U.S. School Shootings and Gun Policy

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday it will not seek charges against the parents of 16‑year‑old Desmond Holly, who wounded two students with a family revolver before killing himself at Evergreen High School west of Denver on Sept. 10, 2025. Investigators examined whether the parents could be prosecuted under Colorado’s safe‑storage or unlawful‑access laws but concluded there was insufficient evidence, noting that a court‑ordered DNA test found no parental DNA on the Smith & Wesson .38 Special and that the gun was reportedly stored near the back of a large, locked safe to which Holly had access only when his father opened it. Through their attorney, the parents said they believe Holly secretly removed the little‑used heirloom revolver while helping clean other firearms and that its disappearance was not noticed until after the attack. The sheriff’s office now characterizes the shooting as a random attack by a teen obsessed with prior school shooters who frequented an online forum mixing graphic killing videos with white‑supremacist and antisemitic content; it says he engaged with "a mix of online groups" but has not publicly tied him to a single extremist organization. The decision not to charge the parents comes as Colorado and other states tighten storage laws and as families and lawmakers continue to argue over how far criminal liability for school shootings should extend beyond the gunman.