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This combination of undated photos released on Tuesday, April 16, 2019 by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office in Colorado, shows Sol Pais. On Tuesday, authorities announced that they appeared suspected of threatening Columbine High School a few days before the 20th anniversary of a shooting that killed 13 people. (Jefferson County Sheriff's Office via AP)
LITTLETON, Colorado – A Florida teenager who, according to authorities, was obsessed with shooting in the Columbine school and may have planned a bombing in Colorado just before the 20th birthday was found dead Wednesday in an alleged suicide after a hunt. the man almost 24 hours.
The body of Sol Pais, an 18-year-old high school student, was discovered in the mountains near Denver. It would appear that it was a self-inflicted bullet wound after the investigators had received information from the driver who had taken her there, the FBI announced.
During the human hunt, schools in the Denver area closed as a precautionary measure. Courses and extracurricular activities have been canceled for half a million students.
Police and the FBI were made aware of Pais after the Miami Beach high school student made disturbing remarks about her "infatuation" with the 1999 Columbine High bloodbath and the birthday of this weekend of 13 murders, said Dean Phillips, head of the FBI. in Denver. He did not specify what she said.
Pais bought three one-way tickets for Denver three days in a row, then flew Monday night and went straight to a firearms shop where she bought a rifle. hunting, announced the authorities.
"Frankly, we are used to threats in Columbine," said John McDonald, Jefferson County School System Safety Officer, at the end of the hunt. "This one felt different, it was different, he certainly had our attention."
McDonald described his trip as a "pilgrimage" to Columbine.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis said, after learning that the hunt was over, that he and all of Colorado's parents were "hugging their kids a little harder".
In the hometown of Pais, Surfside police chief Julio Yero asked that the family be given "a private life and a little time to mourn". Pais' parents had reported his disappearance Monday night, police said.
"This family has contributed a lot to this investigation from the beginning, providing us with valuable information that has taken us to Colorado and many things that may have prevented us from losing more lives," he said. Yero.
Authorities said she had not threatened a particular school. But Columbine and more than 20 other schools outside of Denver responded by locking their doors for nearly three hours Tuesday afternoon, and some evening activities were canceled or moved inland.
The body of Pais was found on a trail not far from the base of Mount Evans, a recreational area located about 90 km southwest of Denver, authorities said. She used the weapon that she bought, Phillips said. She was last seen with a black t-shirt, camouflage pants and black boots.
Sheriff Jeff Shrader said that the sale of the shotgun had apparently followed the legal procedure of the state. Residents of the state who are at least 18 years old can buy shotguns in Colorado. Clients must provide their fingerprints and pass a criminal background check.
An arms store that said it sold the rifle to Pais posted on Facebook that it had passed the background check and that the purchase was legal.
"We had no reason to think that she was a threat to herself or anyone else," says the message, which was signed by the owner of the Colorado Gun Broker, Josh Rayburn.
School officials said the events planned to mark the anniversary would go ahead as planned, including a ceremony in Columbine on Saturday.
Two teenagers attacked Columbine on April 20, 1999, killing 12 classmates and one teacher before committing suicide. They have inspired fans who look like sects and motivated other mass shooters over the decades. Since Columbine, a growing movement of "not-notoriety" has urged news agencies to avoid naming the authors of mass shootings to deprive them of the desired notoriety.
In Florida, Adam Charni, a high school student from Miami Beach, said that Pais dressed in black and kept her to herself. He said that he was "baffled" to learn that she was the person sought by the Colorado authorities. Another classmate, Drew Burnstine, 17, described Pais as calm and intelligent.
Phillips said the investigators were browsing Pais' social media, including a blog with photos of handwritten journal entries and gun sketches.
Parents in the Denver area had trouble explaining to their children why they had spent the day at school without frightening them.
"It's really a challenge for their generation, and watching my kids learn to sail is very difficult, it's really heartbreaking," said Suzanne Kerns, from the suburbs of Arvada, whose children are 8 and 15 years old. .
Kerns said she was angry at how easy it was for a missing person to go out of a state to buy a gun.
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Associate press editors Ellis Rua in Miami Beach, Florida, and James Anderson and Thomas Peipert in Denver contributed to this report.
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