A private security guard may have fired at an officer racing to the Colorado school shooting — and even wounded one of the students, according to a local report citing multiple law enforcement sources. Authorities are investigating shots fired by the unidentified private security officer who was at the STEM School Highlands Ranch when one student was killed and eight others injured on Tuesday, Denver’s 9 News reported. One of the Douglas County sheriff’s deputies racing to the classroom reported that the security guard had fired as they arrived, according to the report. “Investigators are also looking at the possibility a bullet from that security officer’s gun may have hit and wounded one of the students injured in the incident — a question that likely will not be answered until ballistics testing is complete,” 9 News insisted. Douglas County sheriff’s spokeswoman Cocha Heyden declined to comment on 9 News’ report, saying the attack is an ongoing investigation. Security company owner Grant Whitus, whose guard was at the school, also insisted the claims were “news to me.” “I know nothing about that because I haven’t interviewed him,” Whitus, a former sheriff’s officer who now owns BOSS High Level Protection, told the station. “Douglas County hasn’t interviewed him yet, so I can’t comment. “I can’t talk to him until the sheriffs have talked to him.” Whitus previously told FOX31 that his guard at the school, a former Marine and sheriff’s deputy, had been a hero who saved lives during the attack. “Our guy was instrumental in taking down one of the shooters and we believed he saved a lot of lives,” he insisted. “He is so upset about children being hurt, he loves that school, he loves the children there and his heart is breaking he couldn’t do more. “I assured him there is only so much one person can do.” Tyler Christensen, an eighth-grader who was near the gunshots, also told FOX31 that the guard was “a hero.” “He probably saved more lives than he thinks he did,” he insisted. One student, Kendrick Castillo, 18, died after he and classmates rushed the gunmen during Tuesday’s attack. Devon Erickson, 18, and Maya McKinney, a 16-year-old female who identifies as a male, both appeared in court Wednesday on suspicion of murder.<doc-sep>It was a night promoted as an interfaith memorial vigil — one to honor the victims and survivors of the Tuesday STEM School shooting where senior Kendrick Castillo was killed and eight others were injured. Wednesday night’s gathering at Highlands Ranch High School, however, was marred by student walkouts, anti-media chants and a chorus of high school voices asking why the tragedy turned so quickly into political speeches. Students streamed out of the the gym and organized their own vigil outside, where teens chanted “mental health” and complained about the media in derogatory terms. Some students re-entered the vigil and spoke about Castillo, castigating the political nature of the event. “I do wish there had been a little more time between commemorating those we lost and the events that took place, before people began pushing agendas,” said STEM senior Joe Eriqat. RELATED: Investigators probing whether private STEM School guard shot a student and fired upon deputies Emily Muellenberg, teacher sponsor for the Colorado branch of Team Enough, a youth-led initiative against gun violence that organized the event, said she and the students who put the vigil together are distraught with how it turned out. “We just ache with the fact that we maybe hurt the STEM community,” she said. “This whole thing came from the love and passion from my kids who wanted to help this community.” Rep. Jason Crow, D-Aurora, and a spokesperson for Sen. Michael Bennet,D-Colo., said they wished more STEM students had been given the opportunity to speak, while the national Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, which runs the Team Enough program, issued an apology. Eriqat and his friends came to the high school from the first vigil at St. Andrew United Methodist Church, an emotional service full of STEM families that left many in tears. Seated in the upper reaches of the gym, some students started to get upset when Crow and Bennet, a presidential candidate, took the microphone, calling for Washington to fix the country’s broken gun laws. But the tipping point for the STEM students came when Laura Reeves, a volunteer with the Moms Demand Action gun safety organization, launched into a speech that brought many of the national gun control issues to the forefront. “Her whole speech was about politics, not about Kendrick,” said a 17-year-old STEM senior, who wanted to remain anonymous because he didn’t want to draw unwanted attention. “She painted this really dystopian life with bullets on every corner — that’s not how it is here in Highlands Ranch.” Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post Students raise up their phones as they hold a spontaneous vigil outside of the organized event at Highlands Ranch High School on May 8, 2019. The vigil was held one day after a shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch. STEM students Kendrick Castillo was killed in the shooting and eight other students were wounded. Students at the vigil burst into a spontaneous demonstration in protest of the political and media presence at the vigil, leaving the gym in protest before returning to speak about Kendrick Castillo. Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post Students hug one another during a vigil for STEM School Highlands Ranch student Kendrick Castillo in the gymnasium at Highlands Ranch High school on May 8, 2019. Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post Students and parents hold up phone lights during a vigil held at Highlands Ranch High School on May 8, 2019, a day after a shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch. STEM School Highlands Ranch student Kendrick Castillo was killed in the shooting and eight others were wounded. Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post Students embrace in the gym during a vigil held one day after a shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch claimed the life of student Kendrick Castillo. The vigil was held at Highlands Ranch High on School on May 8, 2019. Students spoke about Castillo in an open microphone forum at the podium in the middle of the gym. Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post Students embrace in the gym during a vigil held one day after a shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch claimed the life of student Kendrick Castillo. The vigil was held at Highlands Ranch High on School on May 8, 2019. Students spoke about Castillo in an open microphone forum at the podium in the middle of the gym. Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post Students and parents hold up phone lights during a vigil held at Highlands Ranch High School on May 8, 2019, a day after a shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch. STEM School Highlands Ranch student Kendrick Castillo was killed in the shooting. Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post Students hug outside of the gymnasium as they protest the media and politicians that brought an end to the organized vigil at Highlands Ranch High School on May 8, 2019. The vigil was held one day after a shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch. STEM student Kendrick Castillo was killed in the shooting and eight other students were wounded. Students at the vigil burst into a spontaneous demonstration in protest of the political and media presence at the vigil, leaving the gym in protest before returning to speak about Kendrick Castillo. Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post Students gather in the gym after leaving and then returning to a vigil to honor Kendrick Castillo at Highlands Ranch High School on May 8, 2019. Castillo was killed on May 7, 2019, in a shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch. Students spoke about Castillo in an open microphone forum at the podium in the middle of the gym. Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post Students hug during a vigil in the gymnasium at Highlands Ranch High school on May 8, 2019. Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post Students gather in the gym to talk about slain STEM School Highlands Ranch student Kendrick Castillo at a vigil put on one day after a shooting at STEM School which was hosted by Highlands Ranch High School on May 8, 2019. Students spoke about Castillo in an open microphone forum at the podium in the middle of the gym.<doc-sep>Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.<doc-sep>One of the suspects in the fatal Tuesday Colorado school shooting that left one person dead and eight others injured made his first court appearance on Wednesday. Suspect Devon Erickson, 18, often shook his head when replying to the judge, according to The Associated Press. He responded “no” when asked if he had any questions. Erickson and a second suspect – a juvenile – are accused of the attack at the STEM School Highlands Ranch. CHELSEA HANDLER BLAMES REPUBLICANS FOR COLORADO HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING Charges in the case against Erickson are set to be filed on Friday afternoon local time, Rob McCallum, the public information officer for the Colorado Supreme Court, tweeted. The Douglas County coroner identified the slain student as Kendrick Ray Castillo, the sheriff’s office announced. Castillo, 18, was killed when the suspects opened fire in a classroom at the K-12 charter school located south of Denver. The teen is reportedly credited with saving the lives of his classmates. While in a British literature class, Castillo, "lunged [at the suspect]," and was shot because of it, according to a fellow student at the school. CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP Nui Giasolli told NBC News' "Today" show on Wednesday that Castillo's actions "[gave] all of us enough time to get underneath our desks, to get ourselves safe, and to run across the room to escape.” Fox News’ Nicole Darrah, Bradford Betz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.<doc-sep>
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. – Gun rights advocates posted support on social media Thursday for students who walked out of a gun-control rally in anger and tears over concerns the event inappropriately politicized their grief. The event Wednesday was primarily billed as a vigil to honor Kendrick Castillo, who was fatally shot in a rampage by two students at the STEM school here. Speakers at the school's packed gymnasium, however, were mostly politicians and advocates pressing Congress for more restrictive gun laws. After about 30 minutes, hundreds of students from the STEM School stormed out yelling "this is not for us," "political stunt" and "we are people, not a statement." Candace Craig, who has three kids attending STEM, said it was just too early for to push for action. She said the trauma is still fresh for the thousands of parents and their kids who suffered through the shooting and the anxious hours that followed. "We need quiet. We need familiar faces. We need to hold our babies. We will heal and we will rise stronger and ready to say 'enough,'" she said Thursday. "But right now, we are shaken. We are broken. We hurt for the families whose worlds were turned upside down with grief and loss. That’s what we want the world to hear from us." Wednesday night, the traumatized shooting survivors who exited the rally thrust lighted cellphones into the air and chanted "mental health, mental health," as their hands and voices shook in the cold rain. Angry students pushed and screamed at journalists, demanding to see photos they had taken. Interview requests made by a USA TODAY reporter were rebuffed; multiple students said they had agreed not to talk to journalists. Many students appeared unaware the event was organized by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Sen. Michael Bennet and Rep. Jason Crow, both Democrats, both spoke at length about the need for federal action. The Brady Campaign invited reporters to cover the event. Colorado school shooting:Students and guard lauded for heroism Heroes:11 days. 3 mass shootings. 3 heroes. Risking lives for others The students drew plenty of support on social media. "These politicians remind me of ambulance chasers," posted a Utah woman. "Ready to pounce on the next big shooting with their gun control agenda." A Colorado woman posted: "Love this so much! I’m so proud of these students! After some rough political months here in Colorado this was a welcomed sight & hope for our future!" In an apology issued afterward, the Brady Campaign said all efforts should be focused on supporting the STEM students, families and faculty members. "We are deeply sorry any part of this vigil did not provide the support, caring and sense of community we sought to foster and facilitate and which we know is so crucial to communities who suffer the trauma of gun violence," the statement said. Some STEM students and family members held a private vigil earlier in the day. They said the public and journalists were kept out to permit anguished students and their parents a chance to grieve together away from the media spotlight into which they have unwillingly been thrust. Castillo, 18, was killed and eight students were wounded Tuesday when two teens opened fire in classrooms at the K-12 school specializing in science and math. Castillo, three days away from completing high school, and two classmates charged one of the shooters at his school. The avid hunter and fisherman was killed. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed "red flag" legislation last month providing judges with the power to temporarily remove firearms from people believed to be at high risk of harming themselves or others.