Hostage situation at a high school in Bailey

[PePe240sx]

WTF? Not this again. Hopefully the hostages are released unharmed.

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/09/27/school.alert.ap/

[velocity]

WTF? Not this again. Hopefully the hostages are released unharmed.

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/09/27/school.alert.ap/

:werd: everyone must think colorado has nothing but assholes living here willing to kill students or something.

[PePe240sx]

:werd: everyone must think colorado has nothing but assholes living here willing to kill students or something.

You should've experienced what the rest of the world thought of America after Columbine happened. It pissed me off.

[Mario]

Maaaan...

[Slava]

Blame Eminem and Manson its their musics fault.

Here we go again.

[PePe240sx]

Blame Eminem and Manson its their musics fault.

Here we go again.

Or guns.

[PePe240sx]

Wow he took his own wife as a hostage.

[Slava]

Or guns.

True that people don't kill people its guns that kill people.

[V8SpankR]

Class of '87 here

Couldn't believe it when I turned on the TV and saw Platte Canyon across the screen.

[Brandon]

True that people don't kill people its guns that kill people.

Better blame those deadly accident prone cars too.

[sts2poc1]

my gun hasn't killed anyone!

[Weston-work]

True that people don't kill people its guns that kill people.

Reminds me of a bumper sticker you can get at most gun shows... "Guns kill people... just like spoons made Rosie O'Donnell fat"

[Slava]

Reminds me of a bumper sticker you can get at most gun shows... "Guns kill people... just like spoons made Rosie O'Donnell fat"

I love those kinds of bumpers stickers. My fav is McDonalds made me fat.

[HondaPower]

Damn.

[Martian]

its apparently over with alledgedly 1 student in critical condition
edit: Gunman is reportedly dead

Sorry for the spelling

[velocity]

BAILEY - A hostage situation inside Platte Canyon High School ended after the SWAT team rushed in. During the raid, one of the female students being held hostage was critically injured and the gunman was killed.

According to the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms the bomb squad set off an explosive in order to gain entry.

The gunman then fired a shot hitting one of the two female students being held hostage.

Medical personnel in the field have confirmed the gunman was killed during the raid.

That injured student was brought out of the school on a stretcher and put in an ambulance. The ambulance then drove to a Flight for Life helicopter that was already on scene. The student had vital signs before she was put on the helicopter.

The helicopter is expected to go to St. Anthony's Central in Denver.

The other student was not injured.

The school is still an active scene while investigators continue to search for any explosive devices around the campus.



Authorities in Park County were negotiating with the gunman before the raid and the Jefferson County Sheriff's office said there had been some face to face contact.

Several juridictions are on scene to assist Park County, including the FBI. The FBI offered the use of its hostage negotiators.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's office said the gunman was in a classroom.

The Jefferson County Sheiff's office said the gunman is an adult male. There were initially six hostages, but four were released. It is unclear why those four hostages were released before the raid.

The names of the students were not released and it is unclear if their parents have been notified.

"I think there has been some limited contact with the girls," said Jacki Kelley with the Jefferson County Sheriff's office.

Authorities could not confirm if the gunman was a parent, a staff member from the school, or an unrelated individual. Kelley says they have very little information about the gunman.



Kelley said during a press conference, authorities were investigating at least one suspicious package or device.

The lockdown of Platte Canyon High School began around noon just after shots were fired. Reportedly, the Park County Sheriff's office received a 911 call from the man inside the school telling them he had a hostage.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's office then sent its bomb squad to the school and put its SWAT unit on alert.

The school was then evacuated and the SWAT unit was sent to the school a short time later.

Authorities do not know the caliber of the weapon the gunman had.

SKY 9 watched students walk from the school at around 2 p.m. The students were organized and put on three school buses. The buses were heavily packed with students.

The three buses left the school at around 2:15 p.m. and they were taken to Deer Creek Elementary School.

