Columbine: 20 Years Later (Extended Cut)

an apparent shooting at Columbine High student seemed like 20 years could have passed it seems seems like it was yesterday it's hard to believe it's gonna be 20 years he's gonna be talking about the unthinkable I could not carry on a conversation looking eye to eye because I had so much guilt if I went the family function I did not want to be around people every day is better than the last right and everyone would always ask me do you have any questions and I same question every time because nobody give me a direct answer and it was am I gonna walk again ladies and gentlemen let me begin by saying that we all know there has been a terrible shooting I hope the American people will be praying for the students the parents and the teachers I couldn't hang my head any longer it was so disrespectful to Lauren and it was so disrespectful to all of the 13 I'm here for a reason I'm here to make a difference and to keep this community strong it has here it now I just it's hard to realize what my dad went through that day and I didn't think anything of it until I became appearance and how how my parents must have felt that day Shawn Thomas graves he made that his personal bullet and he kept at it like I did for a couple of years and he kept pushing himself and sure enough at graduation he got out of his wheelchair anymore and he gave me credit for him having the courage to do that we had that day in which we lost our kids and people were entered what we were impacted the columbine also represents hope and what we were able to overcome and not necessarily moving forward but healing [Music] [Music] a massive car bomb exploded outside of a large Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City when I first came down here that day it was it was like a warzone glassed everywhere and people just wandering around I felt it I felt the bomb in my office is five or six miles from here and you could feel the blast you know up to 50 miles away and we knew something bad had happened but then then we found out that it was an actual attack this is a tragedy that hit in the heart in the United States it's an American elm it's a native tree in Oklahoma now the cars when they caught fire they did were pushed up all the way up to the base of the tree here and fire scorched this whole side of the tree somebody first called it the survivor tree and it's just amazing to me that that this tree was able to survive in a parking lot and then not only the terrible blast that happened and then past that too [Music] all right if you guys could come in please so this side was not charred you see all of this through here this black is where the tree had been charred and so it kind of came through here but this side was was okay you can see here out on the very tips the little small flower petals are starting to come out and those seeds then the memorial staff here will collect all those seeds as they draw they just need to be planted and usually within a week to ten days we've got thousands of little seedlings one thing I'd like to point out is that saplings of this tree have been sent to many places across the states and so not only does she I believe it's shown how our family has grown in the last 20 years and it gradually went from the size pot to this size pot to a bigger pot we're very proud that DARS is thriving and I love the connection from one state to another they shared their pain they reached out and we have it now growing as a special memory and connection with our family her goal was to make somebody smile every day and she did that I dropped her off in the front of the school and I watched her walk all the way into the school and the last thing that I said and did was this which is sign language for I love you this is what we did all the time in my family and it was the last thing we always said I love you so hand out the window I love you honey and she waved I love you and that was the last I saw her that day [Music] it's just it just had to be done she's earned this diploma we're gonna go pick it up for her I look at those pictures now I'm not quite sure I can believe we were standing up and doing that the applause for lore and on that warning was something that will stick with me forever and it was a common community reach and say you know we love you and we love the family [Music] it's a memory of Lauren every time we look at it it's you know a beacon of survival we have grown obviously since April of 99 our family has grown with two new grandkids with another grandkid on the way and that's what that's what I want people to look at us and just say you know we're extending our branches we're here we're giving you this warmth and love and you can't tell what we've been through how do you pretty cool that's not bad that's real good [Music] I think it really was a wake-up call for all of us I think all of our lives change not only in the Columbine community but around the country around the world I always I'm one of those I want to be here in plenty of time it's hard to believe it's going to be 20 years I was in San Francisco in Duluth mañana hime this week Anaheim next week off the loans and San a team I finished up in Jackson Mississippi in a superintendent's conference I can talk about the after Matt what to deal with things that you never expect and I can remember two days after the tragedy you know father said to me Frankie you know there's a good chance you could have lost your life but God spared you now you need to go rebuild that community and you don't have to walk that journey alone but when I get up on stage and when I start my presentation I have an individual picture of each of the 13 Cassie Brunel Stephen Curnow Cory to pooter Kelley Fleming there's not a day that goes by that I don't think about my beloved 13 they walked into Columbine High School in about 7 a.m. on April 20th and never returned home the kids that you see up here they would no longer be kids they're 37 and 38 year old adults and they died in my school Rachel Scott [Music] Florin towns responded from kayo Velazquez and the first thing that crossed my mind is this has to be a senior prank then all of a sudden I run out of my office and from here to the back of this room I see a gunman coming towards me Dave Sanders came out of the faculty lounge and as he was coming towards a hallway the gunman caught him out at the corner of his eyes he turned around and shot Dave through the back of the head he crawled down the hallway until a teacher came and dragged him into a classroom and he was in that classroom for three and a half hours before paramedics came in the day after I went in to the superintendent's office in the school board I met with him before I met with the students and parents and i offered to resign I said these kids died on my watch [Music] [Music] my name is John de Stefano line President of the Board of Education of Jefferson