A 32-year-old convicted felon opened fire with a high powered rifle outside Deer Creek Middle School in Littleton, Colorado Tuesday afternoon, wounding two students before he was tackled and stopped by a math teacher as he reloaded,

The man has a rap sheet that includes arrests for domestic violence, assault, menacing, driving under the influence and motor vehicle theft.

From what I could see he was older, not like a teenager," Jordan said. "It was a very big gun...looked like a rifle." Jordan said she saw two students fall to the ground.
Kelley said the weapon was a high-powered hunting rifle.

This is not the first time violence has touched Deer Creek Middle School. In 1982, Jason Rocha, then 14-years-old, shot and killed a classmate, 13-year-old Scott Michael Darwin, with a .22-caliber rifle. Rocha was charged as an adult and sentenced to 12-years in prison.

Deer Creek Middle School is located not far from Columbine High School where two students went on a shooting spree in 1999, killing 12 classmates and one teacher.

In September 2006, a deranged gunman walked into Platte Canyon High School in Bailey, Colo., holding a classroom of students hostage for several hours before killing 16-year-old Emily Keyes. The gunman then shot and killed himself as SWAT officers stormed the classroom.

A preliminary hearing is set for today for the Deer Creek Middle School shooter. He is incarcerated.