stem school highlands ranch shooting warning
STEM Highlands Ranch school early Thursday, May 9, 2019 (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
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As we’ve said, time and again, the true story behind mass shootings takes days, weeks, or even months to come out. Which is why the keyboard commandos who jump onto Twitter and other platforms to instantly blame guns, the NRA or even the President are nothing more than rank opportunists out to further their own pet agendas.

These things rarely happen in a vacuum. Mass shooters typically don’t “snap” and go on a rampage and the first accounts of these situations are rarely accurate.

Today there are multiple reports of a parent who anonymously warned the STEM Schhol Highlands Ranch’s board of a disturbing environment in the school. She was apparently concerned that the school could be the site of a Columbine-like attack.

From the Daily Mail:

Five months before the deadly shooting at a Colorado high school, a district official urged the school’s director to investigate allegations made by a mother who feared student bullying and violence could lead to the next ‘Columbine’.

The letter, which was dated December 19, was sent to the director of the STEM School in Denver – the scene of Tuesday’s shooting where one student was killed and eight injured when two classmates opened fire with handguns.

The district official wrote in the letter that the anonymous parent had raised ‘concerns about student violence due to a high-pressure environment’ and referred to the massacre at a nearby school in 1999.

The letter said the parent told Douglas County School Board of Education Director Wendy Vogel by telephone that ‘many students are suicidal and violent in school. Several students have reported sexual assault and nothing is being done.

Referencing an alleged bomb threat and ‘an extremely high drug culture at STEM,’ the parent said the environment at the school was ‘the perfect storm,’ according to the letter.

According the the Daily Mail report as well as one from Reuters, the school contacted local law enforcement and conducted an investigation.

In a statement, STEM School Executive Director Penelope Eucker said the investigation found “no evidence to support any of the allegations.”

Then the school turned its sights on the concerned parent who called in the warning.

According to Reuters . . .

“While STEM took the allegations seriously, our investigation revealed no evidence to support any of the allegations,” the statement said.

On January 17, the school filed a lawsuit in Douglas County District Court seeking to establish the identity of the anonymous parent, who it said defamed the school and Eucker.

On Feb. 1, the school told parents their attorney was seeking “full remedy” for the “outrageous accusations,” which also included embezzling public funds and teaching children how to build bombs.

“We want you to know the depth of this depravity and apologize if you find this as offensive as we did,” said that letter, seen by Reuters.

Maybe the kids who walked out of the vigil that was ostensibly held for their fellow student who died in the attack, and then chanted “mental health” knew something.

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64 COMMENTS

    • As per the written plan:
      “5. Sidetrack opponents with name calling and ridicule. This is also known as the primary attack the messenger ploy, though other methods qualify as variants of that approach. Associate opponents with unpopular titles such as “kooks”, “right-wing”, “liberal”, “left-wing”, “terrorists”, “conspiracy buffs”, “radicals”, “militia”, “racists”, “religious fanatics”, “sexual deviates”, and so forth. This makes others shrink from support out of fear of gaining the same label, and you avoid dealing with issues.”
      -https://vigilantcitizen.com/latestnews/the-25-rules-of-disinformation/

        • Federal government power point presentation. Courtesy of Ed Snowden when he smuggled it out of Hawaii. It’s written federal training.
          That’s just a snippet. Only a teaser. One out of 25. Click the link for the other 24.

        • I take that back. Links don’t work now. At least THAT link doesn’t. Just one more thing on TTAG that’s circling the drain.
          But that’s fine. Just copy the text and paste it into the URL bar. That still works, I tested it out. Can’t stop the signal, but they never stop trying.

        • Thanks Knute, does have elements of rules for radicals and American communist party doctrines but it is a bit scary I have trouble doubting the source even without looking. The subversion is going full circle

        • The link works, IF you do it right.

          vigilantcitizen.com/latestnews/the-25-rules-of-disinformation/

        • Big Bill: Nope. At least not on my machine(Linux w/Ubuntu) it won’t. And the one you reposted won’t either. But I posted a different link to this page:
          https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2019/05/daniel-zimmerman/nra-documents-reveal-brewer-law-firm-spending-lapierre-expense-details/
          earlier today and it works fine. So it likely isn’t my machine either. My guess is it has to do with the rules of disinformation being associated with Snowden, whereas the free republic site is not.
          Or perhaps TTAG has placed secret restrictions upon me, as I have been critical of their new ways since RF’s departure. Its not like secret restrictions, all the up to ‘shadow’ banning, as well as plain old outright banning, are anything new online. They’re SOP.

