Colorado Declares 'Kendrick Castillo Day

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

Kendrick Castillo, the 18-year-old Hispanic student who died trying to stop the assault of two subjects at his school in Denver, has been honored by the state of Colorado and has been dismissed by the community with an unusual tribute.

This Wednesday, the Governor of the State of Colorado, Jared Polis Schutz, declared Kendrick Castillo Day. Today I declare Kendrick Castillo Day as we remember the life of the 18-year-old hero who died saving others in the Highlands Ranch STEM school shooting. Rest in peace, Kendrick. Your courage will not be forgotten, declared the president.

The young man, who was only 3 days away from graduating from school and who would begin his university studies this fall, died after being shot in the chest after he was attacked by one of the two assailants who entered his school the afternoon of May 7th. Brendan Bialy, one of the boy's friends, also launched into action, but the only fatal victim of the incident was Castillo, who after his brave intervention was praised by friends and colleagues.

On the other hand, friends and family of the boy gave him the last goodbye at his funeral, which took place this Wednesday in a church in the Denver suburbs.

According to the local channel KCNC, Kendrick loved Jeep cars and everything related to those types of vehicles. In fact, he was fascinated by robotics and mechanics. For this reason, The Colorado Jeep Girls Club invited all those who love off-road vehicles to join their funeral procession cars. The response, they say, has been overwhelming.

"The people of the community really want to come together and offer their support in any way possible," said Catherine Fanaro, founder of the club to the channel. "We have a huge response. I never expected it to be as big as it has been and they're not just Jeeps lovers. There are also other 4 × 4 car enthusiasts and car clubs and others who have called us to say 'hey: we want to be part of this,'”he said.

In a very emotional moment, a group of schoolchildren held up posters with the name of the deceased and with hearts to greet the passing of the funeral procession.

In parallel, authorities reported Wednesday that the shooting suspects, Devon Michael Erickson, 18, and Alec McKinney, 16, face multiple charges for what happened in the school that ran from kindergarten to 12th grades.

Erickson faces 48 charges including murder, attempted murder and charges of possession of weapons, according to court documents obtained by CNN. For his part, McKinney faces the same number of charges and despite being a minor, he will be tried as an adult, according to District Attorney George Brauchler. In total, the shooting left 7 wounded, in addition to the death of Kendrick Castillo.