On a small baseball field in Evergreen on Thursday night, a community gathering took place that might’ve looked like a typical barbecue. A small herd of elk weaved between cars in the parking lot as hundreds of people arrived. Grills were set up under white tents, and food trucks dotted the edge of the field. But this was a community in mourning.
Just one day after a school shooting at Evergreen High School left two students injured and the shooter dead, hundreds of students, teachers and parents gathered at Buchanan Ball Fields to begin the process of healing and moving forward.
About 900 students attend the school. One of the victims who’s still hospitalized is 18-year-old Matthew Silverstone, though his condition is still unclear.
“The family appreciates the community’s concern and support, but as we remain focused on our loved one’s recovery, we respectfully request privacy as we continue to heal and navigate the road ahead,” Silverstone’s family said in a statement Thursday.
The family of the other victim has not released any information publicly at this time.
Stacee Martin, the assistant chief of Evergreen Fire Rescue, was one of the first responders on scene after 911 calls began flooding in about an active shooter within the halls of the high school.
“You never think it’s going to happen in your own community,” said Martin, standing beside a station firetruck parked at the field — its ladder adorned with a banner that read: “EFR hearts EHS.”
Even for the first responders who don’t have kids who are students at the school, the call hit close to home.
“These are all our kids,” Martin said. “I've been in our fire department for 20 years, so I've watched a lot of our firefighters have these kiddos and they've all grown up around me, so I feel like I'm their aunt and it's really hard. We're all hurting, hurting for our community. We're hurting for the families, we're hurting for the students. We're hurting for anyone involved in this, and that includes ourselves.”
Amanda Groute’s son just started attending Evergreen High School as a freshman, and he was also at the vigil.
“In the three weeks we've been at school, we've already loved the school and felt it feels like home,” she said. “And so it's very hard.”
Groute said her son was part of a group that ran into the nearby forest to escape the shooting. When they made it to a road, a parent saw them, picked them up in her car and took them to her house for shelter.
“I look around tonight and there was one troubled person, and there are hundreds and thousands of people in this community that are good,” Groute said. “And that's what I keep at the front of my mind.”
As prayers and songs sounded over a loudspeaker from one end of the baseball field, parents and teachers hugged one another and high school students found each other in the crowd. They held hands, passed bouquets of flowers, and shared bowls of soft-serve ice cream.
Toni and Tori Fedora are twin sisters and juniors at the school. They stood next to each other, watching the vigil unfold from the far end of the baseball field. Both were eating lunch in the school’s cafeteria together when they heard gunshots.
“The only two things on my mind was to run, but also to find Tori because we got separated a little bit,” said Toni. “But once I found her, then we knew what was happening. So we just both started running together and we knew that we had to get as far away as possible from the school.”
They were two of the many students who ran for cover off of the school’s grounds and into a nearby neighborhood. They ended up hiding together in the home of a resident who let them inside.
“I got a phone call from a random number that I didn't recognize,” Dawn Fedora, the girls’ mother, told CPR News. “But I answered it and it was Toni and she was crying and she said, ‘Mom, there's an active shooter, we ran out of the school, we're in somebody's house, we're hiding in the shower.’
“And it just hit me like cold water. I was almost numb. Those angels that live in that neighborhood that opened their doors to all the students and brought them in and kept them safe. I can't be more grateful to our Evergreen community.”
Many at the vigil were still trying to make sense of the shooting and how to move forward.
“We have a great community and we'll get through this,” said Sarah Steele, whose daughter is a sophomore. “We're going to learn and we're going to hopefully make changes as much as we can, but we've got a great supportive community here.”
Local and state leaders were also in attendance, including Gov. Jared Polis.
“It's no consolation to say it could have been a lot worse because it's horrific enough — [for] the parents of the kids in the hospital, for all students who will be traumatized from this experience,” Polis told the crowd.
“But by being together, by coming together, by opening your hearts to the love of the people of Colorado, the people of our country are sending through you. I know that you'll be Evergreen strong, Jefferson County strong and return triumph to celebrate the success of your loved ones and your students.”
Rep. Brittany Pettersen represents the district and flew from Washington, D.C. to be at the event. She shared praise that many echoed for the faculty and staff of Evergreen High School for their quick thinking and for following emergency protocols.
“If you could join me in thanking our teachers,” Pettersen said. “It was teachers that threw themselves in front of kids — not just saying that they would do anything to save their kids' lives, but actually doing it. And so we are forever grateful for our educators.”
The vigil was one of many events that took place in Evergreen on Thursday as the community works together to heal.
“These young people are really resilient and incredible and strong, and this is not the thing that they should be required to bounce back from,” state Sen. Jessie Danielson told CPR News.
“Looking at these young people here tonight, they should have been going to their gymnastics meet or their practice, or family event, or just being at school, not running away from someone with a firearm.”
Authorities are still investigating why the shooter, identified as a 16-year-old student at the school, decided to bring a revolver to school and commit the attack before taking his own life.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said Thursday he was radicalized by an “extremist network,” though public information officer Jacki Kelley did not share more details.
If you need help, dial 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also reach the Colorado Crisis Services hotline at 1-844-493-8255 or text “TALK” to 38255 to speak with a trained counselor or professional. Counselors are also available at walk-in locations or online to chat.
There are also adult mental health and youth counseling resources available through I Matter Colorado. Those struggling can also call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
