Educator accused of taking gun to school, threatening staff

An administrator at a suburban Denver high school was arrested after police said he brought a handgun to the school and threatened other staff members.

Tushar Rae was arrested on charges of carrying a concealed weapon at a school and making violent threats, The Aurora Sentinel reported Friday.

No phone number could be found for Rae, and online jail records did not indicate whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. Rae, 30, is dean of instruction at Aurora West College Preparatory Academy.

An arrest affidavit filed in district court says Rae took a gun from his waistband during a meeting Wednesday with principal Taisiya Tselolikhin, placed it on a countertop between them and threatened to shoot two school administrators.

Rae and the principal had argued the day before about school testing, the affidavit said.

During the confrontation, Rae used an expletive and told Tselolikhin, “You shouldn’t have said what you said. I don’t want to hurt you, I’m going to hurt all the people around you,” according to the affidavit.

Rae then said he would shoot the kneecaps of two school administrators, the affidavit said. Tselolikhin left the room and placed the school on lockdown, and police were summoned.

Rae was arrested later Wednesday at his home. He was released on bail. Aurora police were posted at the school and at the homes of several school staff members.

The school was open Friday and counseling was available for students, officials said.

Aurora was the scene of a 2012 mass shooting at a movie theater that killed 12.

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