An armed teenager whose threats forced the closure of 19 school districts in Colorado was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.
Sol Pais, an 18-year-old from Florida, was "infatuated" with the Columbine shooting and made threats as she traveled to Colorado this week -- the same week as the 20th anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre, which left 13 people dead, authorities said.
Police began searching for Pais and found her dead Wednesday morning at the base of Mount Evans, Dean Phillips, the agent in charge of the FBI office in Denver, said at a news conference.
She apparently killed herself with a pump-action shotgun she purchased after arriving in Colorado, he said. Mount Evans, which is part of a national recreation area, is about 60 miles west of Denver.
Phillips and Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Shrader said investigators don't think Pais got onto the grounds of Columbine High School in Littleton or any other school.
Pais had made "credible," but not specific, threats before and after traveling from Miami to Denver on Monday night, Phillips said.
She also raised suspicions by purchasing one-way plane tickets for April 15, 16 and 17, the agent said. Police in Florida contacted the Miami FBI office, which alerted the Denver office, Phillips said.
Sol Pais was found dead Wednesday after a search near Denver.
Sol Pais was found dead Wednesday after a search near Denver.
After Pais arrived in Colorado, she immediately went to a store in Littleton and bought the shotgun and ammunition, authorities said.
Phillips said he didn't know why Pais went to Mount Evans. The driver of a rideshare or some other vehicle dropped her off there, he said, and later helped police pinpoint the location.
Pais was considered a threat to the community and schools, but there was no information on any specific threat to a particular place, Phillips said.
Relief and grief in Florida
More than 2,000 miles away, in the Miami suburb of Surfside, police Chief Julio Yero broke the news of Pais' death to her relatives.
Despite their grief, "they are actually grateful that no one else is hurt," Yero told reporters outside the family's home.
"This family contributed greatly to this investigation from the very onset," the police chief said. "They provided us valuable information that led us to Colorado, and a lot of things that assisted in preventing maybe more loss of life."
Sol Pais bought a weapon not far from Columbine
Sol Pais' home in Surfside, FL
Yero asked the public to give the Pais family privacy as they mourn.
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