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Brave Teen Stood Up to Evergreen High School Shooter, Saved Classmates
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Brave Teen Stood Up to Evergreen High School Shooter, Saved Classmates

By Heather Willard | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — The family of a 14-year-old boy who was shot during the Sept. 10 shooting at Evergreen High School has shared a lengthy statement, saying their son was injured when confronting the shooter. “On September 10th, inside Evergreen High School, our 14-year-old son endured the unimaginable: a face-to-face encounter with a violent school shooter filled with anger and hatred,” the family wrote, shared by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office in a press release. “Our child suffered traumatic gunshot injuries and has remained hospitalized and undergone multiple surgeries since the incident.” The boy will remain unnamed as the family wishes to remain confidential, according to the sheriff’s office. The other victim shot in the incident, 18-year...
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UNC Dorm Gun Case Spurs Sheriff’s Push to Fix Colorado Competency Loophole
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

UNC Dorm Gun Case Spurs Sheriff’s Push to Fix Colorado Competency Loophole

By Heather Willard, Vicente Arenas | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — A man accused of carrying a long gun onto the University of Northern Colorado’s campus in Greeley appeared in court on Thursday for a bond hearing, just weeks after he was released from the Weld County Jail. Ephraim Debisa, 21, was released from jail on Sept. 8 after he was found not competent to stand trial in an attempted murder case, as is required by Colorado law. When he was released, the Weld County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning to the community, calling Debisa “dangerous” and highlighting his alleged previous violent actions. On Wednesday, the Weld County Sheriff’s Office announced Debisa was re-arrested at his home after a report of him inside a UNC residence hall holding a long gun on Tuesday. Accordin...
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DPS Announced Convicted Felon as Interim Principal Before Quickly Reversing Decision
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

DPS Announced Convicted Felon as Interim Principal Before Quickly Reversing Decision

By Nico Brambila | Denver Gazette Denver Public Schools central office administrators informed parents in May that Peter Castillo would be the new interim principal at Denver School of the Arts — but they either didn’t know, or failed to disclose, that the retired educator was a convicted felon, The Denver Gazette has learned. Officials with DPS said Castillo, 59, was never hired. The incident, though, has ignited fresh doubts — at a time when parents have raised transparency concerns — about how DPS screens its leaders and communicates with families. Parents say they trusted the central office to do its due diligence, only to learn Castillo was a convicted felon whose principal license was suspended after a DUI seriously injured another driver. The omission has amplified conce...
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Pueblo Man Arrested After More Than 1,100 Child Exploitation Images Found
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The Gazette, Approved, Local

Pueblo Man Arrested After More Than 1,100 Child Exploitation Images Found

By Grace Brajkovich | The Gazette A 43-year-old Pueblo man was arrested Tuesday after being accused of possessing over 1,100 sexually explicit photos of children, ranging from “infants to teenagers,” according to the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office. Matthew Phelps was arrested by detectives with the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office after authorities were tipped off in May about “more than 1,100” images and videos of child pornography being downloaded to a device at his address in the 27000 block of Woburn Abbey. Detectives from the Sheriff Office’s Internet Crimes Against Children unit headed the investigation and were able to obtain a search warrant for Phelps’ address that was associated with the downloads. When serving the warrant, authorities say they found explicit images and vi...
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FAA cites Rocky Mountain Metro as most incident-prone airport in U.S.
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

FAA cites Rocky Mountain Metro as most incident-prone airport in U.S.

