County weighs more officers in schools following shooting

DENVER (AP) – A Colorado community is considering more than doubling the number of armed resource officers at its schools in the wake of two gunmen opening fire inside a high school, killing one student and injuring eight others.

Commissioners in Douglas County near Denver will meet next week on a proposal to spend $3 million more annually for 16 additional officers. That would bring the number of school resource officers in the district to 27.

STEM School Highlands Ranch, where the May 7 shooting occurred, had a private security guard, not a school resource officer. Two teenage suspects face charges including murder.

The county wants to split the cost of the new officers with the school district. Commissioners previously voted to direct $10 million toward school safety and possibly mental health services.