A former dean at East High School who survived a shooting on campus two years ago has filed a lawsuit against Denver Public Schools, claiming the district failed to prevent the violence despite warning signs and a safety plan that required the student to be searched for weapons.

Wayne Mason, who was shot multiple times in March 2023 by student Austin Lyle alleges in the lawsuit that the shooting was a “foreseeable act of violence that could have been avoided.”

According to the lawsuit, the student who opened fire on Mason and another dean, Eric Sinclair, had been expelled from another school for attempting to sell a gun. When Lyle enrolled at East High just two months before the shooting, the district placed him on a safety plan.

The lawsuit states that initially, Lyle was required to undergo verbal “check-ins” before school each day. However, days before the shooting, after the student was spotted with a gun, the plan was changed to mandate searches.

Mason’s lawsuit argues that Denver Public Schools did not provide administrators with adequate training on how to properly search and pat down students.

“The failure to conduct adequate searches is a pretty substantial basis for the claim,” said Scott Robinson, 9NEWS legal analyst.

Lyle later killed himself near Bailey, according to authorities.

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