‘Why is this happening?’ Colorado reckons with another school shooting
The recent attack at Stem School Highlands Ranch was the 15th US school shooting this year, in a state that has been ground zero of an epidemic
Two little girls played in the grass outside Stem School Highlands Ranch, in Douglas County, Colorado, where a school shooting took place on 7 May. The girls’ parents solemnly looked over a shrine. Flowers, teddy bears, and a six-pack of Coca-Cola had been laid under a photo of the school’s hero, 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo, who was killed while tackling one of two student gunmen.
Eight students were injured that afternoon; due perhaps to his action, Castillo was the only fatality. Next to his portrait, cardboard letters spelled out “#STEMSTRONG” and someone wrote in colored chalk on the sidewalk “You’re SO loved,” next to Castillo’s yearbook quote, “The most difficult roads lead to the most beautiful places.”