County and of course Frank D Angeles [Applause] Frank and I were on the way to the meeting with the columbine staff that morning he said to me I am so sorry to let you and the district down I failed my students in my community how can anyone ever trust me with their children again I could not carry on a conversation looking eye-to-eye because I had so much guilt if I went the family function I did not want to be around people [Music] and you continue to be a source of strength for me and for everyone else in our community and in more ways than you know Frank and I want to thank you for that they graduate on May 22nd over at Fiddler's Green and one of the most heartwarming is Lauren Townsend was a valedictorian sorry they had Bruce and Dawn there to accept that plumber on her behalf and knowing that she was looking down on us and that's when that healing started goes back to Santee I met with the people from Red Lake Virginia Tech Sandy Hook Chardon Parkland Marshall County and Benton Kentucky ain't real high school also Santa Fe hey ty how are ya good so what are you guys doing today so how how's the community gillen you'll start noticing some things when this is over so you know take care take care of your family and you it's important text me later today and let me know how everything goes okay and if you need anything let me know okay thank you so much bye there is nothing we can do to bring back the 13 but I'm going to make sure that they do not die in vain [Music] I'm here for a reason I'm here to make a difference and to keep this community strong when I got the job here it is so different from any other school and my senior year of college I just kind of had this epiphany that I wanted to be a school counselor and create a safe space for kids when I decided that I want to be a teacher there was never any thought that it was gonna be any more but Columbine it just feels feels like home [Music] writer do you see Clayton he's on his bike over there it's just a weird fun happenstance but then that's I know if we live in the same neighborhood is really cool too writer careful man every day is different I mean look at these two I know they're bugs but you're also having like a ton of fun with kids those are my favorite teaching days those are the best yeah you get to witness their dreams coming together so it's a really cool job I love it yes no and I did not expect my journey to bring me back to Columbine but it's been really powerful because it feels like I'm coming full circle it didn't affect me as much as it has until I became a mom and then we heard what it sounded like girls screaming the fire alarm rang one of my best friends came out and said maybe we have to go they're shooting and I said who's shooting I was in a math class as well got out fairly quickly when the fire alarm went off and I remember hearing a particular teacher yelling at us to run you got to get out of here and that was the first moment I really felt like I was in danger [Music] [Music] yeah so I was a freshman I was in the art classroom which is about as safe and far away as you could be the fire alarm went off and I think we kind of all thought it was there are more senior prank so I was in the math department and I heard some raised voices out in the mall and then the fire alarm gets pulled I remember looking down at my desk and thinking what I wanted to take outside with me as I was I mean not taking the fire drill very seriously [Music] took days to find out and what had really happened even for those of us that were here it took days thank you we're just getting some more information here and actually we're seeing some of this thing we went home and that's when you turned on the news you know I remember getting home around dinnertime and watching news for the next 24 hours but I remember going home and just being in a daze for days trying to figure out which way was up now I'm dealing with kids that weren't even born and so there's a lot of curiosity about what happened and you know the events surrounding it and the events coming after it every year I give my students a survey and they get to ask me anything my schpeel is always like I was here as a student and they eventually catch on around the time period they're just trying to reconcile my experiences with what they've heard in the media or what they've heard from friends or kids from other schools parents yeah that kind of stuff [Music] and I saw my dad my dad picked me up and he hugged me so tight I had to tell him I let go cuz I couldn't breathe and I still didn't hit me ice I still didn't understand what was going on I was sixteen you know how much could I understand my dad found me and I was wearing a dress that day because it was a track day and we always dressed up for sports and he wouldn't let go it has a parent now I just it's hard to realize what my dad went through that day and I didn't think anything of it until I became a parent and how how my parents must have felt that day in years later years later I went to both of my parents and said I'm sorry I'm sorry the way I acted because now I get it now I get it right now most of the muscles in my legs are working long range goals just look for achievable I need to do more physical therapy before all Norwalk [Music] stop can't I had a lot of anger at crack come I don't know I can't walk I'm sit down I'm gonna want to send another guy to do this for me you know for myself just getting into the reality that there was that there was that good possibility I'd never walk again so I was 15 years old April 20th of 99 I was a freshman and I was shot six times in total everyone who always asked me do you have any questions and I same question every time because nobody give me a direct answer and it was am I gonna walk again they can never tell me yes you're gonna walk again or no you're not so I made it my goal I made graduation my end date that I was gonna retire that wheelchair I was nervous I was up on stage and I had it all planned out in my mind and I've practiced it on my own in my bedroom standing up from my bed over and over and over trying to make sure that I had it down pat Shawn Thomas graves [Applause] I was trying to prove a point that if you put your mind to it you can achieve anything when I accepted my diploma I just it's hard to explain I just I knew like that goals done and at the same time I didn't know what was next but I I knew I wasn't taking that wheelchair out and against everyone's wishes I walked out of there you know it's very rural you know everybody knows everybody you have to because you run into everybody downtown every day so how would I describe Ryan well he's extremely positive very competitive and he just wants to excel always like having the ball in my hands playing ball ask him if he still loves the game of basketball I know what his answer will be I remember it was it was a nice sunny day we didn't have any school