Focus Page @ The Liberty Rocks Blog:

TRAGEDY AT PLATTE CANYON HIGH SCHOOL
BAILEY, COLORADO - SEPTEMBER 27, 2006

On Wednesday, September 27, 2006 at approximate 11:40 a.m., the small mountain community of Bailey, Colorado was forever changed when a gunman, identified as 53-year-old Duane R. Morrison, entered Platte Canyon High School armed with a handgun, and took 6 teenaged female students hostage in their English Prep classroom.

At approximately 3:45 p.m., and with 2 hostages remaining a decision was made, in full consideration of all alternatives and risks, to enter the classroom and force an end to the day of horror. Jefferson and Park County SWAT team members entered the room and were able to save one of the female hostages while under fire from the gunman. Unfortunately, the gunman also shot and killed the other hostage, 16-year-old Miss Emily Keyes whom he had been using as a human shield, and who was hit in the back of the head attempting to escape. The gunman then turned the gun on himself and ended his own life.

This focus page contains a wealth of information about this tragedy preserving the original coverage of the day published on this blog, as well as adding information discovered and brought to light in the investigation afterwards. This will be an ongoing project at Liberty Rocks. Below you will see a listing of the information contained on this page related to this tragedy, as well as other pages created to present the information in a more organized fashion.

My thoughts and prayers will be forever with the family of Emily Keyes, as well as the entire community of Bailey and the surrounding area. As a former resident of Colorado with friends living in that community I am personally touched by these horrific events. It is in the hopes of learning as much as we can about this tragedy in order to prevent future tragedies from occuring and/or minimizing their impact on our loved ones that I present this information. May Emily rest in peace with the Angels in our Lord’s healing embrace.

FOCUS PAGE MENU:
I tried to get this menu to link, and menu links back to the top, but that function does not work within this blog set-up. I apologize for the scrolling necessary.

• Information about the “I love U Guys” Memorial Fund - in Emily’s Memory
• Overview/Summary
• Original announcement of Emily’s death
• Press Conference Transcript - 9/27/06 8:30 p.m. (U.S. Mountain Time)
• Reporter’s report from St. Anthony’s Central Hospital (approx. 6:30 p.m. Mountain Time)
• Official Statement from St. Anthony’s Hospital Spokesperson (6:30 p.m. Mountain Time)
• Press Conference Transcript - 9/27/06 (approx. 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time)
• Text message from male student to his father that morning
• Update Report from 9News & Spokesperson Jacki Kelley immediately after what we now know to be the end of the standoff (approx. 3:50 p.m. Mountain Time)
• On-Air Phone Interview from student “Randall” on 9 News
• Original Post here at LibertyRocks Blog (approximately 12:30 p.m. Mountain Time)
• Notes from 9News Webcast (approx. 2:50 p.m. Mountain Time)
• Notes from Channel 7 News Broadcast (approximately 3:20 p.m. Mountain Time)
• Notes from Press Conference with Jacki Kelley and 9News Report (approximately 3:30 p.m. Mountain Time)
• Media Articles
• Video Reports
• Still Photos & Slideshows
• Audio Reports
• Related Columns & Opinion Pieces
• Other Related Coverage
• Related Message Boards at Local Media Websites
• Downloadable Documents
• Notes on Updates made to the original publication post here at Liberty Rocks

EMILY KEYES MEMORIAL INFORMATION:
Most of the following information was obtained from the Park County Website - http://www.parkco.us

“The family would like to thank the community for their phenomenal support.” - The Keyes Family

 

The Keyes family also asks that those who wish to do something in Emily’s honor engage in “Random Acts of Kindness” in her memory.

 

Through a family friend, Louis Gonzalez, the family said, “In memory of Emily, we would like everybody to go out and do random acts of kindness, random acts of love to your friends, to your neighbors, to your fellow students. That’s exactly what Emily would have wanted.”

