The older of two students accused of fatally shooting a classmate and wounding eight others in a suburban Denver high school made his initial court appearance on Wednesday, a day after his arrest on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (Reuters) – The older of two students accused of fatally shooting a classmate and wounding eight others in a suburban Denver high school made his initial court appearance on Wednesday, a day after his arrest on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
The 18-year-old defendant being charged as an adult, Devon Erickson, sat silently at a small table with his head bowed and his hands shackled to his waist, flanked by two defense lawyers as a pair of sheriff’s deputies stood just behind them.
It was not immediately clear whether his accused accomplice, who is under the age of 18, would be charged in adult court or as a juvenile.
The two teenagers are accused of opening fire on fellow students in two classrooms at the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, about 25 miles (40 km) south of Denver.
Erickson’s attorneys asked the judge to allow defense investigators to oversee processing of the crime scene by law enforcement officers, but prosecutors objected. Douglas County District Court Judge Theresa Slade denied that request.
No plea was entered in the case. The defendant, whose friends told the Denver Post that he had acted in musical theater and performed as lead singer in several rock bands, was ordered to return to court on Friday.