that day and the the car just it flipped I blocked out I woke up and I was in a hospital bed see he'd never been one to sit and sit still he's just always on the go doing something yeah so this is our last picture of Ryan before he got hurt I pulled up and ambulance was already there I said where's Ryan he said he's in the ambulance so I jumped in the ambulance and rode to hospital with him first thing he said to me is dad I can't feel my legs so four to three staples that was to reconstruct his 12th or vertebra we needed to learn how to get in and out of a car even in and out of bed getting dressed you know going in where he was I was scared to death how we were gonna do it you know my mom just said you know this guy who was shot six times just wanted to come talk to me he was 15 when like he got her too I said all right yeah let's go for it so we went and talked to him and I think we were there for a good hour hour and a half and he asked you know how did you do it kind of explained to him you know just get you gotta believe in yourself so I remember when we left Craig that day that Shawn was like Ryan's not ready to hear what I have to say and you know he's he's just he's it's too new you [Music] we knew that he was starting to get some feeling back he said maybe I'll be like Shawn when I turned senior I was like all right well this this could be possible you know I could I could do this I could do it you know Shawn did it why can't I I don't know if many people knew he was going to do it I knew it's very important to him I was up very early that morning because I couldn't sleep and then about 8 o'clock the phone rang and I saw it was from Ryan but I was like I want to do this can you help me and he just matter-of-factly said listen we talked the school and let me do this if we could have somebody help me backstage put my braces on and then be there with me on the stage a special moment that I'll never ever forget [Applause] and it was instant it was very special it said are you ready for this yeah I think so it's one of those moments in your life you can never be repaid because of all the emotion all the work just without one step it will stay with me forever [Applause] [Music] somehow my mother-in-law had a client from Nebraska who had a newspaper and happened to come across an article and sure enough at graduation he got out of his wheelchair he walked in the article he said it was because of a visit that he got inspired was from me and he gave me credit for him having the courage to do that I carried that article around in my wallet for years actually it was a somber reminder of where I came from and the fact I always told myself that if I could if I could help just one person and then you know it's all for it was all worth it I find it hard to wrap my mind around it it just doesn't seem like 20 years could have passed seems like it was yesterday when we lost Kelly the whole block rallied around us when they were with us every step of the way and so it wasn't us it was it was really them [Music] [Music] she had so much a heifer she was looking forward to learning to drive a car and in first job and and she was just finding her way I just love just to watch and see her being able to see her as she was you know she she was just on the brink of so many things it's just nice to be able to hear her voice see her I know that she was she was a gift so this was a little book that was sent to us right after Kelly died and it's from a 14 year old girl and she wrote us just this lovely little letter in here she said I'm 14 years old and live in Jamestown New New York this photo album is for you to keep all your special memories of Kelly inside what happened to you was so terrible I can't even begin to imagine what it must feel like no one should ever have to go through something like that she didn't deserve to die so young stay strong and keep Kelly's legacy alive I know you will get through this you were in my prayers in my love I had lots of little Kelly Kelly annie pictures in here so they kind of go from when she was itty-bitty Halloween when their favorite holiday over probably five we still get letters from individuals saying how Kelly inspired them in one way or another and I know all the other families do as well each child brought something different and they touched different people across the United States in the world we feel like she's she's she's still close we have certain signs that we know she sends that we recognize and it kind of all started on her 17th birthday out at the cemetery I was just asking God for a sign that she was a okay and right before we left the cemetery I got this bubbling of rainbow of colors in the clouds and it was kind of pastels and pinks and I took it I said that's my sign some people will say yeah they're coincidences we like to believe they're not and they may make us crazy but so why we're not hurting anybody he loved to write writing was her thing she wrote a lot of short stories a lot of experiences that she had so we're really grateful for those [Music] [Music] that would stop it I know she was smilin down and super happy the people for bringing something she wrote we do feel that Kelly is still somewhere we think she's in a great place now when I think of all my high school my column my column by nice car and I asked one of the ladies that work there I said what are these and she said well there are little saplings from the survivor tree at Oklahoma the new life extended every spring mm-hmm but it's not a bad feeling it's a warm feeling it's a great feeling that connection we become wonderful friends with so many people I was part of a group that we hate being numbers of his describe there I talk about her in the present who she is who they are because they're with us they were living breathing beautiful kind people do you think back to 20 years ago was everyone born 20 years ago I want to make sure it took me leaving to realize that this is where I blocked it all along that this would this was home I was lucky to a be alive which I didn't always see it that way in the beginning it took me a while to get past that I'm blessed to be where I am now so she would hardly ever smile but they got one picture of her smiling well it seems I'm moving on it's like leaving things behind and we haven't left Kelly behind if she's been every bit along the way with us through all these years I think my heart's bigger now I've said before that there's a hole in my heart it's a big one that was placed there on April 20th and the hole hasn't gotten any smaller I don't expect it ever to but I make it a goal to do something every day to make my heart bigger so that the hole in my heart doesn't seem so huge you you

Channel: 9NEWS

Views: 1,681,666

Keywords: anniversary, documentary, shooting, tragedy, Columbine

Id: Yv5eAC0GmLo

Length: 36min 48sec (2208 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 19 2019