Estes Park officer discharges rifle during response to fake active shooter investigation; no one injured

Matthew Poust, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.
·2 min read

Feb. 23—The Estes Park Police Department received a report from an anonymous source at approximately 9:23 a.m. Wednesday that there would be an active shooter at the Estes Park High School, which was closed due to weather.

Estes Park was among several Colorado school districts that received threats Wednesday, including Alamosa, Aspen, Boulder, Brighton, Cañon City, Clear Creek County, Durango, Englewood, Fort Morgan, Gilpin County, Lamar, Roaring Forks and Wiggins.

A majority of the schools were either evacuated or put on lockdown as a safety precaution, and all threatening reports proved unfounded.

Estes Park Police Chief David Hayes said he was informed about a threat that came into Boulder High School at approximately 8:33 a.m., before being informed by an EPPD staff member that Estes Park received a threat of its own.

Hayes stated that the call came into Town Hall but not into the town's communication center. The caller claimed that they were outside the school and were planning to shoot people inside. The individual at Town Hall who took the call walked down the hall to the town's dispatch center to inform them of the threat.

According to Hayes, the caller did not provide a name, and at this time, their identity remains unknown.

Hayes said the Estes Park Police Department responded with its partners from the Larimer County Sheriff's Office and Rocky Mountain National Park Law Enforcement Rangers. A building-by-building and room-by-room search was conducted by law enforcement.

"We knew ahead of time that the school was closed because of the weather. That was a good thing for us because it was not a school full of kids," said Hayes.

While one of the last rooms in the elementary school was being cleared, an Estes Park Police officer fired their rifle. "It was an accidental discharge," said Hayes. "The bullet went into the floor. The good news is that no one was injured, clearly something we don't want to happen."

Though Hayes has not yet seen the incident reports, he said from an initial review the situation appears to be an accident and that there is no change in the status of the officer involved.