They identified one of the perpetrators of the shooting that left one dead and eight wounded in a Denver school

An 18-year-old student died Tuesday after a shootout that also caused eight injuries In a school on the outskirts of Denver, in the western United States, the police announced. Two suspects, young people enrolled at the STEM school in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, were arrested on campus, said Douglas County Commissioner at a news conference.

Late Tuesday afternoon, the sheriff's office identified the 18-year-old gunman as Devon Erickson. "We will not publish images for the moment, it could jeopardize this ongoing critical investigation," he said on his Twitter account. "We still have interviews to do and we want to make sure we have the most accurate information."

Immediately after the fact, Commissioner Tony Spurlock indicated that "eight students", all over the age of 15, had been hospitalized after being "shot and wounded" during the shootings about ten kilometers from Columbine, theater in 1999 of one of the worst mbadacres in the history of the United States. Several injured were in "critical condition"he says

Later, the sheriff's services posted on Twitter: "It is with deep sadness that we confirm that a STEM student has been killed today.". To this, a young man of 18, the eight wounded are added.

The shooting erupted shortly before 14:00 local time (20:00 GMT) at the Lyceum of STEM, which hosts 1,800 children and adolescents from kindergarten to high school. The first police arrived "about two minutes" after being notified by the school and arrested the suspects, said the Commissioner, who stressed that "This quick response from agents helped save lives".

"We know that two people entered the STEM school and went to the premises where they attacked students separately in two different locations," Spurlock told the press conference.

The White House said that President Donald Trump had been informed of the incident "and continues to monitor the situation." "Unfortunately, this community and its entourage know all too well about these horrendous acts of hate-motivated violence," said a spokesman for the executive branch.

STEM is a "Schools Charter", schools with public funding that they must apply local programs but that they are administered autonomously. Unlike district public schools, it has private security and not a designated sheriff's officer.

The FBI and other security agencies collaborate in the investigation. "We have not for the moment more information about the suspects (…) nothing about their methodology"said Spurlock, who said that during an interview with a witness they had previously appeared, they suspected they had a short gun.

Brian Jones, who has a sophomore at school, told reporters: "It's something that breaks the nerves … there were a lot of parents and children crying".

The Columbine shooting took place on April 20, 1999. Elderly Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shot and killed 12 clbadmates and one teacher before committing suicide.

Columbine was followed by even more lethal shootings in schools: April 2007 at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, with 32 dead; in December 2012, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, with the death of 20 children aged 6 to 7; and in February 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, with 17 casualties.

Firearms killed about 40,000 people in 2017 in the United States, according to official figures. Despite the escalation of violence, efforts to strengthen controls have faced serious challenges at the federal level.

"We should not have to live like this, our children should not be afraid to go to school"said Karin Asensio, of the Moms Demand Action organization for Gun Sense in Colorado America. "We must do more to prevent gun violence in our schools and communities."

(With information from Javier Tovar and Chet Strange – AFP)