I was 12. I was attending West Middle School in Greenwood Village, Colo., and was in the seventh grade. It was a normal Tuesday. For me at least.
While I was in school that day, two students at a neighboring High School just less than ten miles away were on a killing rampage.
After word of the shooters got out, our school went on lockdown. At that point, no one really knew the details of what was going on. I remember turning on TVs in my language arts class, trying to gain a sense of what was actually occurring just a few miles away. All we knew was that two students at Columbine High School were shooting and killing fellow classmates inside the school.
I was terrified.
I remember getting onto the bus after the school terminated the lockdown. I remember how silent the bus ride was. No one knew what to say. Once at my bus stop, I raced home to glue myself to the TV where every single news channel was covering the perimeter of Columbine. Watching. Waiting.
The two perpetrators, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 students, one teacher and injured 24 other victims before committing suicide.
Ten years later, I am still haunted by the thoughts of Columbine and the various other school shootings that have occurred throughout the years. The most recent being Virginia Tech which trumped Columbine for the nation’s deadliest school shooting on April 16, 2007.
It’s unfathomable.
I have never understood it, nor will I ever.
I have never understood how two people can go on a killing spree, killing and injuring dozens of their peers. I have never understood how their parents didn’t know, or didn’t care to show any interest in the mental well-being of their sons. I have never understood why the police didn’t act sooner – didn’t try to stop them.
Maybe it’s naiveté. Maybe I just don’t understand how people work. But, I do feel this could have been prevented. 15 lives could have been saved. And other similar attacks on other schools could have been avoided.
People are crazy. Watch the world around you. Be aware of your surroundings. And never, ever go one day without telling the people closest to you that you love them.
Here are some news stories you might find interesting:
Columbine Survivors Seek Good From Tragedy