- “Keyes Family Asks for Random Acts of Kindness” - The Rocky Mountain News

Memorial Fund Information:

Donations can be made to the “I love U guys” Emily Keyes Memorial Fund at Wells Fargo Banks and Citywide Banks. (http://www.citywidebanks.com) For more information on the fund call; 303-465-6743.

The “I love U guys” fund is named in memory of the last text message that Emily sent to her parents.

There is also an Emily Keyes Memorial Fund at Peak National Bank.

Flowers and Other Items:

Items such as flowers will be accepted at the Deer Creek Realty building located at 4 River Drive, Bailey, CO 80421

OVERVIEW:
Last Updated on 9/28/2006

At approximately 11:30am, on Wednesday September 27, 2006, 53 year-old Duane R. Morrison entered Platte Canyon High School in Bailey, Colorado armed with a 9mm handgun. He was dressed in a black “hoodie” and was carrying a camoflage backpack. After being seen around the school by students, and talking with a few of them, he proceeded to enter Mrs. Smith’s College Prep English Classroom. He pulled his gun and fired at least one shot. He then proceeded to line the kids up at the blackboard, and one by one chose who would be allowed to leave, allegedly tapping them with his gun as he made his decisions. He kept a total of six female students as hostages, and then proceeded to call 9-11 himself, to alert authorities of the his plans. He told them he was armed with an explosive device beside the gun he possessed.

Authorites were able to evacuate the remaining students in the High School as well as the adjacent Middle School. They acted upon a new plan, called the “Active Shooter” plan which was based upon lessons learned from the Columbine Tragedy 7 years ago. In doing so they were able to rescue the remaining students and keep them safe. They then began what was described sporadic negotiations with Mr. Morrison. He would not speak to them directly, instead speaking to them through his hostages whom he used as human shields throughout the ordeal. He proceeded to release 4 of the 6 hostages one at a time over the course of the ordeal which lasted until approximately 3:30 p.m.

According to Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener, at around 3:30 p.m. Mr. Morrison ceased all communication with the negotiators, and gave a deadline of 4:00 p.m. only saying that something would happen at that time. Faced with a situation involving an increasingly agitated gunman, Sheriff Wegener said that a decision to make tactical movements to end the siege were then made. Based upon the gunman’s previous actions, which included sexually molesting some of the student hostages, and based on the threats he had made throughout the ordeal lawmen were convinced that these actions were necessary to try and prevent the deaths of both the girls.

The SWAT teams from Park & Jefferson County who responded to the scene employed a percussion explosive as a diversionary tactic, and then rushed the room. At that point the gunmen first fired at officers, and then shot Miss Emily Keyes in the back of the head (he had been using her as a human shield). Dwayne Morrison then turned the gun on himself committing suicide. The other female hostage was rescued by officers and fled the building on foot.

Emergency medics responded to Miss Keyes injuries and she was brought by the flight-for-life helicopter that was on stand-by to St. Anthony’s Central Hospital in downtown Denver, Colorado (approximately 35 miles Northwest of Bailey). Upon reaching the flight-for-life helicopter it was reported that she still had vital signs. However, footage showing her arrival at the hospital showed that flight nurses were giving CPR at that time. According to reporters at the hospital she had lost a lot of blood, and the damage she sustained in the shooting was severe. She was rushed into emergency surgery in the hospital’s T-10 (Level 1) Trauma unit on the second floor of the hospital. Doctors and surgeons did everything they could for her, but the damage was too extensive and Miss Emily Keyes, 16, was pronounced dead at 16:32 (4:32 p.m. Denver time).

Many agencies responded to the emergency situation including; the Park County Sheriff’s Department, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office, Emergency Medical Services, including the Flight-for-Life Helicopter, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation Denver Field Office (who also offered the use of their hostage negotiators), the Denver Communications Vehicle (used to coordinate radio traffice between agencies), as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE). The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) also monitored the situation from their facilities in Colorado. After the standoff ended, the investigation was turned back over to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the Park County Sheriff’s Office, and the District Attorney’s Office.

