Born August 5, 1981
17 years old

Rachel Scott was a vibrant and straight-forward individual. She wasn't afraid to stand up for what she believed in, no matter what. She played the lead in a student-written school play, "The Smoke in the Room" (co-starring friends Nick Baumgart, Lauren Beachem, and others), and was writing a play for her senior year. She also liked photography and was active in the Celebration Christian Fellowship church. She was "made for the camera," according to her father, Darrell, and was an aspiring writer and actress. "There's nothing I can add or take away from what she gave us," her mom, Beth, said. "In those short 17 years, it was complete."

She quit smoking at the request of friend Nick Baumgart who later took her to the prom. If she hadn't quit, it's quite possible she would've been at "Smoker's Pit" during lunch instead of in the line of fire. As it was, she was eating lunch on the grass with friend Richard Castaldo when the shooters opened fire on the west entrance near where she was seated on the grass. According to witnesses, she was hit and fell to the ground where, moments later, one of the shooters came down the hill and shot her at point-blank range when she tried to get up. She died from gunshot wounds to the head, chest, arm and leg, and was one of the first victims in what would soon become one of the nation's most deadly mass shootings.

One of the shooters, Dylan Klebold, had known Rachel since kindergarten and had even been the sound tech for a talent show she performed in, in 1998. Ironically, when the sound broke down, it was Dylan who saved the performance by hooking up a reserve tape deck. Rachel had been performing a mime dance "Watch the Lamb" which portrayed Simon of Cyrene, who carried Jesus� cross along part of the Via Dolorosa. That same mime dance was later performed behind her coffin during her funeral.

Rachel's family didn't know for certain that she was dead until Thursday when her name was on the list of confirmed dead but they all knew in their hearts that the worst was coming as their prayers for her to turn up safe and sound went unanswered during those long hours between the shootings and news of her death. Rachel had always been close with her brother Craig (who had been in the library during the shootings and miraculously survived uninjured despite being next to Isaiah Shoels and Matt Kechter were shot and killed) but had experienced difficulty connecting with her father. That last week before her death, Rachel and her dad had a long and bonding discussion, something that left both of them feeling incredibly happy. For Darrell that moment would later give him comfort when dealing with Rachel's death.

Throughout her life Rachel was an incredibly spiritual person who often wrote to God in her diaries about wanting to "reach the unreached". She begged Him for the chance to show others the way, to let her life have some purpose in spreading His word. In 1998 she drew a collage of images that included a rose growing up out of a columbine, with several dark drops spiralling it (you can see this picture on the video Untold Stories Of Columbine). On the morning of the shootings, she doodled a reprise of the picture: a pair of eyes crying 13 teardrops onto that same rose - the same number of victims the shooters would kill during the massacre just hours later.

After her death, Rachel's car was turned into a makeshift memorial by her friends where it sat in the parking lot. "In my eyes, she was just one of those kinds of people you know you won't ever meet again," Rachel's friend Lauren Beachem said of her. "She was the kind of person only born once."

Rachel was buried at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens in the Columbine Memorial Garden in Littleton, Colorado.


Beth Nimmo's message to her daughter on Rachel's coffin


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Links:
- http://www.racheljoyscott.com/ Rachel Scott's family memorial site. You can read Rachel's journals here as well as hear from her family and more.
- http://www.rachelscott.com/ Rachel's Challenge 
- Wikipedia's entry on Rachel Scott







 Born March 2, 1984
15 years old

Daniel Rohrbough enjoyed electronics and computer games. He was looking forward to getting his driver's permit soon. Remembered as a fun guy. He helped in his father's stereo business every day after school and, during the summer, he worked on his grandfather's farm harvesting wheat as he had done since he was three. He used the money he earned to buy Christmas presents for his family. On Tuesday Danny's father Brian knew something was wrong when his son failed to show up at the shop after school like normal.

Dan was heading out of the cafeteria that morning with friends Lance Kirklin and Sean Graves when the shooters opened fire down the grassy knoll outside the school's west entrance. There was no warning for Danny and no chance: He was felled by shots to the abdomen and left leg. Lance tried to catch him but was shot as well. Moments later Dylan Klebold shot him again at point-blank range in the chest. He bled to death on the sidewalk outside the school where he lay for nearly 2 days before paramedics were allowed to move him.

The Rohrboughs were kept in the dark about what had happened to their son; law enforcement told them they didn't know for certain that the body on the sidewalk was Dan Rohrbough and wouldn't let the family in to check for themselves. It wasn't till the morning after the shootings that the Rohrboughs found out for certain what they already knew in their hearts: Danny was indeed the dead boy outside and they learned this news because it was splashed all over the morning news and not because the family was told directly by officials.

There was even more controversy over Daniel's death when Arapahoe County Deputy James Taylor, who had been a friend of the Rohrbough family, told Danny's parents that the boy may have been killed by 'friendly fire' from a Denver SWAT team member. Lawsuits and independent investigation has confirmed that Dan died from the shot fired by Eric Harris but it was never made clear whether or not Danny was hit in the crossfire by a bullet from law enforcement. The family later sued Taylor, who was suspended from the force. Additionally, there was initial confusion over which gunman was the one to have killed Dan Rohrbough. The Columbine Report states that it was Dylan Klebold who fired the fatal shot but an independent investigation by the El Paso County Sheriff's Dept. determined it was Eric Harris' weapon that was responsible.

