Cassie Bernall, junior. Two years ago, after becoming a
born-again Christian, she became active in church youth
programs and Bible study groups. "She was amazing," said
classmate Mickie Cain. "I was so happy to be able to reach
out to her and be a friend." She recently had visited Britain, and
her favorite movie was Mel Gibson's "Braveheart." |
 Steven Curnow, 14, dreamed of being a Navy top gun, piloting an
F-16. He watched the "Star Wars" movies so many times he would
recite the dialogue along with the actors. |
 Corey DePooter, 17. Loved to golf, hunt and fish and was a
former wrestler. He recently got a maintenance job at a golf
club to save up for a fishing boat with a friend. Good
student. Had wisdom teeth removed this year and was frustrated
that it forced him to miss school. Hid under library table
with friends as gunmen sprayed bullets at floor level. |
 Kelly Fleming, 16. Aspiring songwriter and author. Wrote
scores of poems and short stories based on her life
experiences. Was learning to play the guitar. Moved from
Phoenix 18 months ago, and was eager to get her driver's
license and a part-time job.
"It was hard to uproot," said her mother, Diedra. "But Kelly had made several good friends. She was your basic, normal, beautiful teen-age girl." She was shot in the library. |
 Matthew Kechter, 16, junior. Had hoped to start for the varsity football team in the fall. Lifted weights. Maintained an "A" grade-point average. Was shot in the library after he tried to reach friends hiding in adjacent video room. |
Daniel Mauser, 15, sophomore. Excelled in math and science, and earned straight A's on his last report card. Ran cross-country and joined the debate team. Recently returned from a two-week trip to Paris with his French club. |
|
 Daniel Rohrbough, 15, was shot as he held an exit door open for other students. He died on the sidewalk, a few steps from safety. His body lay outside for 24 hours. "It would have been hard to live with it if I found out that he could've been helped," said his grandmother, Maxine Rohrbough. Rohrbough helped his father in his electronics business. He was interested by computer games, stereos and home theater systems. |
After the violence, her red Acura, parked where she left it in a lot between a park and the school, became a flower- and card-covered shrine, often surrounded by weeping and praying classmates. During the rampage, her younger brother Craig, 16, pretended to be dead in the library and helped lead others to safety. |
Rachel Scott, 17. Played lead in a student-written school
play, "Smoke in the Room." Active in Celebration Christian
Fellowship church. Liked photography.
Isaiah Shoels, 18, senior. Only black youth shot. Suffered health problems as a child and had heart surgery twice. Wanted to attend an arts college and become a music executive. Small in stature, but lifted weights and played football and wrestled. Bench-pressed twice his weight. "He was the nicest person I knew," remembers classmate Justin Norman. "He would always go up to you and say, 'What's up?' even if you didn't know him." A transfer student from Lakewood High School, he was shot in the head execution-style in the school library, specifically because of his race and athletic interests, witnesses said. His father says he believes that account. "He was black and he was an athlete," Michael Shoels said. "That's why my son died. Because of the color of his skin and the achievements that he wanted to do for himself. ... That's not a reason to die." |
John Tomlin, 16, sophomore. Enjoyed driving off-road in the nearby Rocky Mountains in his beat-up Chevy pickup. Worked after-school in gardening store and belonged to a church youth group. Last year, went on missionary trip to Mexico with family and built a house for poor people. After graduation in two years, Tomlin planned to enlist in the Army. "He was a great kid, really happy, going to school, getting good grades," said his father, John Tomlin. "He knew what he wanted to do. He had everything planned." |
|
 Lauren Townsend, 18, senior. Was captain of girls' varsity volleyball team, coached by her mother. Other players said she was "consumed" by the sport. Member of the National Honor Society. She planned to attend Colorado State University on an academic scholarship and become a wildlife biologist, like her oldest brother. "She was to be a senior class valedictorian at her graduation next month," her uncle, David Beck, told CNN. "Lauren, unfortunately, won't have the opportunity to make the impact on the world that I'm sure she would have." When shooting began in the library, "we understand that Lauren was hit nearly immediately," he said. Her family "takes some comfort in the hope that there was no suffering." |
