Columbine Massacre
By Joe Nguyen & Ashton Do
2/27/99

Littleton, Colorado- Shocking would be the word for Tuesday's tragic event. Fifteen people killed, twenty-three others hospitalized. What happened? "Chaos panic, no resistance, detonations in a distance." -Lyrics of "Son of a Gun." That was exactly what happened, when students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold decided to enter Columbine High school at 11:30AM on Tuesday, April 20 in an unexpected way.

Dressed in black trenchcoats and ski masks, they were equipped with rifles, pistols, ammunition, and, at least, 30 explosive devices. The destruction started in the parking lot, when Harris and Klebold began their rampage. Entering the building through the cafeteria, more blood was shed as hundreds of students and faculty ran and hid for their lives. Pipe bombs exploded as these victims tried to run for safety. One call to 911 by a student was, "There's like smoke going off in the parking lot and loud noises…people are running out of the school like mad right now." During the next several hours, the police arrived along with ambulances and media. SWAT teams entered the building and evacuated students and faculty. On their mission, they also discovered dozens of active pipe bombs and other explosives scattered throughout the building. Once arriving at the library, they found the dead bodies of many students, which included those of Harris and Klebold.

Parents waited impatiently praying that their children were not among the dead and injured as school and RTD buses arrived and dropped students off. For some, however, their child never came. In Littleton, Colorado, as well as the rest of the world, life will never be the same again.

More Articles Concerning Columbine:
Just a Thought by Joe Nguyen
Junior High Perspective by Ashton Do
More on the situation