He was known in the media reports later as "the boy who held the door open" for friends, allowing them to escape from the school during the assault. It's a very heroic notion but, like many of the stories of martyrdom during the crisis, doesn't seem to be supported by witness statements entered into the official reports that followed the investigation of the shootings. But whether he did or didn't, all the people who knew him could agree on one thing: Danny was a wonderful young man and he would be sorely missed.

Shortly after learning of his death, Dan's mother Sue Petrone started a load of laundry in order to "do something normal" and came across Daniel's shirt and socks. "The little things just bring back the horror of the fact that he's not with us any more," she said. She didn't often see Dan in the mornings before his death but that last morning they managed to come together for a brief chat that ended with a hug, a kiss, and her telling him she loved him. It was the last time she saw him alive.

Dan Rohrbough's funeral was held at Grace Presbyterian Church and he was buried in Littleton Cemetery in Littleton, Colorado.

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Born October 22, 1951
47 years old

William "Dave" Sanders was a computer and business teacher at Columbine for 25 years, and coach of the girls' basketball and softball teams. He left behind his wife, four children and five grandchildren.

His students said he was a teacher, a friend, a mentor and an inspiration. When the gunmen started firing outside the school he ran to the cafeteria and sounded the alarm. He, along with two of the school's janitors, helped get more than 100 students out of the path of danger by herding them away from the shooters. He saved untold numbers of lives that day.

By the time the gunmen arrived, the cafeteria was nearly empty thanks to him. He was in the upstairs hall trying to get students safely hidden in classrooms when he was shot from behind (Diagram) by Eric Harris. He was hit in the torso, head and neck. He managed to get himself into a science lab (listed as UA24 in the Columbine Report, and SCI-3 on blueprint maps of the school) where he bled to death waiting for help that 911 dispatchers told students who were helping him was coming, but never arrived.

Trying to get help up to Coach Sanders, student Deidra Kucera posted a sign in the window: "1 BLEEDING TO DEATH". The sign was ignored. Despite their attempts to save him, Dave Sanders died nearly three hours later from blood loss. His last words were reported to be: "Tell my family I love them."

Dave's daughter Angela said at his funeral: "What you did in that school on Tuesday was an amazing act of heroism. Even after you were hurt, you continued to be the brave, selfless man we all know you are."

Dave was buried in Littleton's Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens. Since his death, Coach Dave Sanders has had a softball field at Columbine and a scholarship named after him to honor his memory and posthumously received the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage.






Born May 5, 1982
16 years old

Neighbors and relatives say Kyle Velasquez enjoyed chores and family activities. They say he was a "gentle giant". He was six feet tall and 230 pounds when he died but those who knew him knew that he was a little boy at heart. Affectionate and sincere, he loved nothing more than helping his dad, Al, out around the house: Putting up shelves, mowing the lawn, washing the car. Every day he would kiss his mom, Phyllis, on the cheek and tell her that he loved her. He dreamed of joining the Navy like his dad, or becoming a firefighter.

When Kyle was just a baby he suffered a stroke that left him mentally disabled and he also had severe asthma. As a "special needs" child, Kyle was often ignored, avoided, and teased while growing up -- he knew what it was like to be an outcast. Due to his disabilities, Kyle's parents had prepared to spend the rest of their lives with him. He would accompany his mother everywhere while she ran her errands. Kyle's last words to her were: "Goodbye. I love you, mom."

A shy teen, Kyle had only been attending Columbine for three months and was just beginning to come out of his shell when the massacre occurred. It was only a few weeks that he was staying at the school through lunch; a few weeks earlier and he would've been on his way home the day the shooting started. Kyle loved computers. He had been sitting at one of the computer tables in Columbine's library when the killers came in, perhaps too confused of frightened by the chaos and noise to hide himself. Dylan Klebold shot him in the back of the head as he passed by; Kyle was the first victim to die in the library.

Kyle was buried with military honors in Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado, since his father was a Navy veteran. His parents were given the flags from his coffin and the one that was flown at half-mast in Kyle's honor at the state Capitol.






Born August 28, 1984
14 years old

Steve Curnow dreamed of being a Navy top gun pilot and was very close with his mom Susan and father Robert (Bob). He loved soccer and worked part-time as a referee and his dad Bob coached the soccer team (Blue Devils of the Colorado Rush) he played on. Steve liked the color green, because it was the color of the field. His favorite classes were Spanish, technology, and gym because he got to play sports.

Remembered as a huge fan, he watched the Star Wars movies so many times he could recite the dialogue along with the actors. Science fiction fans nationwide put together a go-to-Star-Wars memorial day in his honor when Star Wars I: the Phantom Menace premiered in theaters May 19th, 1999. He had been anxiously awaiting its release.

Steve was hiding under one of the small computer tables in the library, near surviving victim Kacey Ruegsegger, when the shooting began. Eric Harris shot Steve in neck with a sawed-off shotgun. Steve died in the library, the youngest victim of the Columbine massacre.

His funeral was held at Trinity Christian Center, the fourth funeral of a Columbine victim held there in five days. Members of his soccer team were among the mourners at his funeral. "Every time we'd play, he'd have a huge smile on his face," Justin Norman said at the funeral, a former teammate who was among a dozen friends who offered eulogies for Steve.

His sister Nancy said at the funeral that she was going to miss fighting with Steve over whose turn it was to take out the garbage, and whose turn it was to use the computer. She wondered who would tell stories to her own children about what she was like growing up. She'd been counting on her little brother for that.

His mom wrote a note to Steve that was read at his funeral: "Thank you for that special moment two weeks ago when you said, 'Mom, I bet there aren't many guys who can discuss things with their moms like we do.'"

Steve was buried in Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado.