Teen 'infatuated' with Columbine massacre found dead after threatening a similar shooting spree
The 18-year-old woman suspected of making threats towards Denver-area schools including Columbine High School is now reportedly dead.
The teen, who was identified as Sol Pais, was located on Wednesday near the Echo Lake Lodge at the base of Mount Evans in Clear Creek County. The circumstances of her death weren't immediately clear, according to CBS Denver.
Schools across Colorado closed for the day after the woman who was "obsessed" with the Columbine High School massacre reportedly bought firearms and threatened to go on a similar shooting spree. The FBI has been hunting her down ever since the threats were made towards the schools.
The woman, who reportedly traveled to Denver from Miami, Florida, on April 15 night, bought a pump-action shotgun as well as ammunition. Patricia Billinger, a spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Public Safety, said in a statement: "All schools in the Denver area were urged to tighten security because the threat was deemed 'credible and general'."
Dean Phillips, special agent in charge of the FBI in Denver, had earlier said a "massive manhunt" was underway for Pais. She was last seen in the foothills west of Denver. Phillips says Pais did not specifically threaten the Columbine High School, but investigators were concerned because she has expressed an infatuation with the 1999 shooting.
Doors were locked at Columbine and more than 20 other schools in the Denver area on Tuesday afternoon after the threat. The lockdown comes just days before the 20th anniversary of the mass shooting at Columbine that killed 12 students and a teacher.
At least one school district heeded the advice. Aurora Public Schools tweeted that students were being released in a "controlled manner", and additional security was put in place throughout the district as a precaution. Authorities said Pais is armed and considered extremely dangerous and should not be approached.
Students were seen leaving classes after security was tightened at Columbine High School and 20 other Denver-area high schools following the lockdown.
Students wearing backpacks came out the main door at Columbine on Tuesday afternoon, soon after school officials announced that students in all the schools put on lockdown were safe and would be dismissed at their normal times. The students walked to crosswalks and buses parked near the entrance.
The teen's father, 58-year-old Gardi Pais, begged his daughter to return saying that the family had not heard from her since April 14 after the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office confirmed they were hunting the teenager. He told several news outlets that he believes his daughter has a "mental problem" and then urged her to come back home.
When reporters asked if he had a message for his daughter, he pleaded: "Please come home. I think she's gonna be ok. I think maybe she has got a mental problem."
With inputs from Associated Press