Security Guard Who Shot an Uninvolved Student During a Mass Shooting Was Not Supposed to be Armed

A private security guard accidentally shot a student while trying to stop a mass shooting in May at a Colorado STEM school. The school requested that the guard be unarmed, however, he may have concealed his weapon which would violate district policy.

  • By Sherelle Black
  • August 30, 2019

A private security guard, who was hired by STEM School Highlands Ranch, accidentally shot a female student during a deadly shooting at the Colorado school in May.

The shooting left one dead and eight others wounded.

With all of the chaos during the attack, the guard told investigators he fired two rounds at a responding Douglas County sheriff’s deputy. The guard also stated that he fired because he saw a muzzle come around the corner of the hallway. The shots did not strike the officer, but one of the rounds did wound the female student.

Through an open records request, The Colorado Sun was able to find out that the security guard, who was hired by the school through a private security company, was not supposed to be armed per the school’s agreement.

In a written statement, the school said, “STEM administration and leadership were not aware that the guard was armed.”

If the administration was not aware, it appears that the guard, who was hired through BOSS High Level Protection, must have concealed his weapon, which is against the school district’s policy.

“STEM’s security needs and challenges are different than other schools in that our student population includes kindergarten through 12th grade all at the same campus,” STEM School Highlands Ranch said in a written statement Monday. “While it is more common to have armed security personnel at high schools, it is uncommon at elementary schools. Given the diverse population at our school, we made the decision to request an unarmed guard in an effort to balance these different interests.”

Due to the ongoing investigation of the shooting, STEM could not continue its contract with the private security guard company.

This school year, they will have a full-time school resource officer as well as private security, that could include off-duty police officers.


About the Author

Sherelle Black is a Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.

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