The three boys arrested on suspicion of bringing two guns and a smoke device to Skinner Middle School on Friday were apparently not planning to harm anyone at the school, police said Monday.
Investigators have not released details of their inquiry into the incident. Denver police would not speculate or say why the students, who have not been named, brought the weapons to school.
“It doesn’t appear (the students) intended to harm anyone at the school,” said Raquel Lopez, a police spokeswoman.
Several dozen people gathered outside the northwest Denver school’s building Monday morning holding signs and cheering as faculty drove into the parking lot. Despite it being a teacher planning day — meaning no classes for students — many kids were out making their voices heard.
“With Friday being such an intense day, we never got a chance to say thank you,” said Nicole Kazenske, a parent of a sixth-grader at Skinner. “To get this many middle schoolers out of bed at 7 a.m. on a day off, I’m pretty psyched.”
Classmates alerted school administrators to the guns, prompting a lockdown Friday.
“The parents and kids are the ones who ensured the good outcome,” said police Cmdr. Paul Pazen, whose District 1 officers responded to the school. “Too often people don’t say anything.”
Local restaurants donated catering to the teachers and staff at the school on Monday, including pizza and ice cream. A community meeting to discuss the case further was scheduled for Monday night at the school.
Susan Shepherd, Denver’s councilwoman for District 1, and Michael Sapp, the mayor’s neighborhood liaison, also attended the rally.
“Hopefully this is a model that we can duplicate across the city,” Sapp said of the community support.
