ARVADA, Colo — Surveillance video obtained by 9NEWS shows two suspects walked directly through the front door of Pomona High School, went to the cafeteria and attacked a student last month.
The video from April 19 shows two suspects were confronted by a campus security guard just inside the Arvada school's entrance, but continued straight past her toward the cafeteria and the student, whom police said they knew and were targeting.
Jeffco Public Schools said the campus security guard immediately recognized that the suspects did not belong in the school and followed proper protocol.
"Unfortunately, those two disregarded the campus supervisor at that point and proceeded to go elsewhere," said Jeff Pierson, executive director of safety for the school district. "Our campus supervisor did exactly what they’re designed to do, and that’s get on the radio and ask for backup."
Administrators were able to break up the fight within seconds and the Arvada Police officer assigned to the school was there within two minutes, the district said.
"I’m really proud of our team," Pierson said. "I’m proud that the training we do for our campus security and our school administrators worked that day."
He said the school did not go into lockdown because the incident was resolved so quickly. One juvenile suspect was detained on the scene and was expected to face charges ranging from assault to trespassing.
The second suspect, an 18-year-old man, was expected to face similar charges, APD said. Neither were current students at the school. No weapons were used in the attack, and the victim had minor injuries, Arvada police said.
The attack highlighted an ongoing challenge of balancing freedom of movement and security at high schools, Pierson said. Pomona, like many other high schools, has an open campus where students can come and go during free periods and lunch.
"I don’t want to take some of that away, I think it’s important that we find the balance of what still allows them to be high school students, but not at the risk of not having a safe environment," Pierson said.
He said the incident has prompted a discussion of whether to require students to wear IDs or carry key fobs to enter school buildings.
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