A lawsuit brought against by one of the administrators injured in the 2023 East High shooting can proceed, a federal judge ruled, saying Eric Sinclair has shown district officials “seem to have knowingly opened the door for a mass shooting and/or outbreak of gun violence” at the school.
“DPS appears to have exhibited a shocking disregard for the risk (the student) posed to an entire school full of children, faculty and staff — as well as to himself,” U.S. District Judge Gordon Gallagher wrote in his decision last week.
Sinclair, a former dean at the school, sued DPS last year after he was injured in the March 22, 2023, shooting at East High. A student, Austin Lyle, shot Sinclair and another administrator, Wayne Mason, before fleeing and later dying by suicide.
DPS said in a statement Thursday that the judge’s order “does not mean the court found DPS to have violated the law.”
“At this stage in the proceedings, the court must take what the plaintiff has alleged as fact and make a decision accordingly,” the district said. “DPS has not had the opportunity to present its own facts and evidence. Denver Public Schools is confident that the evidence will demonstrate that its actions in this case were consistent with legal requirements and looks forward to the opportunity to present its arguments in court in the near future.”
Prior to enrolling at East, Lyle had been expelled from Overland High School in the after police found an AR-15 assault rifle, two fully-loaded magazines, a plastic bag with spent shells, boxes of ammunition and a silencer in his bedroom, according to court documents.
East High administrators placed Lyle on a safety plan when he enrolled, which included daily check-ins with Assistant Principal Shawn Anderson, documents show.
On March 2, 2023, an East High student sent Anderson a text with a picture that appeared to show a gun in Lyle’s pocket. The assistant principal searched the studentap backpack but did not find a weapon.
Anderson altered Lyle’s safety plan four days later to require a daily search of the studentap backpack, court records show.
On March 23, Lyle entered the school and told Mason he needed to see Anderson, who did not respond after being radioed. Sinclair took Lyle into Anderson’s office to wait for the assistant principal.
The student told Sinclair he could check his backpack if he wanted. While searching the bag, the dean “noticed a bulge in the front pocket” of Lyle’s hoodie, the judge wrote in his ruling.
Lyle grabbed Sinclair’s hand and put it on the outside of the hoodie, saying, “Here, touch it,” the judge wrote.
Sinclair knew it was a gun after feeling the hoodie and tried to keep Lyle in the office. But the student pulled the gun and a struggle began between the two.
Lyle shot Sinclair in his thigh and through his stomach and chest, resulting in the loss of his spleen, according to the ruling. He also shot Mason.
Sinclair alleged in his lawsuit that East High staff weren’t adequately trained on how to search students for weapons and that the districtap discipline policies weren’t implemented as written.
The dean filed his suit against the district, the Board of Education, individual board members and Anderson. Gallagher dismissed the latter two from the case in last week’s ruling.
“We are encouraged by the courtap decision to dismiss several key components of this case, including the dismissal of the claims against the Denver Public Schools Board of Education and the named former school assistant principal,” DPS said. “…The events of March 2023 were a tragedy that profoundly affected our educators and students. DPS remains committed to the safety and well-being of our entire school community.”
Mason also filed a lawsuit against DPS and that case remains ongoing, according to court records.
