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A school gunman in suburban Denver was sentenced to life in prison on Friday without parole.
Devon Erickson, 20, was convicted of first degree murder in the shooting death of his classmate Kendrick Castillo, along with 45 other counts in connection with the 2019 attack at STEM School Highlands Ranch .
Castillo, 18, has been hailed as a hero for trying to stop the murderous Erickson massacre, which also injured eight people.
A jury found out that Erickson had teamed up with fellow student Alec McKinney to plan the attack for weeks. McKinney testified that he wanted to target students who made fun of him because he was transgender.
Judge Theresa Michelle Slade added hundreds of years to Erickson’s mandatory life sentence after hearing lengthy, moving testimony from survivors.
“I don’t think I can tell you anything, Mr Erickson, that would make a difference,” Slade said, adding that the shooter had never tried to explain his actions.
Erickson had a stone face as he read the verdict, but his voice broke when the judge asked him if he wanted to speak up, just after his family members testified that they loved him.
McKinney was sentenced to life in prison last year, but may be eligible for parole after 20 years since being a minor.
The two shooters aimed at a dark classroom where the students were watching a movie. They entered through separate doors to maximize the carnage and planned to have McKinney die, either by suicide or at the hands of his cohort, prosecutors said.
The massacre was thwarted when Castillo and two other students, Joshua Jones and Brendan Bialy, charged Erickson as his gun got stuck. McKinney was arrested by a security guard.
“He killed Kendrick, and he didn’t care,” Jones said in court. “I implore you to put him in jail for as long as you can. “
“The accused is a loser,” Bialy said. “He walked into a classroom, armed, with vulnerable students, and he lost. “
Erickson’s father Jim Erickson read aloud the names of the victims and apologized to the community.
“We pray for these people every day,” he said, crying.
With AP wires
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