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CASTLE ROCK, Colorado – A Colorado teenager accused of killing one of his classmates in a school was pushed by another student who had recently introduced him to friendship, said his lawyer on Tuesday.
The claim came at a hearing to determine whether 19-year-old Devon Erickson would be tried for shooting on May 7 at STEM School Highlands Ranch in the Denver suburb.
After co-accused Alec McKinney, 16, insisted that he was going to lead the attack, Erickson went to the school nurse for try to avoid it, but McKinney has threatened to continue despite everything and to kill his friends, as well as to hurt him. , defense lawyer Julia Stancil said.
Erickson sat next to his lawyers and watched closely the testimony of Detective Brian Pereira of the Douglas County Sheriff at the beginning of the three-day hearing, which revealed new details regarding the shooting.
Erickson and McKinney are charged with murder and attempted murder in the shootout that killed 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo and injured eight others. They did not appeal for the charges.
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Devon Erickson appearing in Douglas County Court in Castle Rock, Colorado, last May. (Joe Amon / The Denver Post via AP, Pool, File)
Authorities claim that students entered a classroom through separate doors with weapons removed from Erickson's home and opened fire with at least 29 people inside. A private security guard also injured one of eight students when he shot a sheriff's lieutenant in a hallway during the confusion, authorities said.
Castillo was one of the students who rushed into class with Erickson, along with Joshua Jones and Brendan Bialy. Castillo's parents followed the proceedings from the front row of the audience hall filled with members of the school community.
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Erickson had said he had returned his handgun after being approached by the three students, according to previously published summaries of police interviews with the suspects.
However, Pereira said Tuesday that Bialy had told investigators that there was a fight for the gun, and that he was able to extract Erickson's weapon after the To have hit several times. Bialy also told the investigators that Erickson had pointed the gun on their heads.
However, no other student reported that Erickson was pointing his gun at anyone in particular. One student told investigators that Castillo had accused Erickson before he had finished warning people not to move. His weapon exploded as soon as he pushed Erickson against the wall, giving the impression that the shot was an accident, Stancil pointed out.
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Pereira also said that three bullet casings had been found on the floor, close to Erickson, and that one had been found in his weapon after an apparent malfunction. Earlier, Erickson had told the police that three students had rushed him in a hurry, which had triggered his gun.
Erickson also told investigators that McKinney had forced him to participate in the shooting by threatening him with a gun and an ax. But the investigators found no evidence to corroborate this, according to Pereira.
An October hearing is scheduled for McKinney, who is charged as an adult. His lawyers announced their intention to ask a judge to return the case to a juvenile court.
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