Denver-Area Parents Will Be Talking to Kids About School Violence

JEFFERSON COUNTY, CO – As the 20th anniversary of the 1999 Columbine High School mass-shooting approaches, school district officials and law enforcement are on guard for copycat incidents.

Metro-Denver area school districts closed Wednesday, April 17 as the FBI and Colorado law enforcement agencies conducted a massive manhunt for a Miami woman Sol Pais, 18, who made "credible threats" against schools.

Pais is "infatuated with the Columbine school killers," FBI Director Dane Phillips said in a press conference Tuesday night.

Related: Denver Area Schools Closed Wednesday After 'Credible Threat'

Pais traveled to Denver Tuesday and bought a pump-action shotgun and ammunition in Littleton, law enforcement officials said. She then was taken to a location in the foothills in Jefferson County.

"We get a lot of threats related to Columbine," JeffCo Sheriff Jeff Shrader said Tuesday night. "I know this opens up a wound for a lot of people."

For parents who are keeping young children home from school today, the JeffCo School district recommends reminding children that they are safe and saying they are staying home because their school district wants them to be safe.

"As I lay here I am thinking how will I explain to my 8 year old he doesn’t have school today when there is no snow," wrote JeffCo parent April Thompson on the Jeffco Generations Conversation Facebook Page.

"[I wonder how] we can talk with our kids about why they aren't going to school today without making them terrified to go back," wrote one parent. "I'm scared as a parent but also thankful the school district is keeping their eyes on this tough situation and operating from an abundance of caution. This is a tough thing to talk about with younger kids."

JeffCo schools posted a link to the following resource from the National Association of School Psychologists:

Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers