Teenage high school shooting survivor confronted gunman and allowed students to flee, family says
A 14-year-old student, who survived a shooting at Evergreen High School in Colorado earlier this month, confronted the gunman and allowed his peers to flee, his family has revealed.
It was around noon on Wednesday September 10 when Desmond Holly, 16, fired about 20 rounds at his classmates at the Jefferson County school, police said. Within minutes, Holly shot two students with a handgun, one inside and one outside the school, according to authorities.
When police confronted the gunman, he took his own life. The two survivors, one of whom has been identified as 18-year-old Matthew Silverstone, and the other a 14-year-old boy who hasn’t been publicly named, suffered critical injuries.
It’s been a little over two weeks since the shooting, with the community still reeling from the traumatic event. The family of the 14-year-old has decided to speak about the moments their son was “face-to-face” with “a violent school shooter filled with anger and hatred.”
In a statement provided by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Thursday, the family said their son and his friend confronted the gunman, “which undoubtedly allowed time for more students to flee and the school to lock down.”
“Our son was shot at close range. Yet, he was able to run from the school to save his own life,” the statement continued.
As the boy and his friend ran through the school to escape the shooter, they alerted their fellow classmates, the family said, adding that their son was able to get “critical first aid” once outside the school.
The boy remains hospitalized after undergoing multiple surgeries.
“In those terrifying moments, our son showed a level of bravery, strength, and will to survive that no child should ever be asked to display,” the family said.
Once the boy was able to communicate with his family, he gave them a clear message: “The adults responsible for protecting children must take real, meaningful action so that no child or family endures this kind of horror – in school or anywhere,” the statement read.
Silverstone’s family has also spoken out in the wake of the shooting. His uncle, Kris Koehler, described his nephew as “kind” and “gentle” in a video shared by the sheriff’s office last week.
Koehler said Silverstone’s mom hasn’t left his hospital bedside since the shooting “for fear that if something were to happen, she wants to be right there.”
“He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body,” Koehler said of his nephew. “He would go out of his way to help anybody.”
Koehler read a card a fellow student gave to Matthew, describing how he helped his classmates during the shooting.
