DENVER (KDVR) — A Meadow Community School teacher was taken to a hospital after a reported stabbing on Monroe Street in Thornton on Thursday afternoon.
According to the Thornton Police Department, a 31-year-old suspect is now in custody after a male teacher was stabbed at 3 p.m. on Meadow Community School’s property.
Thornton police told FOX31’s Hanna Powers that the stabbing happened during school dismissal while a teacher was using a crosswalk. The teacher was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
When police got onto the scene, they located and arrested a suspect, who is being identified as 31-year-old Damien Brooks.
According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Brooks was booked Thursday on attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault charges.
Records show Brooks has a lengthy criminal history, including multiple prior felony convictions and charges for attempted homicide, theft, felony menacing, and assault with serious bodily injury, as well as parole violations as recently as 2024.
According to the department, investigators do not believe the incident was related to the school, as the suspect and the teacher had no known relationship.
The Thornton agency said that the investigation is ongoing and investigators are working to determine what led up to the incident.
A spokesperson for Mapleton Public Schools provided a statement to FOX31 Thursday evening regarding the incident. The statement was also shared with Meadow Community School families and district staff, which included the following:
“The Thornton Police Department responded immediately and remained on scene to ensure everyone’s safety. The staff member was transported to the hospital and is doing well. Police have also confirmed there is no ongoing threat to the school or the community, and we want to reassure our families that no students were involved.”
The school district noted that Meadow Community School will be open on Friday, but mental health services will be available for students.
Witnesses describe the scene
Max Flores, a sixth-grade student at Meadow Community School, said the teacher who was stabbed was well-liked.
“He’s a fun teacher — he knows how to draw really good,” Flores said.
His mother, Leslie Flores, told FOX31 the news quickly spread through the school community.
“It’s three of my kids’ teacher. So my smallest one — he’s five — when he heard, he started crying,” she said.
“My oldest one said, ‘Mom, what if it was one of the kids — what if it was us going to the bus?’ And that just got to me.”
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
