2025 Evergreen High School shooting

Evergreen High School shooting
Evergreen High School, March 2004
Location39°37′18″N 105°19′54″W / 39.621778°N 105.331639°W / 39.621778; -105.331639
Evergreen High School, Evergreen, Colorado, U.S.
DateSeptember 10, 2025 (2025-09-10)
12:21 p.m. – 12:33 p.m.[1] (MDT; UTC−07:00)
TargetStudents of Evergreen High School
Attack type
School shooting
Weapon.38 caliber Smith & Wesson Model 36 revolver
Deaths1 (the perpetrator)[2]
Injured2[2]
PerpetratorDesmond Holly[2][3]
Motive

On September 10, 2025, at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colorado, United States. A 16-year-old student, Desmond Holly, shot and critically injured two students before killing himself.[2]

Authorities said Holly fired about 20 rounds over the course of nine minutes, both inside and outside the school building. Investigators later said he had been exposed to extremist online material and appeared to have adopted neo-Nazi beliefs before the attack, though the precise motive remains under investigation.

Shooting

On September 10, 2025, at about 12:21 p.m. MDT, a student at Evergreen High School opened fire with a revolver inside and outside the school building.[5] According to authorities, the shooter fired about 20 rounds over the course of roughly nine minutes before killing himself.[2] Two students were critically injured during the attack.[6] Security doors prevented the suspect from entering other areas of the school, which authorities said likely reduced the number of casualties.[3]

Timeline of shooting

A timeline was released by Jefferson County, Colorado on October 10, 2025.[7]

Time Event
12:21:14 The first shot was fired by the shooter inside the school.
12:21:40 The first victim was then shot.
12:21:56 A lockdown was initiated by school staff.
12:22:15 The first 911 call was made.
12:23:30 The shooter exited the school building.
12:24:09 A deputy was dispatched to the school.
12:24:26 Another deputy deployed himself to the school.
12:27:22 The first deputy arrived at the school.
12:30:29 The shooter confronted a deputy with a gun pointed at him.
12:31:37 The deputies performed life-saving measures on a second victim.
12:33:24 The shooter committed suicide by gunshot.

Victims

The 18-year-old victim, later identified as Matthew Silverstone, suffered gunshot wounds to the head and chest and underwent emergency surgery. Silverstone's heart stopped twice after he was shot, once at the scene and once in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.[6][8]

The 14-year-old victim was also critically injured but was released from the hospital in early October 2025.[6] According to his family, he confronted the shooter at close range and gave other students time to escape.[9]

Perpetrator

Photo posted to TikTok by Holly showing him holding the revolver to his head.

The shooter was identified as 16-year-old Desmond Holly, a student at the school.[10] After investigating Holly's phone, investigators reported that Holly had been exposed to extremist online material and appeared to have adopted neo-Nazi ideology in the months before the attack,[3] being radicalized by an "extremist network".[11][12][13] Officials also indicated that he may have expressed interest in previous school shootings, though the precise motive remains under investigation.[14]

Holly’s sister described him as “quiet, creative and increasingly withdrawn” as he entered high school.[15] Holly had continuously referred to his sister as a “Femoid”, to which his sister didnt believe he was using in a derogatory way.[16] His sister also noted that Holly was in a previous relationship with another boy prior to the shooting, however witnesses recalled Holly was shouting homophobic slurs before the shooting began on the same day.[17]

Investigators found that Holly had several TikTok accounts, filled with white supremacist symbols. According to the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism, he was active on the app's "True Crime Community", where participating users have a fascination of mass murderers and serial killers. His profile picture on the app was an edited image of Elliot Rodger, perpetrator of the 2014 Isla Vista killings.[18] A few days before the shooting, Holly posted a picture on the app in a pose similar to the perpetrator of the 2024 Abundant Life Christian School shooting with a shirt he made similar to one that was worn by Dylan Klebold during the 1999 Columbine High School massacre;[11][18] he also shared the image of the Abundant Life Christian School shooter he was imitating in the post as well.[13] One user on the app encouraged Holly to be a "hero", also telling him to get a patch of the Black Sun, a Nazi-era symbol infamously worn by the perpetrators behind the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings and the 2022 Buffalo supermarket shooting. TikTok banned all accounts associated with Holly two days after the shooting.[11][18]

The Anti-Defamation League also claim Holly also had an account on Watch People Die, a "gore forum". He made the account between the Abundant Life Christian School shooting and the 2025 Antioch High School shooting. In an email, administrators of the site claim Holly lied about his age to create the account, and he wasn't active on it. They refer to Holly and the Antioch High School shooter as "unhinged losers".[11][13]

