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Memorial Service Planned For Kendrick Castillo

Rachel Short via AP
This undated photo provided by Rachel Short shows Kendrick Castillo, who was killed during a shooting at the STEM School Highlands Ranch on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, in Highlands Ranch, Colo.

A memorial service for a student hailed as a hero for tackling one of the gunmen who attacked his suburban Denver school will be held Wednesday.

A celebration of life will be held at Cherry Hills Community Church in Highlands Ranch for 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo, a senior who was just days from graduating when he was fatally wounded in Tuesday's shooting.

Castillo along with classmates Brendan Bialy and Joshua Jones are credited with helping minimize the bloodshed by charging at one of the suspects in a classroom.

According to Bialy, Castillo sprang into action against the shooter "and immediately was on top of him with complete disregard for his own safety." Jones said he was shot twice in the leg during the ordeal. Bialy said he was able to take the gunman's weapon.

Castillo was a member of the school's robotics club who loved to tinker. He worked part-time at a manufacturing company that had offered him a job after an internship because he was such a standout employee.

Friends say he had an infectious smile, a gentle sense of humor and was excited to help people.

Eight students were wounded in the STEM School Highlands Ranch shooting and the last hospitalized one was released on Sunday.

Copyright 2019 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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