They arrived at Deer Creek around 2:30 p.m. Those students were from Fitzsimons Middle School, which is located next to Platte Canyon High School, and was also evacuated.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department said the high school students were also evacuated, initially to another location, but the students were eventually taken to Deer Creek.

About 770 students attend Platte Canyon High School and Fitzsimons Middle School combined.

Both sides of Highway 285 have been closed to facilitate the evacuations between mile markers 218 and 222.

Four Jefferson County schools were in lockdown for awhile, but the lockdown ended just before 2:30 p.m.

The following schools in Jefferson County were in lockdown: Conifer High School, West Jefferson Middle School, West Jefferson Elementary School and Elk Creek Elementary School.

The Jefferson County School District says officials determined it was safe for students to go home.

In Park County, four additional schools on one campus in Fairplay are still in lockdown. The schools are: South Park High School, Silverheels Middle School, Edith Teter Preschool and Elementary School.

The four schools in the Fairplay campus are asking parents not to come to the school. They will release the students when authorities tell them it is safe to do so.

Deer Creek Elementary, near Bailey, is also in lockdown and is asking parents to come and pick up their children if they are able to. If a parent goes to Deer Creek, they will be escorted inside to get their child.

Parents of students at Fitzsimons and Platte Canyon can also go to Deer Creek to pick up their children.

The father of a student says he got a text message from his son around 11:30 a.m. from inside the school before the evacuation. The text message from 15-year-old Bill Twyford said: "Hey, there is a gun hijacking in our school right now. I'm fine. Bad situation."

Kelley said she believed many of the first responders to the scene also responded to Columbine High School during the shootings there in 1999.

9NEWS and 9NEWS.com will continue to update this story as more details become available.

Please refresh this page to get the most updated information.

just refreshed and said the gunman was dead which i expected.

[smithz]

Fucking crazy douchebag. Can't he just shoot himself in the privacy of his own home or something? Jesus...

[Slow96GSR]

Jesus isn't here right now, can I take a message?

Well atleast that's one court case we don't have to pay for.

[Martian]

Well atleast that's one court case we don't have to pay for.
Guess again. There will still be many court proceedings in regards to this.

[Loud_Scott]

Jesus isn't here right now, can I take a message?

Well atleast that's one court case we don't have to pay for.

Wow, i would like to shake your hand! I didn't even think of that but +1

damn josh, -- it wont be court cases per say -- now it'll just be who gets sued.... didn't pretty much everyone that lost someone in columbine get a boat load of money??

[Deltron_3030]

i got the goosebumps reading that shit

[Martian]

Unfortunatly thats not true Scott. The case will still be tried, so that cases for suit can be filed afterward. It won't be like a normal trial obviously, but they still have to go through the motions to substantiate the laws that allow for victims to file suit and such. It won't last very long, but it will still happen.

[Weston]

The girl died at the hospital. :(

[Kwando]

The girl died at the hospital. :(

just heard that also... that blows she was only 16

[Slow96GSR]

If the hostage taker is dead there will be no court cases. If they find the school was negligent they can sue the school. If he got the gun(s) from someone they can sue that person. But other than that his family will have to pay for everything.

[Martian]

If the hostage taker is dead there will be no court cases. If they find the school was negligent they can sue the school. If he got the gun(s) from someone they can sue that person. But other than that his family will have to pay for everything.
Wrong, dead or alive there has to be a conviction. End Of Story

[slowfocusguy]

Sounds kinda pointless IMO....I mean he's dead, everybody saw him take hostage, and people saw him kill a girl. How much more conviction does one need?

As for the girl.....a shame she's dead, but it is s a mercy death. If I was in her shoes I would hope for the same outcome. A taste of death is worst then death itself.

[Weston]

Wrong, dead or alive there has to be a conviction. End Of Story

I've never heard of that before...

