Colorado student injured in Evergreen High School shooting “still fighting for his life,” relative says
By Web Staff
Click here for updates on this story
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colorado (KCNC) — The uncle of Matthew Silverstone, one of the students shot by a fellow student at Evergreen High School in Colorado last week, talked about the teenager’s recovery one week after the shooting. At 12:24 p.m. Sept. 10, a 16-year-old student began shooting inside and outside the school, injuring two students before he turned the gun on himself and died.
Matthew was critically injured in the shooting and has what his family has called “a long road” ahead for his recovery.
“There’s so much more to Matthew than that. So much life. So much love,” said his uncle.
The comments came in a video of Kris Koehler was released by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday afternoon that showed him talking about his nephew and describing what kind of person he is, along with what remains to be a long road of recovery for the 18-year-old.
“He’s still fighting for his life every day, and we have glimmers of hope. We take every little baby step in the right direction and celebrate it,” said Koehler. “But to see him, to see him there, it’s great when he will squeeze a hand, but at the same time, it’s so painful to see that anyone, especially a kid, but anyone, would have to endure that.”
Koehler said in the video that he’s one of four proud uncles and said that he was talking on behalf of Matthew’s mom, his uncles, his sisters and the rest of the family.
Matthew’s uncle described the teen as an “ordinary teenage boy” who “loves his friends” and is at the skate park almost every day, until he’s told to go home.” He also said that Matthew would go out of his way to help anyone who needed it.
His uncle said that Matthew’s mother adopted him when he was just about six months old and that she hasn’t left his bedside at the hospital since the shooting.
“She has had this feeling of she failed him by not being there to protect him. To guard him from letting this happen,” said Kris Koehler.
Matthew is one of three children in a single parent family. All are adopted. Matthew was about six months old when his mother gained custody of him and his uncle says Matthew had been in an abusive situation.
“To know that history, to know that that’s the start he had, makes all of this just a bit even more unfair,” Koehler shared.
“She just has so much love, so much love to share with everybody, and that, really, Matthew, really has absorbed that that’s made him the person that he is. She’s the living example of that,” said Koehler.
Now there is a new challenge for Matthew and his family.
“Matthew is still fighting. My sister is going to do everything she can to help him in that fight. You know, as a single mother of three, she is the rock of our family. It’s now our turn to get as much support for her as we possibly can.”
Koehler also read some of the cards the family has received, some from students and others from the community, calling Matthew a hero for what he did the day of the shooting, “telling people to get away when they were coming back from lunch,” and to “please get better soon.”
Evergreen High School students do not have school this week with school officials informing students and families about the return to school process on Sunday, after all students have had the chance to take a school-wide survey.
In the meantime, Matthew remains in a hospital bed. So far, an online fundraising campaign has raised about half the goal.
“I want to people to know that Matthew is still fighting. It’s going to be a long road. We are coming to grips with what could potentially be a life-long recovery. And all of the needs and extra burdens that’s going to put on my sister.”
But his nephew remains an inspiration.
“Matthew is not only my nephew, but he’s now my hero,” said Koehler.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.