FASTER Colorado

Journal of Minneapolis shooter Robin Westman details warning signs | CNN Robin Westman wrote in a journal about a deep obsession with mass shooters.

We are grateful for Colorado's LE Officers, Deputies, Chiefs, and Sheriffs. And we are especially thankful for all those in Law Enforcement who bring lifesaving training to schools, churches, and other LEOs through their work at FASTER Colorado.

Well said, Representative Dan Woog.

April 20th.

Twenty-seven years later, the name Columbine still carries weight that words struggle to hold.

Today, we remember the lives taken:
Steven Curnow, 14
Daniel Ma**er, 15
Daniel Lee Rohrbough, 15
Kelly Ann Fleming, 16
Matthew Kechter, 16
John Tomlin, 16
Kyle Albert Velasquez, 16
Cassie René Bernall, 17
Corey DePooter, 17
Rachel Joy Scott, 17
Isaiah Emon Shoels, 18
Lauren Townsend, 18
William “Dave” Sanders, 47

For their families, time did not heal this. It marked it. Every year, every milestone missed, every quiet moment where absence speaks louder than anything else. The weight of that loss is carried daily.

“Columbine” should mean something different. It is our state flower. It is a school. It is part of Colorado’s identity. But for nearly three decades, the name has been tied to tragedy. That reality does not fade. It reminds us of what can happen when evil meets vulnerability.

Today, on this anniversary, we begin a three-day law enforcement training in Otero County focused on response to violence in schools. This training, made possible through the Colorado Office of School Safety, is being brought directly to rural agencies, removing barriers, increasing access, and strengthening readiness where resources are often limited.

This is not symbolic work. It is necessary work.

Our children deserve schools where they can learn without fear. Where innocence is protected, not shattered. Where response is immediate, decisive, and trained.

We cannot change April 20, 1999. But we can decide what we do because of it.

We are proud to be a small part of that effort. And this spring, these trainings are being offered at no cost to agencies, because preparation should never be limited by budget.

We remember.
And we prepare.

Juvenile Arrested for Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon on School Grounds
- Chatfield High School Teacher Targeted -

A 16-year-old Chatfield High School student was arrested on March 31, 2026, after deputies learned that they planned to kill a teacher at the school.

Investigators say the student took a 7-inch butcher knife from their kitchen that morning, concealed it in a backpack and took it to school. In the early morning, the student attended the targeted teacher’s class with the concealed knife inside of the backpack. The student did not act on the plan and instead went to the school office with the backpack, asked to speak with a counselor, and disclosed what they had intended to do. The knife was confiscated and the School Resource Officer assigned to the school was notified.

The student was arrested and booked into the Marvin W. Foote Youth Services Center for unlawful carrying of a weapon on school grounds—although additional charges may be filed. The suspect’s first court appearance is later today.