Shooting suspects in a Colorado school will be judged as adults



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Devon Erickson, 18, appeared in front of the Douglas County Courthouse on Wednesday, May 15, 2019. (Pool / Reuters)

Prosecutors have indicted two people allegedly responsible for the killing and dozens of other charges as part of the shootings in the STEM police school, but a judge maintains the details concerning them to date.

Citing electronic court documents, Local media had already reported 48 indictments, including 30 arrests and other main charges, including attempted first degree murder, arson and robbery. At a press conference on Wednesday, Attorney General George Brauchler refused to confirm the charges against him by 18-year-old Devon Erickson and Alec McKinney, 16, because of the judge's order.

Brauchler however stated in court that he would accuse McKinney of first degree murder in adulthood.

The two suspects, dressed in their prison uniforms, appeared separately in court including the family of Kendrick Castillo, an 18-year-old student who was killed during a shootout at a school in the suburbs of Denver. the attack of climbing. Neither Erickson nor McKinney spoke beyond discreetly answering the judge with yes or no.

Eight students were injured during the latest shootings in a state that has seen many incidents of gun violence. Deep divisions have opened up gun politics and gun control in this rural and rural suburb just south of Denver.

On Thursday, a mother of a STEM student sobbed on the shoulder of an officer in the lobby of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, thanking the police for their quick action. Leaving her home, she told a reporter that she hoped the focus would be on mental health and not on guns as a result of the attack.

The court documents in the cases of the two suspects remain under seal, and a bailiff at the Douglas County Sheriff's Office records told The Washington Post that the authorities would not issue 911 calls or information related to a house where one of the suspects lived.

Other hearings for the suspects are scheduled for next month.

"As you can imagine with an affair of this size, we will not close it in a week," said Brauchler during a press conference held outside the courtroom. He added that the FBI, ATF and other local law enforcement had also participated in the investigation.

Erickson and McKinney's lawyers declined to talk about the case on Tuesday.

In Colorado, thousands of cases, including those involving violent crimes, are being kept secret from the public, the Denver Post revealed in a recent investigation last year. Colorado also has a provision in its open archives laws that allows law enforcement agencies to keep secret information if they feel it is contrary to the public interest.

A memorial service for Castillo, who would have graduated this spring, was scheduled for the same day as the hearings.

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