The 18-year-old Florida woman who had an alleged “infatuation” with the 1999 Columbine massacre and sparked a massive manhunt after traveling to Denver and stocking up on ammunition has been found dead, apparently of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.
Sol Pais, a senior in high school, had purchased a pump-action shotgun and ammunition when she landed in Denver on Monday night before disappearing, prompting more than 20 schools in the Denver area—including Columbine High School—to go on lockout (meaning doors were locked but students continued to attend classes as scheduled) on Tuesday and close on Wednesday, as the 20th anniversary of the Columbine shooting approached.
According to the Miami Herald, Pais’ parents reported her missing Monday night, and Miami Beach police detectives notified the FBI after finding “deeply disturbed” comments online, which may include those found from an online journal she allegedly kept in 2018 and 2019. In it, she reportedly wrote about guns, suicide, and “plans” she was making. She also drew one of the Columbine gunmen and wrote of violent dreams that may have been referencing the Columbine shooting anniversary on Saturday. Investigators, citing comments she made, have described her as having an “infatuation” with the massacre and its perpetrators.
“Because of her comments and her actions, because of her travel here to the state, because of her procurement of a weapon immediately upon arriving here, we considered her to be a credible threat,” Dean Phillips, the FBI special agent in charge of the Denver field office, said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
Authorities conducted a massive manhunt to find Pais on Wednesday. According to local media, she was found near a small ski resort at the base of Mount Evans in the Rocky Mountains, just west of Denver.