        • Let’s try a little test. I’ll post the first link, and then post a random, but non controversial link right after, using the exact same method. Then we can all see if the first one fails while the second is fine.

        • So now they both work. Go figure. I always link the same way, so I can think of two possibilities off the top of my head:
          1. Either a bug or a glitch, whichever one is non-repeatable(I get those two mixed up in my head, so cannot rely on memory here)
          OR:
          2. They have someone watching, and he figured out the trap I was laying, and so temporarily removed the shadow. Or perhaps it removes itself after a period of time. All easy enough to code.
          If the first had failed but the second was allowed, then it would be crystal clear that Islamic Jihad escapes the ban, whereas truth does not.

  1. Maybe not a ‘perfect storm,’ since there apparently weren’t a bunch of DNC-affiliated families & students ready to leap onto the big screen & make a career from their survival.

    The tranny shooter was apparently fresh out of drug rehab, so maybe there is something to the drug culture bit.

    • Current day American culture is to drug up problematic people instead of focusing on the root problems. Maybe if you drug them enough they won’t feel anything or want to do anything. As long as it’s prescribed they will make sure to keep taking the drugs everyday for the rest of their lives.

      – We think your kid has ADHD, your kid has autism, your kid has depression, your kid hates you and the other adults. Here, take this paper down to the pharmacy; they will fix your child.

      – Thank you, doctor! It’s been really hard on me trying to deal with this problem child all by myself. These drugs should make raising my child easier, right? I don’t have time to deal with any side effects because I have to work a lot.

      – As long as they don’t skip a dosage. Make sure you see them swallow it. If the problem continues we could give you a stronger prescription.

      • There is no such thing as ADHD. It’s all in the teachers and school administrators heads.

        Give them Ritalin instead of the children.

      • “Current day American culture is to drug up problematic people instead of focusing on the root problems. “

        Indeed. There have been some studies that indicate that diet and exercise play a key role in this. I’ll steal from the CDC here because it’s easy and right now I’m on a clock but:

        There is a bunch of “Evidence linking healthy eating and physical activity with academic achievement.” by which they mean increasing academic achievement with proper nutrition and exercise.

        They define “academic achievement” as having three characteristics: Academic Achievement (class grades, standardized tests, and graduation rates). 2. Education behavior (attendance, dropout rates, and behavioral problems at schools). 3. Students’ cognitive skills and attitudes (concentration, memory, and mood).

        Key points:

        Skipping breakfast is associated with decreased cognitive performance (e.g., alertness, attention,
        memory, processing of complex visual display, problem solving) among students.

        Deficits of specific nutrients (i.e., vitamins A, B6, B12, C, folate, iron, zinc, and calcium) are
        associated with lower grades and higher rates of absenteeism and tardiness among students.

        Students who are physically active tend to have better grades, school attendance, cognitive
        performance (e.g., memory), and classroom behaviors (e.g., on-task behavior)

        Higher physical activity and physical fitness levels are associated with improved cognitive
        performance (e.g., concentration, memory) among students.

        Brief classroom physical activity breaks (i.e., 5-10 minutes) are associated with improved
        cognitive performance (e.g., attention, concentration), classroom behavior (e.g., on-task
        behavior), and educational outcomes (e.g., standardized test scores, reading literacy scores,
        math fluency scores) among students.

        What do we do? Feed the kids shit, take away recess and gym, make them sit for hours under fluorescent lights and overload them with stress.

        Is better diet and nutrition the cure-all? Certainly not. But meds and not teaching cursive aren’t going to cure this problem either. We know the solutions, we know they worked before, we know taking these things away has had a negative effect and we continue to do what we know doesn’t work. Then we complain about the outcomes.

        • We pulled our daughters out of public school when they were in the 3rd grade, because the teachers wanted to keep one of my daughters in class during lunch and recess to do more math drills so they would look better when the test scores for their class came in. :-/

          I was furious. we decided to ‘try homeschooling for a year’ and never looked back. they are both in college now…

        • My mom always said the kids had “ants in their pants”…..especially the boys. It’s true. Boys are like puppies. The only time they’re still is when they’re sleeping. It’s easier to give them drugs than good food and physical challenges.