The community of Bailey, Colorado - a small mountain town of approximately 5,500 people - is understandably shocked, and in deep mourning over this tragedy. It touched everyone in the community, including the officers responding to the incident. As Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener stated in a press conference held on Wednesday evening after the standoff, “I was scared to death. Nobody wants this to happen to their school.” Sheriff Wegener has lived in the community for 36 years, graduated from Platte Canyon High School, and his own son was a student in the building when he and his officers responded.

When responding to questions about the decision to go into the room, Sheriff Wegener said that the girls lives had been in danger throughout the afternoon, and earlier actions of this gunman helped him make the decision when he did. When a (rather unscrupulous) reporter asked him whether he was second-guessing the decision to enter the room as they did, he responded, “Yes, eventually I have to face the family of this girl, and their daughter is dead. What would you do?” at that the night’s press conference was ended.

As someone who watched the tragedy of Columbine unfold, living in the area at the time, I firmly believe that these officers did everything they possibly could in this situation. And in doing so prevented the death of the other students who were being held hostage, including the 5th hostage who made it out safely. Thanks should be due to these courageous officers whose unselfish actions averted more atrocity.

SOME VERY SAD NEWS TO REPORT…
27 September 2006 - 6:00 p.m. U.S. Mountain Time

I regret to inform my readers that the young woman who was shot - Miss Emily Keyes - has passed away. (She was identified by friends in this article. Photo to the left was distributed by her family.)
The hospital has only been allowed to announce her time of death. She was a 16-year-old junior with a twin brother, Casey. Friends describe her as a sweet, quiet girl, who participated on the speech team and enjoyed hanging out with her brother and playing video games. Her twin brother, Casey was not at school today - he was on a field trip in Denver.

 

 

OFFICIAL CONFIRMATION OF VICTIM’S DEATH:
Bev Lilly, Spokesperson, St. Anthony’s Central Hospital, Denver, Colorado:
“The family has given me permission to announce that the patient died at 16:32 (4:32 p.m. Mountain Time)”

Prayers for comfort and strength for the Keyes family, and all the friends of this young girl, as well as all in Bailey, Colorado, and all others who have been touched by this horrific tragedy.

PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT & NOTES:
8:30 p.m. Denver Time (US- Mountain Time)

Gunman’s body is still inside the school.

Park County Sheriff’s own son was in the school. He made the decision to go in when they did.

Here is another really rough transcript — I can’t type as fast as they talk….
Stuff in parenthesis is stuff I filled in afterwards - paraphrasing where necessary. I don’t think I missed much…

START ROUGH TRANSCRIPT:

8:30 press conference

Reporter Leads Off:
Then gunman called 911 himself stating he had taken hostages… (arond noon)
Originally took six girls hostage… Released 4 girls, kept 2 teenage students with him
Situation had gotten too volatile… sent swat in
Apparently detonated an explosive device as a diversionary

BEGIN PRESS CONFERENCE:

Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener

Good Evening
Before I um start my briefing I would like to…

because of the senseless actions of a lone gunman we are grieving…

everyone knows each other and everyone grieves together
We never expect it will happen in our own backyard

thoughts and prayers are with the family

still very deep in the inital stages of the investigation

still an open criminal investigation

an armed man entered the platte canyon high school and tood 6 females hostage

Over the course of several hours negotiation (let 4 go)

Suspect claimed to have explosive (in his backpage in addition to a handgun).

Because of the threats and cutting off commmunication
tactical teams from park & jeffco made entry…

Gunshot fired - clarified
officers briefed
(They set off a diversionary charge and then entered)
(The Suspect first) shot at police officers, then shot the one female hostage, and then shot himself (SWAT team got the other girl out who the ran out of the school on foot)

Female gun shot victim transfered to st anthoney (where she was pronounced dead)

Victim advocates made available to vicitms and famiies

CBI leading the investigation in conjuncton with Park county and jefferson county

{Would like to)take a moment to thank the school district for their support (also thanked communities, businesses and law enforcement across the country) - how deeply we appreciate that

Dr. Jim Walpole - Superintendant School District

(It has been a) difficult day for our community, (would like to express) appreciation to our students and staff who performed so well under (so much pressure)

(would like to thank) law enforcement for prompt response

tonight we are a commuhity in mourning
our hearts and prays are with the students, the staff and families especially with the family of our victim.