[smithz]

The girl died at the hospital. :(

That fucking sucks. Ruined my night. At least if she had made it through, they could have chalked it up as just a fucked up occurrence. Now some family has lost a daughter because of this fucking cocksucker. I hope he died from a painfull wound to the fucking eye socket.

[Martian]

Not exactly something thats going to grab the news. Why do you guys think it took so long before any suit was filed over columbine. The rules are rules, and it has to go through every step regardless of the outcome.

[PePe240sx]

This is a disaster.

May God punish the gunman to the fiery depths of Hell.

[Martian]

One of my supervisors came in and said there are reports this asshole raped all the girls he was holding hostage.

[V8SpankR]

One of my supervisors came in and said there are reports this asshole raped all the girls he was holding hostage.

This is why we wait and verify facts since that didn't happen. There were reports of fondling but c'mon,rape?

[Weston-work]

"Assaults on hostages were reported late Tuesday evening. Wegener said the assaults were sexual in nature. He did not release any other details."

[Martian]

This is why we wait and verify facts since that didn't happen. There were reports of fondling but c'mon,rape?
Thats why I didn't state it as fact. This isn't the news channel, so give me a break.

[V8SpankR]

Sorry,this is a little touchy for me since I have friends that live up there with kids in the HS and middle school and my nephew is up there. Peace.

[oldskoolracer]

it amazes me how fucked people can be anymore, i'm back in kansas now where everyone has a gun and less shit like this happens, hmm, go figure.
oh yeah , and they'll shoot quick ask later, kinda like denver PD

[Bedlam]

What I dont get about this situation..is what made the police decide they HAD to make a tactical solution? Obviously their entry is what got that girl killed, he wasnt just in there shooting up kids randomly or anything, the police even said they just wanted him to give him some space or something. Even IF he raped a kid or something..I think its easier for them to get over that, than be dead. Shitty situation..I hope there is a "hell" just for this guy..damn. :(

[Weston-work]

What I dont get about this situation..is what made the police decide they HAD to make a tactical solution? Obviously their entry is what got that girl killed, he wasnt just in there shooting up kids randomly or anything, the police even said they just wanted him to give him some space or something. Even IF he raped a kid or something..I think its easier for them to get over that, than be dead. Shitty situation..I hope there is a "hell" just for this guy..damn. :(

The gunman said something would happen at 4pm and broke off negotiations with the police. Then they learned that he was in there sexually assaulting the girls, so they sent SWAT in. I feel really bad for that Sheriff, because it was an impossible situation... either wait outside while you let an insane gunman rape little girls then do whatever he's going to do with his guns, or bust in and put an end to that, at the risk of innocent casualties. Either way, those girls lives were very much at risk.

Being that he needlessly shot the girl in the head when they busted in, it's not hard to come to the conclusion that he was likely to kill both of them anyway (especially now that we learn about his suicide note). Also, think back to Columbine... the cops waited around while everyone inside got killed; had they rushed in earlier, they likely would have saved some innocent lives.

[Dave_L]

I'd have to agree with weston. If my daughter was in there, I would want them going in to get her. Also, If I was a cop, I don't think I could stand outside knowing that he was in there sexually assualting two teen girls. It's definitely sad that the girl died but as weston said, I'm sure he was planning on it. If not he would have fired at the cops first.

[oldskoolracer]

just sad either way but i think it's worth taking a chance of one life for many others,,, there's always a good chance that everyone will live

[smithz]

All good points.

However, here's what I don't get. It's a big school. Why exactly did they have to "bust in"? I would imagine they at least had an idea where he was in the building. Even if they didn't, couldn't they have cut a window and slipped inside. Air vents? Did this guy run around the whole school and figure out how to lock every door without having keys? It's not like this guy could be monitoring the entire perimeter of the building. It seems they could have got inside easily without him knowing it, located him and taken him out. Especially if he was busy molesting the girls and not really paying attention.

