Colorado’s legislature unanimously voted Monday to rename a portion of highway after Kendrick Castillo, the student who died defending his peers during last year’s STEM School Highlands Ranch shooting.
Following the vote, C-470 from University Boulevard to Santa Fe Drive will now be the Kendrick Castillo Memorial Highway.
“This is about honoring an incredible, heroic young man,” said Senate Minority Leader Chris Holbert, R-Parker, a co-sponsor of the resolution to rename the highway. Assistant House Minority Leader Kevin Van Winkle, R-Highlands Ranch, was the main sponsor, and House Minority Leader Patrick Neville, R-Castle Rock, was a co-sponsor.
Castillo, who would have turned 19 this week, died last May as he lunged at an armed classmate inside the STEM School. He was the only student killed that day, and authorities have said that Castillo’s actions may well have prevented other casualties.
Castillo’s parents, John and Maria, were in attendance at the Capitol on Monday, along with several family friends, and were recognized with multiple tributes from lawmakers. One of them, state Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, was moved to tears as she addressed the Castillos on the House floor.
The couple has visited the Capitol many times since the STEM School shooting to meet with lawmakers and offer testimony on matters of school safety. John Castillo said he recently received a call from President Donald Trump.
“It’s far too often I think that sometimes communities forget about the unthinkable when a tragedy like this happens, and we simply move on to the next situation,” said state Sen. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, whose own son was murdered 15 years ago. “But I’m so glad that this family has stayed plugged in and stayed engaged.”