(the) focus on the health safety & well-being of our staff

(schools - both HS & Middle School) Sealed as a crime scene - will be for an undetermined amount of time

No school at either school at least thursday and friday. Later in the week announcement for classes for the week of October 2.
Based on advice of crisis counselors. will hold school as planned (classes) at deer creek elementary.
In addition, counseling is avialable with(for) students and families at the Platte Canyon Community Church in Bailey (starting at 7:30 am tomorrow)

Counseling will also be available to staff and families

Steve Johnson - CBI

The CBI is extrememly prouds and the community sshould be extremely proud of the response from the park co & jefferson co (Law enforcement)

(Their) response very unselfish - had the community’s safety (and well-being in mind)

CBI and all available resources used to conduct the criminal ongoing investigation into this tragic

(Still in) early stages

Not alot of information that can be released die to the fact that (it is so early in the investigation)

45 minutes ago a contingency of investigators met and assessed where were at what we need to do and what to get done, will be a fluid process and will change

(investigation will be) thorough prompt and that we leave no stone unturned

(Hope to) provide answers to the criminal episode

(will) give all info we can to park co & staff dist. attorney a& staff

not alot that I can tell you beause we are still in the process of securing the scnee

bomb techs are STILL going through the school
(Something about having a) Suspect but not confirming

slow methodical steps

put together a collaborative investigation

(If any of you have a) brief question that I can answer I’ll try

won’t comment (on if assaulted students)

(on the perp)
do not know anything about him - have not been able to identify him - gunman nothing more than a john doe till we take care of and identify some initial things

Still have things we need to do will be a collaborative effort decision will be made on when to identify the victim on their end.
(Law Enforcement has NOT CONFIRMED IDENTITY OF VICTIM yet)

Don’t want to speculate on stuff that might not have happened -=

Park County Sheriff (Says he knows the family well) — at the request of the family - rather not say anything of the family -

Park County Sheriff Wagner (corrected)
Q: (Did the gunman) ask to speak to anyone else? A: Not that I’m aware of - still awful early

Q:Whose decision to go in? A: MINE. (Park Co. sheriff)

(Questioned on what he was feeling when he got the call)
Scared to death - when responding nobody wants things like this to happen to their school.
We trained for it talked about it

I was just praying twe’d do the right thing — Park Co. sheriff’s son was in the building…

he gave us a 4:00 deadline had to look at what had transpired before that again a lot of stuff steve’s folks (CBI) are going through that I have to have their permission before I can release - something did happen before that helped make him these girls lives were in danger the whole time — shooter never made a call

request or demands? (no comment recalled)

(Can’t answer if the girls were manhandled (sexually assaulted) at all…)

(Preparation for these events?)
Active shooter and scenarios & lessons learned from Columbine

(Any recent drills?)
Back in august had a drill with teachers
heard on pa - code white - lockdown - students and staff should know

Are you second guessing decision (question went on)? yes - That’s an ambiguous question but yes. always second guess — (I) eventually will have to face the family (and their daughter is dead) what would you do? — that’s all…

END OF PRESS CONFERENCE

9NEWS REPORT FROM ST. ANTHONY’S CENTRAL HOSPITAL:
(Partial Transcript of his report - 9News - approx. 6:30 pm):

Level I trauma care at St. Anthony’s. Say they are doing everything they could for a patient with grave injuries. life- threatening trauma. Still listed as officially critical.

T-10 trauma unit. Best of it’s kind in the state - 2nd floor of St. Anthony’s - ready to do life-threatening care.

She was transported by flight level 1 trauma center capability of taking care of the most critical of patients. Great deal of blood - great deal of trauma.

OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM ST. ANTHONY’S CENTRAL HOSPITAL:
UPDATE: 6:27 p.m. Central Time (5:27 Denver Time)
At the request of the family the hospital is not prepared to give out any information at this time. The family has requested that we give out no information at all. The family is here. The family.

