Born November 6, 1981
18 years old

A born-again Christian as of 1997, she was active in church youth programs and Bible study groups. Her parents called her "Bunny Rabbit" and said she loved to go rock climbing in Breckinridge. She had recently visited Great Britain and her favorite movie was 'Braveheart'.

For a long time after the shootings, it was believed that she was the girl in the library who was asked by one of the shooters: "Do you believe in God?" and was subsequently shot because she said "Yes". There is still controversy surrounding this -- according to the Columbine Report, several witnesses claim that the conversation occurred between gunman Eric Harris and surviving victim Valeen Schnurr. Valeen herself has verified this fact. However Joshua Lapp, a witness to the library shootings, said in his interview with investigators that the shooters asked several people if they believed in God and the answers given didn't seem to dictate who was shot or not.

Still, according to witness statements and the Columbine Report, here's what happened to Cassie: When the shooters entered the library she, like many other students, was hiding under the table she'd been sitting at when substitute teacher Patti Nielson entered the library and told everyone to get down. She had her hands over her face, perhaps to keep from seeing what was happening as she could hear other people being shot and killed in the library, near to where she was hiding.

Just after shooting and killing Steve Curnow and injuring Kacey Ruegsegger, Eric Harris came around the table where Cassie and another girl were hiding. He slapped the top of the table twice with his left hand and said to the two frightened girls: "Peek-a-boo!". He then bent down, pointed his sawed-off shotgun under the table and fired once, shooting Cassie in the right side of the head. She died immediately.

When it was still believed that Cassie was the "girl who said yes", she became a martyr to the cause of Christianity and her mother said she couldn't think of a more honorable way to die than the way Cassie was taken. But she also added: "I keep thinking about the things I need to do for Cassie," Cassie's mom told the Oprah show in 1999. "And then I catch myself... I don't need to do that. The Lord is taking care of those mom things I used to do."

Cassie was buried in a white coffin that attendees at her funeral (her pastor called it a marriage to Christ) could sign. Her mom wrote: "Bunny Rabbit, my friend, my buddy, my daughter, my mentor. I will love you and miss you forever. I promise to take good care of your kitty. I know that Jesus is elated to have you in His presence... Your courage and commitment to Christ have gained you a special place in heaven, and I am proud to call you my daughter. I love you so much, Mom."

Despite the fact that she likely didn't say anything to either of the gunmen, the story of the girl who said "yes" still inspires people all over the world and her family prefers to think of her as that girl. Cassie was laid to rest in Golden Cemetery in Golden, Colorado

Links:
- CassieBernall.org Family's website memorial






Born August 4, 1980
18 years old

Isaiah Shoels wanted to be a comedian, dreamed of becoming a music executive. After graduating he wanted to attend an arts college. Friends nicknamed him "Bushwick". Born with a heart defect, his parents said he was a fighter who overcame his disability and went on to play football and wrestle. He had played cornerback the previous year on the football team but his father claimed he quit "possibly because of racial intimidation". Isaiah also played keyboards and wanted to become a record producer, like his father Michael who was the president of Notorious Records and Ft. Knox Entertainment - a firm Michael started to promote black musicians in the Denver area. After graduation Isaiah had planned to attend the Denver Institute of the Arts.

Isaiah was a popular boy; Columbine principal Frank DeAngelis said his classmates would compete to work on school projects with him. "Isaiah Shoels, thank you for having such a positive impact on our school and on our family. You will be greatly missed, and I love you, my dear child," he said at Isaiah's funeral.

"He's smiling down on us," classmate and friend Nick Foss said. "I know he is."

Isaiah was studying in the library with his friends Matt Kechter and Craig Scott when the shooters entered the room. The three boys hid under the same table, listening to the sounds of the gunmen destroying the library and shooting other people. Isaiah was a well-known athlete and someone whom the shooters had problems with before. When Dylan Klebold saw him hiding beneath the table, he called Eric Harris over. They flanked the table on either side then Klebold made a racist comment toward Isaiah, and tried to pull him out from under the table. When that failed, Harris opened fire, killing Isaiah. Klebold then shot and killed Matt. Craig was amazingly left uninjured though he played dead, covered in the blood of his dying friends.

Isaiah died from a gunshot wound to the chest. Witness reports of the shooters' racist remarks led Isaiah's parents to later claim that the whole massacre was race-motivated, however Isaiah was the only black person killed during the shootings. In fact, no other black people were even injured during the assault.

The last of the Columbine victims to be buried, Isaiah was laid to rest in Fairmount Cemetery in Denver, Colorado. Martin Luther King III, son of Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke at Isaiah's funeral at the Heritage Christian Center.






Born February 19, 1983
16 years old

Matt Kechter was a sturdy 210 pound Sophomore: He played on both the offensive and defensive lines of the football team. He's remembered for his ready laugh. He was a weight lifter and an 'A' student, always getting good grades in school.

"When I heard he was one of the ones from the library, it only made sense," said sophomore basketball player and close friend Greg Barnes. "He was always in the library studying. He always put academics first. He had straight A's but he would never brag about it. I kinda looked up to him because of it. He was never in a bad mood, he was consistenly happy." Tragically, Greg committed suicide shortly following the 1st 'anniversary' of the shootings at Columbine.

Matt was in the library studying when the shooting began. He had been seated at a table with his friend, Craig Scott (brother of victim Rachel Scott). When the teacher ran in and told everyone to get down, both boys hid under the table they had been sitting at and were joined by Matt's fellow athlete and friend, Isaiah Shoels. After the shooters entered the library they shot several people before Dylan Klebold spotted Isaiah and called Eric Harris's attention to their table. The two gunmen made racial slurs toward the black boy and then Harris shot him at close range. Klebold fired on Matt next, hitting him in the chest. Matt died sometime later in the library where he lay.

"He was a wonderful role model for his little brother," his parents wrote in a statement that was read at his funeral at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church on April 27. "Their brotherhood had just recently developed into a bonding friendship ... In Matt's heart, there was always enough room for everyone to be victorious."

The University of Colorado (where Matt had planned to attend) sent his younger brother Adam one of their jerseys bearing Matt's name and the jersey number he wore, 70, as part of Columbine's football team. The Columbine High School football team all wore ribbons bearing his old jersey number were asked to dedicate the next season to Matt's memory at his funeral service. Matt was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

In September of 1999, Matt Kechter was posthumously accepted into the National Honor Society.

Related
-Diagram






Born January 17, 1981
18 years old

Lauren Townsend was a senior and captain of the girls' varsity volleyball team, which her mother, Dawn Anna, coached. She was a member of the National Honor Society and was a candidate for valedictorian of her graduating class. Lauren was a talented sketch artist as well. Nicknamed "Lulu," she was a straight 'A' student - she never got a 'B'. She volunteered at a local animal shelter and had planned to major in biology at Colorado State University when she graduated from Columbine.

Lauren was in the library with her friends (Lisa Kreutz, Diwata Perez, Valeen Schnurr, and Jeanna Park) when the shooting began. She hid beneath the table with them when the teacher told everyone to get down. Finding herself beside a frightened Val Schnurr, Lauren put her arm around her, drew her closer and told her everything would be okay. After several minutes of hearing the gunmen taunt and shoot other people hiding in the library, one of the killers - Dylan Klebold - came to Lauren's table. He opened fire, injuring Lisa and Val. He fired again, as fast as his weapon would shoot, hitting Lauren several times. A few minutes later Eric Harris came back around the table and shot beneath it again, hitting Lauren again but she didn't feel it -- she was already dead.

She died on the floor of the library from multiple bullet- and shotgun wounds to the head, chest and lower body. Her funeral was held at Foothills Bible Church where her brother Josh played a tribute video filled with moments from her life. Many of her teachers spoke at her funeral, commending her gentle nature and loving spirit as well as her academic excellence. Her coffin was a white one that people attending her funeral could write on, much like one would sign a yearbook. Her father wrote: "Lulu, you'll always be my baby."

She was buried in Littleton Cemetery in Littleton, Colorado.






Born September 1, 1982
16 years old

John Tomlin was a native of Wisconsin, he worked after school at a local nursery hauling trees and belonged to a church youth group, where he met his girlfriend of seven months, Michelle Oetter. Family and friends remember his energy and the warmth of his smile. He loved church and Chevrolet trucks. He had recently got his driver's license and had just bought an old Chevy pickup that he had been working for since he was 14. He once drove all the way to Mexico to help build a house for a poor family. He enjoyed four-wheeling in his truck and lifting weights.

His truck, like Rachel Scott's car, became a standing memorial in the parking lot. Thursday following the shootings his family gathered around the truck despite the fact that it was raining. His bible was still sitting on the dashboard, where he always left it in the hope that someone would see something there that would bring them closer to God.

"He was a perfect son," his father, John Michael Tomlin, said. "He was just good. You'd ask him to wash a car, and he'd wash both cars."

John spent his lunch hour in the library daily, studying. He was there the day the gunmen stormed the school. Hiding under a table, he welcomed a girl he didn't know [victim Nicole Nowlen] into his hiding place when she grew scared where she was hiding and he held her hand to comfort her when the killers started shooting people in the library. Then the shooters came to their table. Without bending to see who was under the table, Eric Harris opened fire on John and Nicole, injuring them both with a blast from his shotgun. Dylan Klebold came around the table then and shot John at point-blank range in the head, killing him almost instantly.

The first of the funerals for the victims killed at Columbine, his was held at Foothills Bible Church where he had attended church. He was buried in his hometown of Waterford, Wisconsin, in Saint Peters Cemetery. He was buried in a satin-lined coffin embroidered with Chevy trucks.


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