The Anti-Defamation League further claimed that they reported Holly's TikTok account to the Federal Bureau of Investigation months before the shooting. The FBI open an assessment into the account in July, and continued it until the shooting. They were trying to identify the name and location of the user behind the account, which they failed to do, therefore they had no probable cause for arrest or additional law enforcement action at the federal level.[13]

Aftermath

Jefferson County Public Schools closed Evergreen High School in the days following the shooting.[19] When classes resumed, the district assigned a full-time school resource officer to the campus and increased on-site security personnel.[20]

Hundreds of residents attended a community vigil the day after the shooting, and a temporary support center was established for students, parents, and staff.[21][22] In the weeks that followed, officials also investigated several possible threats reported on social media, which they later determined were either unfounded or posts by students processing the trauma of the shooting.[23]

During the shooting, Holly used a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver, purchased in 1996 in Florida, that originally belonged to a grandparent and was kept in a safe in his home. On February 4, 2026, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office announced Holly's parents would not be charged in connection with the shooting.[24]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Breunlin, Erica; Dolven, Taylor; Paul, Jesse (September 17, 2025). "9 minutes: How the shooting at Evergreen High School unfolded, moment by moment". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Swanson, Christa; Sarles, Jesse (September 11, 2025). "Authorities: Student dead after shooting two peers, then himself". CBS News Colorado.
  3. 1 2 3 Pelisek, Christine (September 12, 2025). "Colorado School Shooter Identified as 'Radicalized' 16-Year-Old Student". People.
  4. ↑ May, Haylee (April 27, 2026). "Inside the decision to release 600 pages of evidence on the Evergreen High School shooting". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
  5. ↑ Sarles, Jesse (September 18, 2025). "Evergreen High School shooter fired 20 rounds in 9 minutes, sheriff says". CBS News Colorado.
  6. 1 2 3 Kelley, Sage (October 15, 2025). "Second Evergreen High School shooting victim released from hospital". Colorado Politics. Archived from the original on October 16, 2025.
  7. ↑ "JCSO Evergreen High School Shooting Investigation Update". www.jeffco.us. October 10, 2025. Retrieved January 13, 2026.
  8. ↑ Prentzel, Olivia (October 14, 2025). "Evergreen High School shooting victim leaves hospital, tells supporters: 'I'm still alive!'". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved January 24, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Evergreen High School victim confronted shooter before warning others". Colorado Politics. September 27, 2025.
  10. ↑ Kelley, Sage; Braithwaite, Michael (September 11, 2025). "Evergreen High School shooter identified as local student". Denver Gazette. Archived from the original on September 11, 2025.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Slevin, Colleen; Brown, Matthew (September 13, 2025). "Denver school shooting suspect posted online about mass shootings and neo-Nazi views, report says". AP News. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
  12. ↑ Slevin, Colleen; Brown, Matthew (September 11, 2025). "Radicalized 16-year-old Colorado school student fired revolver and wounded 2 teens, authorities say". AP News. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Stratton, James (September 17, 2025). "Research details Colorado teen shooter's online idolization of Madison school shooter, others". WISN. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  14. ↑ Yobles, Yesenia (September 11, 2025). "What we know about the Evergreen High School shooting". CPR News.
  15. ↑ May ·, Haylee (April 27, 2026). "Inside the decision to release 600 pages of evidence on the Evergreen High School shooting". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved August 25, 2026.
  16. ↑ May ·, Haylee (April 27, 2026). "Inside the decision to release 600 pages of evidence on the Evergreen High School shooting". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved August 25, 2026.
  17. ↑ May ·, Haylee (April 27, 2026). "Inside the decision to release 600 pages of evidence on the Evergreen High School shooting". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved August 25, 2026.
  18. 1 2 3 Prentzel, Jesse Paul, Olivia (September 12, 2025). "Evergreen High School shooter embraced Columbine, antisemitism and white supremacy online". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved December 14, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ↑ "Evergreen High School remains closed a week after shooting". Colorado Politics. September 15, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Students return to Evergreen High School uplifted by community". Colorado Politics. September 25, 2025.
  21. ↑ "'Evergreen Strong': Thousands attend vigil after high school shooting". KUNC. September 12, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Support center opens following Evergreen High School shooting". KRDO. September 11, 2025.
  23. ↑ "Officials investigate possible threats at Evergreen High School following shooting". KRDO. October 8, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Evergreen High School shooter used family heirloom gun; parents won't be charged". The Denver Post. February 4, 2026. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
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