Teen who charged attackers was lone death in shooting

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. -- When a gunman burst into his high school classroom, Kendrick Castillo did not hesitate.

The 18-year-old immediately charged, pinning the attacker to the wall before he was fatally shot protecting classmates, witnesses said. As Castillo charged, so did two other students. One of them, Brendan Bialy, who has signed up to join the Marines, wrestled the gun from the shooter's hand and the students subdued him.

A second shooter was captured by an armed security guard.

Authorities said these acts of bravery helped minimize the bloodshed from the attack, which also wounded eight people.

"We're going to hear about very heroic things that have taken place at the school," Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said Wednesday.

The attackers were identified by law enforcement officials as 18-year-old Devon Erickson and a younger student who is a juvenile. They allegedly walked into the STEM School Highlands Ranch through an entrance without metal detectors and opened fire in two classrooms.

Because the attack happened only miles from Columbine High School and just weeks after the shooting's 20th anniversary, questions quickly arose about whether it was inspired by the 1999 massacre. But investigators offered no immediate motive.

Castillo sprang into action against the shooter "and immediately was on top of him with complete disregard for his own safety," said Bialy, a close friend.

A member of the school's robotics club and a relentless tinkerer, Castillo had an infectious smile and gentle sense of humor, according to friends. He worked part-time at a local manufacturing company, which had offered him a job after an internship because he was such a standout employee.

"To find he went down as a hero, I'm not surprised. That's exactly who Kendrick was," said Rachel Short, president of the company, Baccara.

Cecilia Bedard, 19, had known Castillo since elementary school and said he was always friendly, modest and excited to help people. He made a point of joining his father at Knights of Columbus fundraisers and bingo nights.

"He was amazing," Bedard said. "He was honestly the sweetest kid I ever met. Never said a mean joke."

Bialy smiled as he recounted the struggle with the shooter to reporters, saying he wanted to focus on the positive. "They completely and utterly failed in a matter of half a minute," he said of the attackers. He added, "What I saw yesterday was the absolute best of people."

Bialy would not identify the third student who helped subdue the gunman but the family of Jason Jones put out a statement saying he was shot twice while disarming one of the attackers.

The security guard who detained the second armed suspect was employed by Boss High Level Protection, a company started by a former SWAT team leader who responded to the Columbine shooting. The owner, Grant Whitus, told The Associated Press the security guard is a former Marine who ran to the area of the shootings and confronted one of the armed students in a hallway.

The guard drew his weapon and apprehended the person, Whitus said.

"He doesn't even realize how many lives he saved by stopping a school shooting," Whitus said.

Both suspects were students at the school, and they were not previously known to authorities, Spurlock said.