  2. So much for the term “see something-say something”, but when it comes to the liberals it’s “Do as I say – Not as I do”!

    • “See something, say something” is for turning in your neighbor or coworker. It’s not for you to criticize government/authority and demand they do better.

      You just sit down and shut up, worker! How dare you think you can open your dirty mouth! You will be sent to reeducation if you continue to think things can be done better! Get back to work. Business as usual or else.

  3. It seems to me these type of shootings are to keep happening more often until they somehow make it illegal to own firearms (whether by law, executive order, court decision, etc.). Our society is so f***** up and keeps getting worse. It used to be considered a mental illness to think you were the opposite sex.

    • Total statism, aka communism, requires that everything be unified through force.

      Men are women and women are men. There is no differences between genders because there is no such thing as gender. The government will make sure there is equality of outcome amongst everyone.

      There will be only one religion for all people. There can’t be different beliefs, especially beliefs that contradict the another. If anything, the religion will be worshiping the state as your God.

      There is to be only two groups of people: the planner and the worker. The workers will be of mixed race and the planners will be of pure blood [the master race].

      Everyone will learn the same history and only the history that the government/planners write. No other teachings are considered correct unless the planners say so. You will have a unified school district and you must send your children there.

      Only content that the government manages, licenses, trademarks and copyrights can be communicated. The programming/material has to be sanctioned by the commission. Language has to go through the approval process before being transmitted to the public.

  4. That criticism of the school is pretty vague and difficult to investigate without specific evidence.

    Every school is a potential target since the first student turned murderer became a thing.

    Human nature to copycat. As long as the media sensationalizes it, it will be an outlet for people that want to grab attention.

    I’m not even to go down the “mentally ill” excuse since that turns a blind eye to the fact anyone is perfectly capable of mass murder. It’s not mental illness, it’s human nature.

    Push the right buttons or don’t be involved in your kid’s lives for long enough and you reap the whirlwind.

    We have a generation of garbage raised by politically indoctrinated “education” and raised with the moral minefield of internet society. And people wonder why kids are screwed up.

    Give adults and children alike blanket anonymity and a platform to be their worst selves with no repercussions and you will have problems. It’s not a mystery.

    • Anonymity isn’t the problem. It’s the culture of your people and the bad parenting.

      Your culture/society can make people bad parents. Bad parents can raise bad kids. Bad kids can cause bad problems. Bad problems can cause bad government policies. Bad government policies can create bad society/culture.

      When individuals don’t want to accept responsibility they put it on society. Society doesn’t want to deal with your problems so they put it on government. Government thinks it can legislate an individuals behavior, thus they create a police state to enforce their moral and intelligent design.

      Police states require disarming the individual because it makes the job easier…

      I believe “clusterfuck” is the word.

  5. “The district official wrote in the letter that the anonymous parent had raised ‘concerns about student violence due to a high-pressure environment’…”

    Here’s the thing about putting pressure on student kids (or anyone else, actually) – Laying on the pressure can result in some *amazing* improvements in performance. People can make progress far further than they ever thought possible, compared to no pressure.

    The opposite can be true as well. Some can’t handle the pressure and fold. The key (and I have *zero* idea as to what point is optimal) is to get the most progress you can out of the kid.

    But putting no pressure on them is also the wrong way to go about it, they will never know at what level they potentially could perform at. Some thrive, others crash and burn…

    Kinda a damned if you do, dammed if you don’t kinda thing…

    • This is the concept of “flow” (I really detest the term but it is what it is). You have to apply enough pressure to prevent things from being boring but not so much that it stresses people out/overworks them. You know you’ve hit the sweet spot when “time flies by”.

      You can’t give 100% for prolonged periods. No one can. Asking people to put out the max, or close to it, for long periods of time is damaging to the individuals and bad for the overall goal.

      Realistically this is a problem in our society on a lot of issues. Much more than the internet or smart phones or video games or most of anything else people want to blame.

      • The internet and video games helps a lot of people out. They become addicted to it for that reason. They feel much better after using it, but at the same time it causes pain because they can’t live in that world forever. Things can get much worse when the real world makes its way onto the internet. Then there is no where to run and hide. Now they feel they must make a decision: suicide and/or murder?

        In Asian countries, they mostly suicide rather than murder. When they do murder they tend to kill their parents. Sometimes males will attack the weak and innocent to get some feeling of power and revenge.

