Just so you know, this show is about scary stuff, so don't say I didn't warn you guys.

And remember, don't be scared.

Episode 101 Heroes against the perfect storm.

War baby here with another episode of murderous minors.

Kendrick Castillo died a legend.

When 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo entered Room 107 in Mrs. Harper's British literature class, none of them knew they would all leave that room as heroes.

There were just three days remaining in the school year and their teacher thought that a lesson on analyzing comedy would help round out the semester with some laughs, what they got instead was tragedy.

On this episode of murderous minors, we look at the 2019 STEM School Highlands Ranch School shooting and the legacy of bravery left behind by Kendrick Castillo, who put himself in harm's way to save others.

This episode contains descriptions of self-harm, sexual abuse, and gun violence.

STEM School Highlands Ranch is a K-12 Charter School located in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, a suburb of Denver situated just a handful of miles from Littleton, Colorado, and Columbine High.

The shooting perpetrated by STEM School students 16-year-old Alec McKinney and 18-year-old Devon Ericsson took place just after the community marked 20 years since the day of that attack.

Raising children in the physical shadow of Columbine High and all that it represents likely gave parents the chance to talk about what to do in an active shooter situation, though contemporary society itself has likely caused most parents to discuss it with even their littlest of kids.

Kendrick's dad had certainly had that conversation with he and his wife's only child.

He recalled when later interviewed that his son had told him that he would attempt to stop a school shooter, should he ever be put in that position, to which his father had stressed that he didn't need to be a hero.

Kendrick assured his father that he would save people because he was raised to be a good person.

Neither likely felt as though that day would ever come.

The teen had attended Catholic school through the eighth grade and his interest in engineering and love of robotics landed him at the STEM School Highlands Ranch, a charter school which emphasizes science, technology, engineering, and math as early as kindergarten and through to graduation.

The son of an engineer, Kendrick's passion was robotics along with off-roading and his love of jeeps.

His father told CNN, quote, he loved patriotism. We're Hispanic by nature, but we love America to the core. This wasn't your average kid. He was extraordinary.

Kendrick already had plans in place to attend community college in the fall of 2019 to begin his studies in engineering and his friend, Brendan Byley, was already a United States Marine Corps pulley, just waiting to graduate from high school so he could ship off to boot camp and, you know, start being a full-fledged adult.

But not all of their peers had productive plans for their future set in motion, specifically 18-year-old Devon Erickson.

Though he was also preparing to graduate, he had spent the last six months losing sleep and losing weight due to stress at home and a mounting drug problem.

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