Transgender Teen Sentenced to Life in Deadly Shooting at Colorado School

DENVER (Reuters) – A transgender Colorado teenager who admitted to participating in a shooting in a Denver-area charter school last year that left one student dead and eight others injured was sentenced to life in prison on Friday plus an additional 38 years.

Alec McKinney, 17, was sentenced in the Douglas County District Court for the shooting at the School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in Highlands Ranch, Colorado on May 7, 2019.

A 19-year-old co-defendant in the shooting, Devon Erickson, pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges and faces trial in September.

In February, McKinney pleaded guilty to murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, and related charges. As a juvenile delinquent, McKinney is eligible for parole after 40 years under Colorado law.

Before sentencing, a sobbing McKinney apologized to the victims and said he took responsibility for the pain he caused.

“I don’t want a lighter sentence,” said McKinney.

An 18-year-old student, Kendrick Castillo, was killed when he charged one of the shooters, police said. Eight of his classmates were injured, one from a bullet fired by a security guard.

During the emotional sentencing hearing, Castillo’s father, John Castillo, called McKinney a coward and said he only shed “alligator tears.”

“These are real tears,” Castillo said, his voice choked with emotion. “I condemn you to hell.”

McKinney, a born woman, admitted to planning the school shooting as revenge against classmates for bullying, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

McKinney and Erickson took cocaine and stole three pistols and a rifle from Erickson’s parents before breaking into the school, police said.

Erickson, who prosecutors say shot Castillo, faces a mandatory life sentence without parole if convicted of first-degree murder since he was an adult at the time of the crime.