Thursday, September 28, 2006

Undersheriff believes SWAT team hit gunman when returning fire
Counseling draws hundreds to Bailey church

Tom Locke, Cate Malek, Debra Orecchio

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Casey Smith (middle) a Fitzsimmons Middle School student who was scared by the tragic hostage events Wednesday, joins with friends Kayla Brown (left) and Katilyn Burriss outside Platte Canyon Community Church Thursday. Fitzsimmons Middle School is joined to Platte Canyon High School. (Photo by Tom Locke)

Park County Undersheriff Monte Gore said Thursday that he believed that a gunman who held students hostage Wednesday at Platte Canyon High School was hit by return fire from SWAT team members.

After the decision to storm a Platte Canyon High School classroom was made by Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener, the Jefferson County SWAT team used an "explosive breach" to gain access to the classroom, said Joe Morales, the executive director of the Park County Department of Public Safety, in an interview with The Flume. His department oversees the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, which is conducting the investigation.

After the explosive breach, the shooting began.

"We believe when the explosive breach was executed that he shot at the entry team. The entry team returned fire," Gore said in an interview with The Flume. "Almost simultanoeously," he said, Morrison shot Emily Keyes in the back of the head after she broke free from him.

"And then he shot himself," Gore said.

Did the SWAT officers hit Morrison when they returned fire?

"I believe so. I believe they shot him," Gore said.

Keyes was flown by helicopter to St. Anthony Central Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.

The storming of the classroom was the correct move to make, according to Gore.

"It was a tough decision, but it was the right decision to go in there when we did," said Gore.

That was largely because of the violent behavior being exhibited by the gunman, 53-year-ld gunman Duane Morrison, a transient who was living in his car.

"There seemed to be an escalation of violence," said Gore. Jefferson County SWAT team members were listening through the door to what was going on in the classroom. The girls inside were communicating through the door but Morrison had stopped communicating some time before.

"Based on the facts we were getting, it appeared that he was sexually assaulting the girls," Gore said.

Officers felt there was a threat to the girls' safety.

The feeling was that "there was an escalation of violence to the girls and that if we didn't act he was probably going to kill both of the girls and then probably commit suicide," Gore said.

He said some information was being gathered from the four hostages that had already been released, and they were also indicating an increase in violence from Morrison.

"There seemed to be an escalation in molestation and in violence," Gore said.

Gore also said the U.S. 285 had been reopened late Thursday morning and that signs and state patrol are indicating there is no stopping at the school. The media have been moved from the Bailey substation to the football field across from the school, he said. Logistically, the substation did not provide enough room, he said.

Hundreds come for counseling

Gore said in an interview Thursday that hundreds of residents of Park County had come Wednesday to Platte Canyon Community Church in Bailey, where services were being offered by about 20 counselors in the wake of the high school hostage crisis.

"Our hearts go out to the family of the victim - a terrible tragedy," Gore said.

Donations can be made to the "I love U guys" Emily Keyes Memorial Fund at Wells Fargo Banks and Citywide Banks.

Gore noted that it has been heartwarming to receive support from the community and other law enforcement.

Morales said that the students being able to talk about the tragedy through "debriefing" with counselors was helpful because it let them know "that they didn't do anything wrong and that life's good."

He called the activity at the church "the community heartbeat."

One student recalls scary experience

One Fitzimmons Middle School student, seventh-grader Casey Smith, said Thursday that the situation at her school Wednesday was scary. She was outside taking her lunch break when teachers came running and told students to go to the nearest classroom. Later they were told to come out of the building with their hands on their heads, and she was afraid that those instructions were coming from bad guys until she saw officers with uniforms. "We were shaking and crying," she said.

The students ran up a trail an open area and stayed there about two to three ours before buses took them to Deer Creek Elementary School.

"When we were getting on the bus I was more relieved than scared," she said.

Still, she's apprehensive about reentering the middle school building, which is connected physically to the high school building. "I'm scared to go back," she said.

School lockdowns

As the tragic events were unfolding at Platte Canyon High School Wednesday, many other area schools felt it necessary to take precautionary measures.

