Two administrators shot by student at Denver high school

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A 17-year-old student shot and wounded two administrators at his high school in Denver on Wednesday, and the victims were taken to area hospitals, officials said. Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said the student fled the scene after the shooting at East High School.

Police identified the suspect Wednesday afternoon as Austin Lyle, 17, and posted his picture on social media. The chief didn't identify the suspect during a press conference earlier because he is a juvenile.

The suspect was described as a Black male who is 5 feet, 5 inches tall, weighs 150 pounds, and has black hair and brown eyes. He was believed to be associated with a 2005 red Volvo XC90 with Colorado license plate BSCW10.

According to police, the suspect was last seen wearing a green hooded sweatshirt. Mayor Michael Hancock had earlier said the sweatshirt had an astronaut on it.

The suspect was wanted for attempted homicide, police said. Denver Health told CBS News both victims were listed in serious condition.

The two administrators were searching the student in the morning and "a handgun was retrieved and several shots were fired," the chief said.

Police haven't recovered the gun used in the shooting, Thomas said. Authorities were searching his home for evidence.

"We don't have any sense of where he is," the chief said, adding that investigators were trying to speak with people who may know where he may have gone.

Paramedics were able to "immediately" tend to the wounded men because they were already at the school to treat a student's allergic reaction, Hancock said.

The student was searched at the beginning of every school day under a "safety plan," Thomas said. Officials didn't provide details about the circumstances that led to the daily searches.

The searches were conducted in a secluded office area at the front of the school away from students, Thomas said. A weapon wasn't found on the student in previous searches, the chief said.

Two armed officers would be assigned to the school until the end of the school year, Marrero said. In a statement, Hancock noted that school resource officers had been removed from the school system, and he called for their return.

"Removing them was a mistake and we must move swiftly to correct it," the mayor said.

According to Denver Public Schools, 10 guns were confiscated from students in Denver schools between the start of the school year and February.

The suspect in a Denver area high school shooting Wednesday was found dead in a nearby county, authorities confirmed.

The suspect, later identified as Austin Lyle, fled the scene, police said. His car was found alongside a wooded road in nearby Park County on Wednesday evening, causing authorities to issue a shelter-in-place order for nearby areas.

Later on Wednesday, the Park County Sheriff's Office said they found a body near the vehicle and lifted the shelter-in-place order, but it wasn't until Thursday morning that the county coroner's office confirmed the body was Lyle's.

The coroner's office did not share a cause or manner of death, saying that it was conducting an investigation and autopsy.

A spokesperson for Denver Health identified the administrators as Eric Sinclair, a dean of culture, and Jerald Mason, a restorative practice coordinator, according to Colorado Public Radio/Denverite. Sinclair remains in serious condition after undergoing surgery. Mason was discharged in stable condition.

Police said the administrators were shot at the front of the school, away from other students, as Lyle was undergoing a routine morning search for weapons.

Lyle had agreed to be patted down every morning as part of a "safety plan" following previous behavioral issues, police said.

Austin Lyle, age 17, is suspected of shooting and wounding two school administrators at a Denver high school Wednesday morning.

"During that search, obviously, a weapon was retrieved," said Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas. "A handgun was retrieved, and several shots were fired."

Police declined to answer questions about how long Lyle was under the safety plan or the specific incidents that led to the plan, citing student privacy laws. They did confirm the school hadn't found a weapon on him before.

A spokesperson for the school district said that Lyle had been expelled from Overland High School in a neighboring district for "violating board policy," according to Colorado Public Radio/Denverite.