  6. Pretty outrageous. Not only white washing and ignoring the problem but going after the person legally for damages. That really takes balls.

    And people ask me why I spend thousands of dollars a year on private high school for my child. Because they are accountable and treat each student with the same attention and respect.

    And the solution seems to be disarming all of us. Well they can pull this until it delivers.

  7. This sounds like a big set up to me.

    Coincidentally, some anonymous parent knows what kinds of environment breeds Columbine-style shooting incidents, and sees that the identical required criteria are met at this school that she just happens to be monitoring? Sure.

    So she emails and calls those in charge of the school in a time frame that is conveniently just a few months before the attack? Uh… Sure.

    So then, a pair of students, just as in the Columbine attack, agree with each other to simultaneously attack their classmates? Well…. sure.

    What did we see in the Columbine attack? Weren’t the causes of that shooting directly related to bad or non-existent parenting? Furthermore, didn’t they blame violent video games, disturbing videos, etc.? Now, this mom is claiming that it is because of bullying… in the state with the most burning marijuana fumes floating through the air?

    Suuuuurrrrrreeeee…..

    • Rather than this being a set up, it was probably two mentally ill students that decided together to get revenge upon the normal kids. That and your need to ask your doctor to increase your meds.

      • From what I seen so far, they justified the attack because of homosexual and transgender bullying. The female appears to got the male to help her commit the attack.

        Obviously, it wasn’t just about bullying or LGBT+ issues. The stereotypical factors were there first. The bullying and politics were thrown on top. Which, if that is the case, means we will have even more “school shooters” because they feel like they have more reasons to attack people with weapons.

        In the past it was: yell fuck society, do some drugs with friends, hurt yourself a little, then grow up.

        Now it’s become: yell fuck society, do a lot of drugs with or without friends, hurt yourself, murder a bunch of people, kill yourself.

  8. Are there any schools that don’t have a high drug culture these days? My kids go to a school that is difficult to get into, with pretty involved parents. Students include many very smart Asian and Indian kids that are all about school. If there’s a high drug culture there, which apparently there is, I assume it’s like that about everywhere. People can find anything they want now thanks to the internet.

    • Parochial schools are mug better. Not perfect but decidedly better. If your paying 10K or more a year you’ll be involved with your kid and not let the turn into Adam stanza.

      • Some are and some are not Catholic schools have good teachers where the privileged go, but the schools in the hood teach them to kneel down and accept their fate. This has always been the case with Catholic schools. Now maybe the schools in the hood are so bad that anything is better, but I was a year behind when I went to the Junior high school.

    • High schools have always had a “high drug culture” where drugs are available, which is most everywhere. Where drugs are not a available, booze is substituted.

      Human beings nearly all chase altered states on consciousness in one form or another. From pot to booze to cocaine to running to sex to jumping out of planes, it’s all the same. We just like to think everyone else should partake in OUR drug of choice to the exclusion of all others.

  9. A homosexual and a transgender, both mentally ill and in a saner time both would have been given treatment.

  10. Sorry for coming into this late, but is there not a Federal Whistleblower Act that would protect the anonymous parent or am I smoking some State approved Federally illegal weed?!?!?

      • Such a shame! I thought that States may also want to protect Whistleblowers who’s intent is to do the Right (sorry, correct) thing. May save millions or protect the innocent ( who usually can’t contribute thousands to the Left (sorry, other side).

  11. If I hear “bullying” as an excuse for mass murder I tend to puke. A few death sentences might cure the winky twinks…just don’t shoot the messenger.

  12. I love the fact the kids left the political sideshow and chanted “Mental Health, Mental Health”!! It seems they can recognize when sometimes you feel like you’re nuts and sometimes you don’t.

    • Yes, mental healthcare could be very important in identifying and treating these children before they act out in such a lethal fashion. So what can we do to improve mental health care?

      “Affordable Care Act Expands Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Benefits and Federal Parity Protections for 62 Million Americans. The Affordable Care Act will provide one of the largest expansions of mental health and substance use disorder coverage in a generation.Feb 20, 2013”

      Wow, what a great idea, more of mental health services for low income folks!

  13. And people who have no children wonder why those with kids home school them. The loudest advocates for public schools either have NO children or send them (obama clinton) to a private school.

    • A lot of the private schools are just as screwed up.

      Thanks to Leftists running Child & Family Services agencies in many states, even the private schools have to fall in line with Multiculturalism and victim culture or loose their state licenses.