Charles Soper, superintendent with Fairplay-based Park County School District Re-2, said that all schools on the Fairplay Campus - Edith Teter Elementary School, Silverheels Middle School, and South Park High School - were placed on lockdown, as was the preschool, vocational school and Lake George Charter School.

Paddy Domier, principal at Lake George Charter School, did not wish to comment at this time.

While the Guffey Community Charter school was not placed on lockdown, it did take extra precautions, including being vigilant of any strangers on school grounds. A call to Pam Moore at Guffey Charter to get more details was not returned in time.

Jefferson County's mountain area schools were also placed on lockdown, according to Marlene Desmond, communications manager with Jefferson County Public Schools.

"School administration has been trained to put the schools in a lockdown situation any time they feel a threat is present, even without any notification from law enforcement," said Desmond.

The lock down for Jefferson County schools was lifted around 2:30 p.m., once it was determined that the situation was confined to Platte Canyon High School.

Since the Columbine High School tragedy in Jefferson County in 1999, schools have put procedures in place to better deal with crisis situations.

Soper said that his district has a very thorough and well-documented plan that was created in coordination with the Fairplay Police Department and the Park County Sheriff's Office, along with other emergency agencies.

Jefferson County Schools have also changed procedures since Columbine.

"We've done a lot more training," said Desmond. "We also have a much closer relationship with the local law enforcement agencies. While we do our best with security, it is more difficult at the high schools. Unfortunately, there is never any guarantee that any place is completely safe."

The Fairplay-based schools will address the Platte Canyon events that occurred Wednesday.

"We will be debriefing students, staff and administration," said Soper. "With the help of the Fairplay Police Department, we will review our procedures and make any plans for changes in what we do."

Soper said he is motivated to make sure procedures are refined in whatever way necessary to protect students.

Soper also noted there was increased absenteeism in the school district Thursday and said that many students have parents who work in the Re-1 district that encompasses the Platte Canyon area.

They did not have any additional counseling personnel at the schools in the district, but did instruct teachers to be vigilant to individual students' needs and to provide individual counseling as needed.

Many students had very strong emotions and were very thankful toward the Fairplay Police with regards to the protection they provided to the students yesterday. Soper wanted to thank the Fairplay Police for their assistance.

The Fairplay district is also putting together a student ambassador group to provide assistance to Platte Canyon High School. They have offered buses, staff and even facilities to Platte Canyon as needed.

"Our door is open to provide any assistance we can," said Soper. "We are totally saddened by yesterday's tragedy, but I am very proud of our students and staff and how they reacted to yesterday's lockdown. They all did a decent job doing what they were trained for. But it's been a hard day."

Details from press conference Thursday afternoon

The car of Morrison, the gunman, was found down the road from the school, Wegener said in a press conference at 3 p.m Thursday.

Wegener said the car looked like it had been lived in for a while. Among the items found in the car were a motel key and prescription medication.

Sheriff's officers also found an assault rifle one mile north of the school. They don't yet know if it's connected to the school shooting.

There were no metal detectors at the school. Wegener said he believes Morrison got into the school because he was a shorter man and dressed like a student.

Once in the school, he wandered the halls for a while. At one point, Morrison approached one of the male students in the hallway and asked about the identity of a list of female students.

Wegener said they are still investigating to find out whether any of the six girls taken hostage were on that list of names.

A sheriff's officer was assigned to Platte Canyon full-time. However, he was not at the school when the gunman fired his first shot. He was several miles away at the sheriff's office substation.

Wegener said he received a grant after the shootings at Columbine High School to assign an officer at the school.

In August, the Park County Sheriff's Office completed a training at Platte Canyon High School on what to do if there was an active shooter in the school. Wegener said he went over safety procedures with staff at that point.

The media has continued to ask Wegener if he has second thoughts about making the decision for the SWAT team to go into the classroom. He said he is confident he did everything he possibly could to assure the safety of the students.

But he added, "am I going to regret for the rest of my life that Emily died? You betcha. What would you do?"

He said the local community has been very supportive of him and the other law enforcement who were on-scene.

He also said he greatly appreciated the thousands of calls from people offering their help to sheriff's officers and the families of the victims.

Information on memorial services and other details can be found at www.parkco.us.