‘Don’t come to school tomorrow’: Accused Colorado school shooter taunted students before fatal gun massacre, says former classmate

One of the suspects accused in a fatal school shooting in Colorado this week reportedly made references and jokes about mass violence ahead of the shooting that claimed one student and injured several others.

In an interview on the “Today” show, a former student at STEM School Highlands Ranch said that 18-year-old suspect Devon Erickson was a bully who taunted students.

The 18-year-old suspect “would whisper, like get really close and kinda put his arm around you, and whisper in your ear, ‘don’t come to school tomorrow,'” Kevin Cole said on the morning news show.

Erickson is accused of orchestrating Tuesday’s fatal shooting, which claimed the life of 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo, 18, along with a juvenile suspect authorities have identified as Maya McKinney but who reportedly identifies as a male and goes by the name Alec McKinney.

Castillo was just a few days away from finishing classes before graduation.

9News obtained a letter sent from the director of choice planning at Douglas County School District to STEM School Executive Director Penelope Eucker, citing an anonymous phone complaint made by a parent of a student or students at the school.

The letter cited concerns stated by the parent that “many students are suicidal and violent in school,” and that a high-pressure environment combined with issues of drug use and bullying made the atmosphere a “perfect storm.” The parents was reportedly concerned about a “repeat of Columbine or Arapahoe,” referencing two previous school shootings.

Eucker said in a statement to the news station that the school had investigated the allegations made in the complaint but found no evidence to support them.

[Feature image: AP Photo/David Zalubowski]