The 16-year-old suspect in the Colorado school shooting will be tried as an adult.
Maya McKinney, who is transgender and goes by the name Alec McKinney, will be tried as an adult after being accused, along with 18-year-old Devon Erickson, of shooting up the STEM School Highlands Ranch leaving one student dead and eight others wounded. In Colorado, 16 is the youngest age that someone can be charged as an adult.
McKinney and Erickson are each facing 48 charges, including first-degree murder and attempted murder, NBC affiliate News 5 reports. Authorities say that the two broke into a locked gun cabinet at Erickson’s house and stole the guns used in the shooting.
Erickson’s social media posts from 2016 and earlier show that Erickson was critical of President Trump and supportive of former President Barack Obama and the left-wing Occupy Democrats. The motive for the shooting is not yet known.
The duo were arrested after students at the school fought back during their attempts to shoot up the school. The student who died, Kendrick Castillo, is being hailed as a hero after he was killed attempting to lunge at the gunman. Brendan Bialy, a senior who enlisted into the Marine Corps Delayed Entry Program, also charged the shooter.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis declared May 15 Kendrick Castillo day.
[Read more: Colorado school shooters stole guns from parents]
I declare today Kendrick Castillo Day in Colorado as we remember the life of the 18-year-old hero who died saving others in last week’s STEM School shooting in Highlands Ranch.
Rest In Peace, Kendrick. Your bravery won’t be forgotten. pic.twitter.com/erjvq4qAr9
— Jared Polis (@GovofCO) May 15, 2019
