Spirit
of
Colorado
*~*This is a Letter I recieved from a Student
at Columbine High School*~*
Message From: Sorry But I
cannot post his email address!
Date: Thu, Apr 22, 1999, 12:29am (MDT+2)
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Response
First of all, I would like to thank all of
you for your e-mails or for signing my
guestbook. I appreciate the concern you show.
To all of you, here is my true story:
At around 11:20 that day, I was in one of the
school's two chemistry rooms grading papers
as a student assistant. With me were about
six other students making up a lab experiment
while the teacher, Theresa Miller, was
monitering the commons from the top of the
stairs. The science area contains a hallway
that circles around and has two outlets to a
main hallway next to the stairs. The room I
was in was the biggest of four classrooms in
the middle of the science area (as opposed to
being near the windows). Next to the room is
a room that runs perpindicular to the main
hallway and connects three of the four middle
science rooms. From that room, a female
student ran into the room I was in, crying,
and she told us that someone had beed shot. A
few more students followed this girl into the
room while a few of the students ran out to
check out other rooms. I was among the six
that were in the room when all was said and
done. The room I was in was probably the best
room to hide in as there were many lab tables
to hide behind with only two doors on
opposite sides of one wall in the room and a
connecting door to the long room connecting
us to three other rooms. While hiding, I
heard between 10 to 15 noises that are hard
to describe. The best way I can describe it
is when a sheet of metal used to make vents
is pushed one way, only with a deeper tone.
Four male science teachers were among those
with us and they went from room to room to
check on others. I was trapped in the room
while being in no real danger. The lights
were turned off and the telephone in the room
was being used by the teachers to keep us in
touch with what was going on outside. I was
trapped in the room for about three and a
half hours, only knowing what was said by the
five students I was with and the four
teachers. Dave Sanders, the teacher who was
killed by the gunman, was in a nearby room,
and we were given constant updates about his
condition. Throughout the time I was trapped,
I had received only good news as to the
condition of the teacher. The only noise
other than the words spoken by those trapped
in the room was a constant bell sounding,
obviously to give the SWAT team a cover of
noise. A little after 3:00, the SWAT team
arrived at one of the other two classrooms -
the one nearest the main hall and farthest
from the stairs. All students and teachers in
the rooms, about 25 in all, ran toward this
classroom and exited following the SWAT
team's directions. We were all frisked upon
exiting the rooms as we ran across the
building and out the main entrance on the
opposite side of the school. From there, we
ran across the street and against a fence
where we were searched again. We then crawled
through a hole in the fence and onto a bus
that led us to safety. I did not see the
gunmen or any of the victims that day.
I did not know much about the incident until
I got home at about 5:00 that evening. The
only thing I heard until then was that the
teacher, Dave Sanders, had been shot and that
a few students were shot in the commons. I
did not know the extent of the incident until
arriving home.
I did know the gunmen, but did not know
anything about their personalities. I only
knew them by their faces. Eric Harris was in
my third and fourth hour classes this
semester, but he was more of a stranger to me
as I only knew his name. He wore black almost
everyday, but I did not pay attention to
exactly what clothing he wore. I didn't even
know that he wore a trenchcoat; that gives
some idea as to what I know about him. I knew
Dylan Klebold, but I had not seen him face to
face since second grade. I did not know
anything about the so-called Trenchcoat
Mafia.
I am very independent, spending most of my
spare time at home. I do not do anything with
my friends outside school, so I do not feel
the sorrow shown by those who witnessed the
shooting or were friends of the victims.
Most of the students whose names were
released to the public I did not know, and
those I did know, except for one, were
students I only knew by name. Patrick Ireland
is the only one I know more about, but he was
not a friend of mine. I knew him because he
was on the 1996 Ken Caryl Middle School
Mathcounts team, a team I was an assistant
coach to. I know Pat from other contests that
we were both involved with, the most recent
being the Metropoliton State Math Days
competition on April 13. Everyone I keep
close contact with were either not in the
building or in a section of the building not
in the vicinity of the shooting.
Here are some of the information that some of
you asked for:
School's web page -
Columbine High School
School's address - 6201 South Pierce Street
Littleton, CO 80123
Local news station's web site -
Local News
Again, thank you for showing your concern. I
have a feeling that I won't feel the true
impact of the situation until I meet my
fellow classmates face to face. I have not
been outside my house since I arrived home
yesterday, and I don't plan to leave until
Friday when I am going to Colorado Springs
(60 miles to the south) for a math
competition.
Sincerely,
his name will remain
anonymous
Columbine High School senior
