Gunman, hostage dead after high school siege

Story Highlights

• Gunman kills himself, 16-year-old female hostage, police say
• Authorities say they do not yet know of a motive or the gunman's identity
• The gunman held 2 female hostages after releasing 4 others, police say
• Bomb squad, SWAT team and ATF agents were on the scene

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(CNN) -- An armed standoff at a high school in Bailey, Colorado, ended after three hours Wednesday with a hostage and the gunman dead.

The gunman walked into the school and took hostages in a classroom, where he later fatally shot a female student and turned the gun on himself as a SWAT team stormed inside, authorities said.

Local media and the Associated Press identified the Platte Canyon High School student as 16-year-old Emily Keyes, citing co-workers, friends and classmates. She was flown to St. Anthony Central Hospital in Denver, where she died at 4:32 p.m. (6:32 p.m. ET), said hospital spokeswoman Bev Lilly.

Initially, the gunman took six female students hostage, then released four of them one at a time, Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener said. The gunman fired one shot as he entered classroom 206; authorities were able to speak to him through the door.

"The suspect initially talked to deputies, but later spoke only through the hostages," according to a Park County sheriff's statement. "Deputies maintained intermittent verbal contact with the suspect, through the hostages, for the majority of the incident ... The suspect made threats and indicated that at 4 p.m. (6 p.m. ET), "something will happen."

As authorities attempted to negotiate with the gunman through a hostage, his behavior became "more and more agitated," Wegener said. The gunman was shielding himself with one of the hostages, he said. He cut off communication with authorities about 3:30 p.m.

"It was then decided that a tactical solution needed to be done in an effort to save the two hostages that were in the room," Wegener said. "Entry was made. The suspect shot one of the hostages and then shot himself -- that's what it looks like at this time."

Authorities breached the door with explosives, said the sheriff's statement. "The gunman fired a handgun at entering SWAT officers, and then at Keyes. The gunman then shot himself. During the gunfire, tactical teams pulled the additional hostage from the room and she fled the building on foot."

Asked what the deadline was for, Wegener said he was not sure. "Most of the demands, he wanted us to back off," he said.

Wegener said Wednesday afternoon he did not know the gunman's identity. "I don't know why he wanted to do this," he said, adding that he was "still somewhat shocked that this could happen in a rural county."

Police said later they had obtained some information as to the gunman, but would not elaborate. It was not known whether the gunman had any relationship to the hostages, the statement said.

Investigators were attempting to determine, among other things, how the gunman entered the building, Wegener said.

The gunman had a backpack and told police there was a bomb in it, Wegener said. "It looks like there was nothing in the backpack," he said, although the man did have a handgun.

The sheriff's statement said it was not known whether there were explosives in the school. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation said bomb technicians were still working in the school later Wednesday night.

The remaining hostage was being interviewed, authorities said.

In deciding to make entry, "I was scared to death," Wegener said. "Nobody wants anything to happen like this at their school." He said his own son was in the building.

Asked whether he was second-guessing his decision, Wegener said, "I have to go and eventually I have to face a family about the fact their daughter is dead. So what would you do?"

Video from the scene showed one person being brought out of the school on a stretcher and taken to an ambulance, which brought the person to a medical helicopter waiting on the school's football field.

During the situation, U.S. Highway 285 in front of the high school and adjacent Fitzsimmons Middle School was shut down in both directions. Students at both schools were evacuated and taken to a nearby elementary school. (Watch students board a bus to safety -- 1:11 )

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department dispatched a bomb squad and a SWAT team to the scene. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was also on scene, Jefferson County Sheriff's spokeswoman Jacki Kelley said.

Officials said about 450 students are enrolled at Platte Canyon and 340 at Fitzsimmons.

School Superintendent Jim Walpole said classes at both schools will be canceled Thursday and Friday, as the buildings remain sealed as a crime scene. Crisis counselors were available for students and parents, he said.

Bailey is about 40 miles southwest of Denver.