Platte Canyon High School hostage crisis
| Platte Canyon High School hostage crisis | |
|---|---|
| Location | Bailey, Colorado, United States |
| Date | September 27, 2006 c. 11:40 a.m.–3:45 p.m. (UTC-6) |
| Target | Platte Canyon High School |
|
Attack type
|
School shooting, murder-suicide, hostage taking, sexual assault |
| Weapons |
|
| Deaths | 2 (including the perpetrator) |
| Perpetrator | Duane Roger Morrison |
The Platte Canyon High School hostage crisis was a hostage taking and shooting at Platte Canyon High School in Bailey, Colorado, on September 27, 2006. The gunman, 53-year-old Duane Roger Morrison, took six female students hostage and sexually assaulted them, later releasing four. When police broke open the classroom's door with explosives, Morrison opened fire with a semi-automatic pistol before shooting hostage Emily Keyes in the head. The other remaining hostages escaped unharmed, and paramedics confirmed that Morrison had committed suicide shortly before police were able to enter the classroom. Keyes was pronounced dead at 4:32 p.m. MDT (23:32 UTC) at Saint Anthony's Hospital in Denver, Colorado after undergoing emergency surgery.
At about 11:40 a.m., Morrison entered the school carrying a .40 S&W caliber Glock 22 pistol, a Smith & Wesson .357-caliber revolver (which wasn't used during the incident), and a backpack, which he claimed contained "three pounds of C-4". A search of the backpack later recovered duct tape, handcuffs, knives, a stun gun, rope, scissors, massage oil, sex toys, and numerous rounds of ammunition, but no explosives.
A sixteen-year-old student named Katrina Keller reportedly saw Morrison entering the school before the time specified by police. She stated that she had been walking past a vacant classroom and saw a man inside wearing a hooded sweatshirt, apparently angry. Keller did not report the incident to the school office. Other students reported that they witnessed Morrison sitting in a yellow Jeep in the school parking lot at around 10:45 a.m., almost an hour before he entered the school. Morrison was believed to have been living in the car, camping out near Bailey. Videos taken from security cameras outside show that Morrison was in his Jeep for at least 20 minutes, mingling with students as classes changed, 35 minutes before the siege began. Earlier, Morrison had spoken to a male high school student that day and "asked about the identity of a list of female students."
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