A student leaves Columbine High School late Tuesday, April 16, 2019, in Littleton, Colo. Following a lockdown at Columbine High School and other Denver area schools, authorities say they are looking for a woman suspected of making threats. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Republished April 16, 2019 - 9:39 PM
Original Publication Date April 16, 2019 - 1:36 PM
LITTLETON, Colo. - The Latest on lockdowns at Columbine High School and other Denver-area schools (all times local):
10:35 p.m.
Investigators say a woman who made undisclosed threats that led to tightened security at Columbine High School bought a pump-action shotgun and ammunition shortly after landing in Denver from Miami.
Dean Phillips, special agent in charge of the FBI in Denver, says a "massive manhunt" is underway for 18-year-old Sol Pais. She flew into Colorado on Monday night and was last seen in the foothills west of Denver.
Phillips says Pais did not specifically threaten Columbine, but investigators were concerned because she has expressed an infatuation with the 1999 shooting.
Doors were locked at Columbine and at more than 20 other schools in the Denver area on Tuesday afternoon after the threat.
The lockouts come just days before the 20th anniversary of a mass shooting at Columbine that killed 12 students and a teacher.
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6 p.m.
FBI officials in Colorado say the woman who made undisclosed threats against Columbine High School is "infatuated" with the 1999 school shooting and is considered armed and dangerous.
The FBI's Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force issued a notice Tuesday for police to be on the lookout for 18-year-old Sol Pais. It says she tried to buy firearms and that police who come into contact with her should detain her and evaluate her mental health.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and the FBI say Pais travelled to Colorado on Monday night and was last seen in the foothills west of Denver. It's not clear where she came from.
The threats led school officials locked the doors of Columbine and about 20 other schools in the Denver area before releasing students for the day.
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4:50 p.m.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis says the threat that prompted a lockdown at Columbine High School and other Denver-area schools involved someone who was armed and "may be interested in harming our schools or our kids."
Polis said Tuesday the Colorado Department of Public Safety was working with the FBI to protect public safety.
He said he had no other information.
The Department of Public Safety urged schools urged schools to tighten security, and more than 20 put lockdowns in place.
The lockdowns come just days before the 20th anniversary of a mass shooting at Columbine High School that killed 12 students and a teacher. Authorities say they are looking for a woman suspected of making threats. They say she should be considered armed and extremely dangerous.
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4:10 p.m.
All schools in the Denver area are being urged to tighten security after what appears to be a credible threat caused a lockout at Columbine High School and more than 20 other schools in the area.
Patricia Billinger, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Public Safety, says the agency made the recommendation because Tuesday's threat was deemed "credible and general."
At least one school district heeded the advice. Aurora Public Schools tweeted that students were being released in a "controlled manner," and additional security was put in place throughout the district as a precaution.
The lockouts come just days before the 20th anniversary of a mass shooting at Columbine High School that killed 12 students and a teacher. Authorities say they are looking for a woman suspected of making threats. They say she should be considered armed and extremely dangerous.
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3:45 p.m.
Following a lockdown at Columbine High School and other Denver area schools, authorities say they are looking for a woman suspected of making threats.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and the FBI says 18-year-old Sol Pais travelled to Colorado on Monday night and made threats but they didn't provide any details about the threats. They say she was last seen in the foothills west of Denver, where some of the schools put on lockdown are located.
They didn't say where she travelled from.
Authorities said Pais is armed and considered extremely dangerous and should not be approached.
Doors were locked at Columbine and at least over 20 other schools in the Denver area as the sheriff's office said it was investigating a possible threat against schools that was related to an FBI investigation.
Students were dismissed on time but after school activities were cancelled at Columbine.
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2:55 p.m.
Students are leaving classes after tightened security at Columbine High School and over 20 other Denver-area high schools after a lockdown caused by a possible threat.
Students wearing backpacks came out the main door at Columbine on Tuesday afternoon, soon after school officials announced that students in all the schools put on lockdown were safe and would be dismissed at their normal times. The students walked to crosswalks and buses parked near the entrance.
Officials said after school activities will be held at all schools except Columbine, but didn't explain why.
A spokesman for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Mike Taplin, said the lockdowns involved an FBI investigation but he couldn't provide any details. The sheriff's office previously said the lockdowns were prompted by an investigation into what appeared to be a credible threat possibly involving the schools
The lockdowns come just days before the 20th anniversary of a mass shooting at the school that killed 12 students and a teacher.
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2:30 p.m.
Authorities say tightened security at Columbine High School and about a dozen other Denver-area schools is related to an FBI investigation.
A spokesman for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Mike Taplin, said Tuesday's school lockdowns involved an FBI investigation but he couldn't provide any details. The sheriff's office previously said the lockdowns were prompted by its investigation into what appears to be a credible threat possibly involving the schools
A message left for an FBI spokeswoman wasn't immediately returned.
School officials say the doors were locked but classes were continuing at Columbine and two other nearby schools and at other schools farther away in the same district.
The lockdowns come just days before the 20th anniversary of a mass shooting at the school that killed 12 students and a teacher. There was no immediate indication whether there was any connection to the anniversary.
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1:40 p.m.
Columbine High School and about a dozen other schools are on lockdown as law enforcement says it is investigating what appears to be a credible threat possibly involving the schools.
School officials say the doors were locked but classes were continuing Tuesday at Columbine and two other nearby schools and at other schools farther away in the district.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said deputies were posted at the schools involved.
The lockdown comes just days before the 20th anniversary of a mass shooting at the school that killed 12 students and a teacher. There was no immediate indication whether Tuesday's lockdown has any connection to the anniversary.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019