ROUGH TRANSCRIPT of NEWS CONFERENCE:
Park Co. Sheriff Fred Wegener & Jefferson Co. Sheriff Mink(?)

Sheriff Wegener:
Armed gunmen entered into Platte Canyon HS went into one of the classrooms and took several kids hostage. Deputies from the agency responded to the HS. Evacuated the HS. Contained the individual to one classroom. Then asked for assistance from Jeffco SWAT and the Bomb techs.

We tried to talk to this individual and we were having some success with a member of my department. He started to release hostages, released them one at a time.

Eventually he gave us a deadline of 4:00 - um, at which time - this happened about 15:30 somewhere about there, and ceased talking to negotiators.

Then [we] decided a tactical situation needed to be done in an effort to save the two hostages in the room. Entry was made, the suspect shot one of the hostages then shot himself - that’s what it looks like at this time. The investigations is still ongoing.

Have not yet gotten to talk to the family of the female student that was shot, but my prayers are with the family. She was transported by flight-tfor life to St. anthony’s in critical condition.

I don’t know the identity of the gunman at this time. I don’t know why he wanted to do this and hopefully the investigations will answer that.

A few questions, please be kind…

[Inaudible question)
I don’t know who he is

(inaudible question)
Most of the demands were strictly were that he wanted us to back off. I don’t know why he wanted to do this.

(inaudible question)
That is correct he said he had a back pack and there was abomb

(inaudible question - presumably if there was connection between gunmen and hostages)
no. none connection to the hostages.

(Inaudible question - regarding girl’s condition)
as far as I know she was transported by lifeflight…
(inaudible)
handgun and I’m not sure what else

(inaudible)
looks like nothing in the backpack. like I said they are still investigating

(inaudible, but asking about if he knew these people - hostages and family)
unfortunately I’ve been here 36 years so I do know family

[I Can’t hear reporter questions through my speakers - LR]

(inaudible)
I don’t have a lot I don’t know, still doing a lot of interviews.

(inaudible - about how it ended)
Um, again for the investigation I can’t tell how entry was made.

(inaudible)
Your guess is as good as mine, but I dont know….

(inaudible about age of victim)
I think she’s 16. I believe, but I don’t know that for sure.

(initial shots fired question)
Did fire one shot when entered the classroom

(inaudible)
Initially I was told it was one shot

(inaudible question)
Don’t know the idenity of the gunman I Don’t know if he has children in the school or not.

(inaudible question)
Talking to other hostages.

(inaudible question)
Have gotten some intel but beacuse of investigation I don’t want that to be gleaned.

[Discussing what preparations were taken by the department in anitcipation of such an event. Sheriff mentions the] Active shooter program. [Says they] Exercised the plans. [I missed the last part of this statement].
Still though, you can’t prepare yourself for something like this, and I think we did the best we can.

(inaudible - about why they went in when they did)
He broke off negotiations, he would not talk anymore

(inaudible - about the gunman’s demeanor)
Threatening the hostages the whole time. He was shielding himself with one of the hostages.

(inaudible)
Limited visibility due to area he was in

(inaudible - about negotiations)
The only way he would talk to us was via a hostage. Directly yelling through the door.

All students released one at a time

[Sorry, again I can’t hear reporter questions]

The community is probably going to be in shock right now.

Q: …Flashbang…?

Don’t know who. Many SWAT member made entry

(Inaudible)
No shots fired before. (presumably before entry by swat team)
Do you know how the hostage was shot?
I can only speculate that is part of the investigation we’ll have to find out.

It’s still early. I don’t know he might have taken the cowards way out.

CBI is going to head up the investigation, with Park Co. & Jeffco Sheriff’s officers assisting along with the Dist. Attorney.

(inaudible)
Don’t know why he went to that classroom, I don’t know.

(inaudible)
That’s the information we are going to have to see about.
(inaudible - about who was responsible for what)
My swat team was doing the inner perimeter. Jeffco swat made entry.