Two Columbine Students Injured In Hammer Attack

A 14-year-old girl attacked two students with a hammer at Columbine High School Monday, the first assault with a weapon since the deadly shootings there in 1999.

Investigators Monday were trying to gather additional details, including where the girl got the hammer, said John McDonald, Jefferson County School District’s executive director of security and emergency management. The Jefferson County sheriff’s office.

Detectives are also working to determine whom the girl spoke with before the attack.

It was unclear what sparked the attack Monday morning at the school outside of Littleton.

The 14-year-old targeted a 15-year-old girl in a hallway leading to bathrooms, Jefferson County sheriff’s spokeswoman Jacki Kelley said.

Aaron Flowers, 16, told Denver television stations that the 15-year-old was struck in the hand. He said he also was hit in the hand and ribs while trying to grab the hammer from the attacker, after another friend pushed the attacker down.

The victims were expected to recover fully from their injuries, sheriff’s officials said. They were taken to a hospital and later released.

Flowers said the girls had had problems before. He didn’t immediately return a message from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Kelley declined to release additional information, saying the attack remained under investigation.

The Littleton high school was the scene of one of the worst school attacks in U.S. history when students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold opened fire on April 20, 1999.

Since the 1999 shootings, unarmed students and teachers have taken active roles in confronting attackers at schools when possible.

A school spokesperson said Monday there’s no indication that the latest attack is related.