By Ryan Fish | Denver7 An aviation expert told Denver7 that most of the incidents are not life-threatening. Superior's mayor, however, is sounding the alarm. BROOMFIELD, Colo. — Below the flight path of Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (RMMA) is the town of Superior. “We're hearing the noise,” Mayor Mark Lacis told Denver7 Wednesday. “Our residents have been complaining for years.” In 2024, the Town of Superior and Boulder County filed a lawsuit against Jefferson County, which owns and operates the airport, over the noise issue. A Boulder County court dismissed that lawsuit earlier this year, though the town said it is considering options, including an appeal. But Lacis has more concerns, and this week, he reached out to Denver7 about them. A June memo&n...
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D49 Moves to Protect Privacy With Biological Sex Bathroom Policy
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

D49 Moves to Protect Privacy With Biological Sex Bathroom Policy

By Ashley Eberbach | KDVR FOX31 (COLORADO SPRINGS) — At a special meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 24, School District 49 (D49) voted to enact changes to its bathroom policy, which segregates bathrooms and other private spaces like locker rooms by biological sex. The changes to the district’s policy segregate private facilities according to students’ biological sex, though the district said single-stall bathrooms would be available at each school for any student who requests additional privacy. D49 said the policy allows the district to comply with Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs. “There is no perfect solution to this, there is no perfect answer,” said Lori Thompson, President of the D49 School Board. While many board members stressed the comp...
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Man With Prior Ban Taken Into Custody After Firearm Incident at UNC
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Man With Prior Ban Taken Into Custody After Firearm Incident at UNC

By Heather Willard | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — A man whom law enforcement issued a warning for earlier this month has been arrested after he was allegedly seen on video dancing and displaying a firearm inside a University of Northern Colorado dorm. On Tuesday, UNC police responded to an anonymous report of an individual unaffiliated with the campus at the Arlington Park Apartments residence. The report included a video that had been posted to social media showing the incident. Later, the Weld County Sheriff’s Office shared an alleged screenshot of the video, which appeared to show Debisa holding a long gun with a detachable magazine. It’s illegal to have firearms inside UNC residence halls, and while officers responded immediately, the suspect was not found at the location. ...
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Xcel reaches $640M agreement to resolve all Marshall fire claims
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denvergazette.com, Approved, Local

Xcel reaches $640M agreement to resolve all Marshall fire claims

By Michael Braithwaite | The Denver Gazette Xcel Energy reached an agreement in principle to settle all claims relating to the 2021 Marshall fire, the organization said in a statement Wednesday. The organization will pay north of $640 million to resolve all the pending litigation, about $350 million of which will be funded by its remaining insurance coverage, Xcel said. Individual agreements will still remain subject to final documentation and deliberation with individual plaintiffs. The December 2021 fire destroyed more than 1,000 businesses and homes in Louisville, Superior, and unincorporated Boulder County, taking two lives and forcing 37,000 people to evacuate. Despite the agreement, Xcel said its equipment did not cause or contribute to the fire and it does not admit any ...
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Public Safety Survives Cuts as Denver Faces Budget Crunch
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Public Safety Survives Cuts as Denver Faces Budget Crunch

By Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette Day two of the public hearings for Denver’s proposed 2026 spending plan got underway on Tuesday with presentations from the city’s public safety agencies. As representatives from the Denver Department of Safety, Denver Police, Denver Fire, Denver Sheriff and the Department of Public Health and Environment shared plans for helping the city tighten its belt, recurring themes included streamlining program functions, identifying new sources of revenue and shifting some positions out of the city’s general fund into alternate funding sources such as special revenue funds and grants. Overall, agencies sought to protect core services and align with council priorities. Here are some of the top takeaways for the day: Denver Public SafetyDirector...
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Colorado Officials Arrest Five for Wildfire in Rio Blanco County
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Local, Approved, kdvr.com

Colorado Officials Arrest Five for Wildfire in Rio Blanco County

By Heather Willard | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — Five people have been arrested in connection to a 35-acre wildfire that started on Aug. 15 in Rio Blanco County, according to the Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office. The fire sparked in the Yellow Jacket area, which is northeast of Meeker in Rio Blanco County. Deputies were able to begin an investigation and preserve evidence while firefighters and air support were actively fighting the blaze, which indicated the fire was “likely human-caused,” according to a sheriff’s office release. Those charged, and the charges they are facing, were announced as: Zachary Williams, 29 A state felony charge of firing woods or prairie Several federal charges, including entering a forest closure, possession of fireworks and removing wood with...
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