        • Not around my area. The same idiocy that has taken over public education has also infested most private schools.

          The public schools in my area are rated some of the best in the nation…by the same people that cause the idiocy.

        • You know of course that the school involved in the shooting, STEM, was a charter school and not a public school, right?

      • The political correctness allowed in state universities is THE Big Reason why our two younger boys were gladly enrolled into a private military college. The oldest graduated from a state university and gradually realized the shortcomings of his education and experience in Real Life. Thank God, the two younger ones, while exposed to a reduced level of PC Plague in education, are much better off and better grounded in reality.
        As an adult who went back to continuing education for a period of time I was appalled at the level of teaching skill displayed by not only tenured professors but the adjuncts, as well. Some of them were well into middle age but were no better than emotionally impaired adolescents in charge of impressionable minds, which in my opinion, is a friggin’ crime.

  14. The entire American educational system is screwed up and has been for decades.

    All of this is the result of incompetence and Multiculturalism.

    The anonymous parent’s claims could apply to any school in America.

    • My schools had “multiculturalism” and everyone was happy as they could be. Kids had fun experiencing the different holidays and traditions. No one fought over who’s culture was superior. The music was cool, the food was diverse, the dancing very different. It was more festive than education; a fun time to get away from government lesson plans. However, every morning we pledge to be unified as Americans.

      Now we have supremacy and division. We have politics being pushed in school. They claim everyone is being victimized by another group. We must fight and win so our group can survive. America was created for white Christian heterosexuals only. There is a genocide happening… War is inevitable. Shoot first or be killed. SHOOT!

      I don’t think that was an accident.

  15. Trans, Homo, drug usage, Progressive Democrat, hate Christians, espouse violent action, both clearly suffering mental health issues, hate Trump and his supporters and fear another Columbine. One doesn’t even know which latrine to use. Suicidal students.

    School leadership found no evidence. Well if you don’t look you sure as Hell won’t find it. Frankly how could you miss it?

    I don’t see any red flags but I’m going to use the parents.

    Unfortunately the parents were right.

    Note locking firearms in a gun cabinet? They are not secure.

  16. We (POTG) should run the schools.

    There wouldn’t be any more school shootings because no perpetrator would get past his first shot and that would get around pretty quickly (shooters will find an easier target).

    The kids would learn to be patient. They’ll never have a formal curriculum because we’d all argue about what should be in it forever.

    After listening to us argue about the curriculum (and about calibers and AR platforms) for four years, they’ll all be geniuses and sharpshooters.😀

    • As a former veteran I’ve ALWAYS been a firm supporter of JROTC/ROTC in schools. It’s an excellent program that offers motivated students an alternative opportunity the PC schools will never be able to fill. Having quality teachers who are also dedicated military instructors teaching order and discipline with a set of discrete values will always have an impression on students who are willing to learn. It’s an obvious counter-balance and some schools have better programs than others.
      This year starts the 200th Anniversary of Norwich University. God bless the cadets, faculty, grads, and the founder, Alden Partridge who was a former superintendent of West Point. They are examples of why my kids scoffed and rejected Rutgers.

  17. I don’t know how Colorado law works, but the lawsuit to me seems totally bogus. For one, it is not a defamation to report a true fact. For two, a defamation requires that A communicate a false fact about B to C. For example, if I tell you to your face, and in private, that you are a sum sucking bottom feeder, a crook and a fraud, it is not defamatory, but if I tell it to the local paper, it is. Finally, there is a privilege for A to report facts about B to C if B is a party interested in the communication, like B’s boss.

  18. So on December 19, an anonymous parent warned this could happen. The school investigated and found no evidence, so then began the prosecution (persecution) of the parent who said this could happen. On January 17 they sued to reveal the identity of the parent who said this could happen, then on February 1 threatened legal action against the parent who said this could happen. Then on May 7 it happened. Did I get the timeline right?

  19. To diverge from the original subject of this thread for a moment…..

    Quote: “Knute(ken) says:
    May 11, 2019 at 15:30

    And here’s the second (not exactly random) one:
    http://www.islamicsupremecouncil.org/understanding-islam/legal-rulings/5-jihad-a-misunderstood-concept-from-islam.html?start=9

    Knute, I assume you know this link leads to an prime example of the Muslim concept of “Taqiyya “, the approval of lying to infidels in order to further the goals of Islam.

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