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This time it was STEM School Highlands Ranch, near Denver.
An 18-year-old student just days away from graduation was killed, Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said on Wednesday. Eight other students were shot but survived.
Kendrick Castillo's parents confirm that their son was the student killed. A witness in the classroom told CNN that Castillo had been shot while he was rushing at a gunman and allowing him to save several lives.
"I have to believe that the quick reaction of the officers who entered this school saved lives," said the sheriff.
But the tragedy brought a new traumatic blow to a community too familiar with mass shootings.
"Yet we are again."
A private guard was one of the first to face a gunman
The STEM school did not have a school resource officer, but there was a private security guard, Spurlock said.
Whitus – the first SWAT officer to enter Columbine 20 years ago – refused to identify the guard but said he was "decisive" to end the attack.
He added that the guard had unsheathed his weapon, placed it in custody and handed it to the sheriff's deputy ministers.
If the guard had not been there, "countless lives would have been lost," Whitus said.
But the guard still feels bad about not being able to stop the whole attack.
"It's a very good guy," Whitus said. "He wishes he could have done more."
Students also tried to stop the attack
As more details emerge, more stories of heroism could occur, said the sheriff.
Brendan and two friends tried to attack one of the attackers, Brendan's father Brad Bialy told The Times. But one of the boys was hit in the chest. Other students exert pressure on the wound.
The motive remains a mystery
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office has identified one of the suspects as Devon Erickson, 18 years old. The authorities identified the second suspect as a girl.
But the investigators "continue to look for a motive," Spurlock said.
Authorities searched a house on Tuesday night, but the authorities would not have confirmed whether one of the shooters was living at home.
The sheriff said the two suspects did not appear to be on the radar of the forces of order.
Only a few weeks ago, Douglas County schools feared another attack and shut down schools on April 17.
After the teenager announced threats, the body of the young woman was found with a self-inflicted rifle wound, officials said.
"You never think it would be the new reality"
The 17-year-old son of Fernando Montoya was hit three times, but survived and was released from the hospital.
But the teen is still struggling with the fact that such violence could occur in this school.
"It's hard to believe that someone in the class is going to have a gun and will open fire as if nothing has happened," Montoya told KMGH.
The mother of another student said that she had received a horrifying call from her daughter:
"(With) everything in Columbine, you never think it would be the reality of this situation."
"Our STEM family is suffering"
"STEM" stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. STEM School Highlands Ranch is a "free public charter school," according to its website.
"Our STEM family is suffering tonight," Douglas County School Superintendent Thomas S. Tucker said Tuesday in a letter to families. "Supporting each other in the coming days, weeks and months is essential."
The school will be closed the rest of the week.
Scott McLean, Amanda Watts, Steve Almasy, Chris Boyette, Kalenah Arif, Jamie Lynch, Paul Murphy, Matt Hilk, Dave Alsup, Joe Sutton and CNN's Allison Flexner contributed to this report.
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