Throughout the last week, the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) has worked closely with Vista Ridge High School (VRHS) following a pattern of escalating assaultive behavior on the campus. VRHS made the decision to close the school on 12/6/2021, for the school administration and the CSPD to continue its investigation and conduct necessary follow-up.
As part of this investigation into reports of potential threats to the safety of students and staff, on December 5, 2021, CSPD officers arrested one student for the charges of Interference with School Staff as well as Juvenile in Possession of a Firearm. Additionally, a family member of the juvenile was also served and released for Failure to Securely Store a Firearm, a class 2 misdemeanor. It is important to note that this is still an ongoing investigation and details will be released as appropriate and when they become available. Following these arrests, the CSPD continued to follow up on additional reports, and as of this time, we have found no credible threats.
We want to sincerely thank the VRHS Staff for their care and commitment to the safety of their students and the community. We also want to personally commend everyone who has provided information, whether directly to us, school faculty or through Safe2Tell. As previously mentioned, we continue to work closely with VRHS and all of D49 to ensure everyone’s safety.