Students struggled with shooter, stopped further bloodshed

The three students who disarmed a gunman in a Colorado school shooting leapt up from their desks without a word and with no thought for their own safety when they spotted the gun, recounted one of the young men.

They slammed the teenager, a classmate of theirs, against the wall and struggled with him when shots rang out. Kendrick Castillo, who led the charge, slumped to the ground.

His close friend, Brendan Bialy, wrestled the gun away and called out to Castillo.

There was no response, Bialy told a roomful of reporters on Wednesday as he recalled what happened the previous day at STEM School Highlands Ranch.

"Kendrick went out as a hero," Bialy said. "He was a foot away from the shooter and instead of running the opposite direction he ran toward it."
"They lost," he said of the shooters. "They completely and utterly lost to good people."
"He was amazing," Bedard said. "He was honestly the sweetest kid I ever met. Never said a mean joke."
Erickson simply replied "No." McKinney, who has a short brown haircut, made eye contact with the judge and answered questions in a clear but quiet voice, saying "Yes, your honour" and "No, your honour."