On the afternoon of Wednesday, September 10, a 16-year-old male student opened fire at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colorado, a mountain town near Denver.
The individual shot two other students, as well as himself, and he later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. One student remains in critical condition, while another was discharged from the hospital overnight and will recover from injuries at home, according to Colorado Public Media.
But, of course, these were not the only students affected by the shooting.
Amid the chaos, a group of students fled the school, arriving on the doorstep of a nearby neighbor.
Don Cygan, who lives about 300 yards from Evergreen High School, said he was just finishing up lunch when he heard pounding at his door.
“All of a sudden there was this pounding on our front door. And I mean, I could tell by the pounding that something bad had happened,” Cygan said in an interview with 9News.
Upon opening the door, about seven young men began shouting, he recalled, “‘There’s a shooter up at the school. There’s a shooter up in the school. Let us in. Let us in, please.’”
Cygan, a retired teacher who taught public school for 25 years, welcomed them in.
A second group quickly followed, eventually totaling 18 kids and one adult.
“And I just told them to stay here, where they’re safe, you know, until we figured out what was going on,” he said.
Shortly after, he said, they heard sirens up the road.
In addition to Cygan’s history as a teacher, his wife is a retired nurse. Although he tried to talk to the students, they were struggling to get much information out.
“My wife has been a nurse of over 30 years,” he told 9News. “We’re both retired, living up here in Evergreen, so her skills came in handy. You know, she was able to calm these kids down, treat them for shock, we gave them some glasses of water. We comforted them.”
“I hope they feel like they ran to the right house,” Cygan added.
Eventually, one young man told Cygan he had heard gunshots. The student was in the cafeteria at the time and bolted out of the doors, running toward any house that was available.
Cygan and his wife encouraged the students to call home and let their parents know they were safe. According to 9News, some students were later picked up at the library, while others were picked up right from his house. He and his wife wrote down the names of the students, as well as the loved ones who picked them up.
Although they were organized, fear was still certainly palpable.
“We didn’t know if this shooter had followed them out, you know, and was going through the woods or down the street here and shooting,” Cygan said.
“But I think lots of my neighbors around here also did a wonderful job of giving shelter to any of these young men and young women.”
Cygan said the event was certainly a shock, especially considering the area of Colorado in which he lives.
“I just feel so sorry for them, and obviously I'm praying for those three families and for their three kids.” Cygan said. “We live up here in Evergreen. Evergreen’s supposed to be this beautiful, kind of secluded area and peaceful and calm. And, yeah, not today.”
Once all of the parents and loved ones had collected their students, Cygan said they were all extremely grateful for his help.
“Of course, I said,” he told 9News. “That’s what we do.”
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Header image courtesy of Jefferson County Sheriff's Department