It's different when someone is holed up in a house, where you can kinda tell whats going on around the whole house from one spot. But a fucking highschool building? I really think they could have handled it more covertly and save both girls.

[smithz]

just sad either way but i think it's worth taking a chance of one life for many others,,, there's always a good chance that everyone will live

That's always an easy thing to say, unless of course that "one" they are taking the chance with happens to be your daughter.

[V8SpankR]

The cop made the right desicion period.


Also back in '90 that same cop made the right desicion when he pulled me over for speeeding and gave me a warning. :) He's one of the good cops.

[smithz]

The cop made the right desicion period.

The decision to go in was. The decision to do it by blasting their way in was not. Sneaking into a highschool should have been an easy task for a trained SWAT team. Locate and snipe.

[Weston-work]

The guy had barracaded himself and the hostages in the back of a classroom. He wasn't exactly just standing in the open or next to a window.

[2fastNturn]

I bet the parents sue.

[Weston-work]

I bet the parents sue.

I would hope that they would realize that he did the best that he could in a no-win situation, and make peace with that. No good will come from lawsuits over this.

[V8SpankR]

There were no available places for the cops to get a shot so sneaking around wasn't really an option and 4pm was a significant time as was told to the police by Morrison.
It'll be sad if the parents sue since the outcome from waiting could have very well been two dead girls.

Columbine was handled poorly,this wasn't.

[slowfocusguy]

If they didnt went in, people be complaining that the cops didnt do anything while the hostage was being killed. If they did went in, then people will be complaining that the cops was too gung-ho.

Damned if you do, damned if you dont.

I mean honestly SWAT isnt freaking Ryu Hyubusa, they cant jump in through the window, round house kick the hostage taker, steal a kiss from one of the hostage, and come out flexing their muscles.

IMO the police officers did the right thing. You want to see the wrong thing? Remember this little incident?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3624024.stm

[V8SpankR]

Yeah,the cops aren't Chuck Norris.

[Dave_L]

If they didnt went in, people be complaining that the cops didnt do anything while the hostage was being killed. If they did went in, then people will be complaining that the cops was too gung-ho.

Damned if you do, damned if you dont.

I mean honestly SWAT isnt freaking Ryu Hyubusa, they cant jump in through the window, round house kick the hostage taker, steal a kiss from one of the hostage, and come out flexing their muscles.

IMO the police officers did the right thing. You want to see the wrong thing? Remember this little incident?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3624024.stm

What do you care anyways? That girl wasnt human yet according to your thinking.

[slowfocusguy]

Human beings or not, a school is suppose to be one of the safest place for a child to be. While it's understandable that people will be mad about this situtation and will place blame on the police. But at the same time you have to keep a realistic mindset and be glad that it's 'just' one girl. Glass half full, or half empty.

[smithz]

Nevermind the arguments. A girl is dead and the only true person to blame is the fucking cocksucker that shot her. I glad he's dead, but I wish he wasn't so that I could torture him to death instead. But we all know if he had lived he would have instead become a drain on society and ultra-liberal douchebags would have been fighting for his rights the whole way.

Why can't people just /end themselves without trying to take other peoples lives down with them.

[PePe240sx]

If they didnt went in, people be complaining that the cops didnt do anything while the hostage was being killed. If they did went in, then people will be complaining that the cops was too gung-ho.

Damned if you do, damned if you dont.

I mean honestly SWAT isnt freaking Ryu Hyubusa, they cant jump in through the window, round house kick the hostage taker, steal a kiss from one of the hostage, and come out flexing their muscles.

IMO the police officers did the right thing. You want to see the wrong thing? Remember this little incident?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3624024.stm

Don't EVER compare the inefficiency of the Russians to our hostage situations. As far as I'm concerned, the Russians have a piss poor record of hostage situations. At least our law enforcement is better trained and prepared than the Russians are.

And not to mention the Russians are corrupt anyways, they would do anything for a quick buck or a few Russian rubles.