Julie Turkewitz and Anemona Hartocollis

The decision to keep about half a million students home in two dozen school districts over a vast swath of Colorado showed the sense of alarm among authorities. An FBI bulletin sent to local law enforcement agencies Tuesday identified the woman as Sol Pais, 18. She was “infatuated” with the Columbine attack, the bulletin said. She had purchased a shotgun and ammunition.

School superintendents from throughout the Denver area decided during a conference call Tuesday night to jointly close schools Wednesday morning as a precaution, The Denver Post reported.

Pais is about 5-foot-5 with brown hair and was last seen wearing a black T-shirt, camouflage pants and black boots, authorities said. She had recently traveled to Colorado, law enforcement officials said. An FBI official expressed concerns about her mental stability.

Pais’ parents reported her missing to local police Monday, Detective Sgt. Marian Cruz, a spokeswoman for the Surfside Police Department, said Wednesday. That has been the only time police have been called to the family’s address, she added.

Daisy Gonzalez-Diego, a spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, confirmed Wednesday that Pais is a student at Miami Beach Senior High School. The school district is assisting the FBI with its investigation, Gonzalez-Diego said.

In a news conference Tuesday night, Dean Phillips, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s office in Denver, said the search had turned into a “massive manhunt.” Phillips said his team had received a tip that morning from federal agents in Miami identifying Pais as a possible threat in Colorado.

The FBI then discovered that Pais had arrived at the Denver airport before buying a pump-action shotgun and ammunition at a store. “She was then taken to an area where she was last seen out toward the foothills,” Phillips said.

“Her comments, her actions that we have heard about from others tend to cause us great concern that she may pose a threat to a school,” he added.

If authorities find Pais, it is not clear if they can arrest her. The bulletin sent to local police said they did not have probable cause for arrest, but that officers should detain her “and evaluate mental health status.”

Just last Friday, Colorado’s Democratic governor signed a “red flag” law that would allow for guns to be temporarily seized from people deemed to be dangerous to themselves or others. It was bitterly opposed by more than a dozen sheriffs and officials from largely rural, conservative counties who vowed not to enforce it.

The state also passed significant gun control measures in 2013 that expanded background checks, but despite that, Colorado does not have a specific waiting period for someone who wants to buy a gun, even if they are a teenager just getting off a plane from Miami.

In Florida, The Miami Herald reported that a man who answered the door at Pais’ address Tuesday identified himself as her father and said he had lost contact with her Sunday. “I think maybe she’s got a mental problem,” he told The Herald. “I think she’s going to be OK.”

In Colorado, the announcement prompted “lockouts,” or heightened security measures, at schools in Jefferson County and the surrounding area. During a lockout, all exterior doors are locked at a school but business continues as usual inside. Police officers aided in end-of-day student release. County officials said that all students and staff members were safe.

It was not the first threat for students at Columbine High School. In December, an anonymous caller claimed bombs had been planted inside the school. Police responded but the threat proved to be a hoax.

During the Columbine High School shooting, on April 20, 1999, two students shot and killed 12 of their classmates and a teacher.

The shooting’s aftermath was widely televised, and the event became a source of inspiration for future attackers. Jefferson County, home to Columbine High School, has spent the past 20 years grappling with that legacy.

Students, teachers, families and law enforcement officers have had to deal not only with the emotional trauma of the shooting, but also with people who have become obsessed with it, as well as copycats who have carried out their own attacks.

In an interview last year, the head of safety for Jefferson County schools, John McDonald, said he had often apprehended people who came from around the country to try to enter the school, a major safety concern. These visits — and interest in the shooting — have only increased over time, he said: “I’ve been dealing with this for more than a decade and it’s never been more of an issue than it is now, 20 years later.”

The approaching anniversary has put many people in the region on edge, and in the last week, the county has implemented lockouts on multiple days.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/17/us/columbine-shooting-sol-pais.html" id="599a0082-eabf-32fc-ae4e-90384c128014">The New York Times</a>.

DENVER — Hundreds of schools across the Denver area were closed Wednesday as law enforcement officials search for a Florida woman who they said had made threats before the 20th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting and was considered armed and “extremely dangerous.”

Hundreds of Denver Schools Are Closed as FBI Seeks Woman 'Infatuated' With Columbine

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Julie Turkewitz and Anemona Hartocollis

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Hundreds of Denver Schools Are Closed as FBI Seeks Woman 'Infatuated' With Columbine

Hundreds of Denver Schools Are Closed as FBI Seeks Woman 'Infatuated' With Columbine