the suspects entered her British Literature class and drew their weapon. Castillo reportedly jumped towards the gunman, and was shot and killed in the process. Giasolli said his actions allowed the other students to seek shelter under their desks and then eventually escape. McKinney is currently being held on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, and is legally old enough to be tried as an adult in Colorado, though District Attorney George Brauchler has yet to decide whether to file adult charges. Erickson is being accused of one count of murder and a further 29 counts of attempted murder. Both Erickson and McKinner will appear again in court on Friday, when charges are expected to be filed.