Online postings apparently made by the younger suspect in the Colorado charter school shooting paint a conflicting picture — one of an average teen who likes hanging out with his friends, and another that shows a tortured kid who experimented with drugs, detested his classmates and was struggling to fit in.
Maya McKinney, a 16-year-old who’s undergoing a female-to-male transition and who goes by Alec, and Devon Erickson, 18, are accused of entering STEM School Highland Ranch outside Denver on Tuesday with two handguns that authorities say they used to kill one of their classmates and injure eight others.
A Twitter account believed to belong to McKinney, with the handle “KoolCid1992,” displays a picture of him and Erickson, with word art that boasts, “UP ALL NIGHT.”
On Dec. 29, KoolCid1992 tweeted, “i wasn’t diagnosed with kool kid syndrome but i just took adderall 
” in a reference to the popular, but often abused, prescription drug used for attention deficit disorder.
But on April 16, it appears as if McKinney was trying to get sober, or at least joked about it on Twitter.
“yuh wait what #sobergang,” KoolCid1992 wrote in the tweet.
When a friend replied, “omg really?,” KoolCid1992 wrote back, “your boy is finally getting clean like the mf dishes i just did #lmao.”
On Jan. 25, he apparently expressed his distaste for his classmates at STEM School Highlands Ranch, tweeting: “F–K stem kids i swear to f—–g god.”
Then on Feb. 21, KoolCid1992 retweeted a message about a gun and shooting himself.
“i wish i had a GF,” the tweet starts.
“G-gun F-for the purpose of shooting myself.”
Another message he retweeted in November pointed to a possible mental health issue with the statement: “depression loves to seal everything I love.”
KoolCid1992 also tweeted about his mom and how she’s handled changes in his behavior.
“*my mom talking to me about how she hates the new alec*,” the tweet begins.
“Mom: I miss my Alec can you find him for me
Me: I miss my dad can you find him for me 
yeeeehaw gotem.”
Finally, on April 29, just over a week before the shooting, he wrote an ominous tweet.
“When you’re putting yourself in life threatening danger 
,” the suspect wrote, with no further explanation.
McKinney’s apparent Instagram account has the name “Alec Mask The Slump God” and shows photos of himself and his friends, presenting a more mundane picture of life.
The Instagram account has been disabled and is only accessible through the internet archive “Wayback Machine,” which does not display the dates on the photos or the comments.
The most recent photo posted to the account shows McKinney beaming in formal wear next to a girl who’s wearing a prom-like dress. In the photo, McKinney’s arms are around the girl as they pose in front of a family piano.
Other photos show McKinney posing with friends in front of a psychedelic wall tapestry and making dramatic faces, while in others, Alec is seen wearing a Nirvana shirt. In another photo with a silly theme, McKinney is seen in a tie-dye rainbow headband, chomping on a leaf.
The account’s first post is a snap of the stage at a Cheap Trick concert.
During a vigil Wednesday night to honor Kendrick Castillo, who died charging at Erickson when he allegedly opened fire in his ninth-period British literature class on Tuesday, students at the high school stormed out in protest of politicians using the event as a platform for gun control.
Students began yelling they “wanted to be heard” and then chanted “Mental health” while cursing at the media.
The Daily Mail reported a friend of Erickson and McKinney commented on a social media post that said the duo were troubled and didn’t get the help they needed.
“Devon did not do what he did because he’s a liberal, or to make a statement,” the friend wrote.
“He did it due to internal struggles. They’re both struggling with mental health issues and this is a time for awareness.”
The friend then addressed McKinney.
“Had people supported him in the way that he needed and deserved, he would not have struggled so much that he got pushed over the edge… Please recognize that mental health awareness is important. Supporting LGBT youth is important. They didn’t get the help they needed, and they NEEDED it,” the friend went on.
McKinney and Erickson will both appear in court Friday, when their formal charges will be announced.