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I Was There #2: Columbine (Colorado) School Shootings (As Witnessed By Rashad Amir Morgan) by Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado
Saturday, April 17, 2004
Rated "PG13" by the Author.
The Columbine school shootings as viewed by a young disabled boy.
I don't think I will ever forget what I witnessed on April 20, 1999, at my former high school, at about 11:30 a.m.
Kids were in line, getting ready to go to classes, go to the library, or to the cafeteria, when all of a sudden, two kids, dressed in trenchcoats, came in, toting guns, and just started shooting. After their terrible rampage was over, one teacher and 12 students lay dead in a puddle of blood, and 20 students had been injured, some seriously; and panicked students and staff ran, screaming, from the building, which now resembled a war zone. Because I am on crutches due to spina bifida, I couldn't get out quickly enough, and I was knocked down; and I was scared for my life. I was scared that I would either be shot or stampeded to death by the melee of panicky students and teachers; but one teacher thankfully saw me lying on the ground, crying, and he picked me up and carried me out of the building as fast as he possibly could, so we both could be out of harm's way.
It turned out that the two people who did the shootings were two outcasts who had been unmercifully picked on my students, and they couldn't take any more; so they just snapped and went crazy. It was so bad that these boys didn't care if they lived or died, and they were bound and determined to "get back" at all who had tormented them; and they did..in a very big and unforgiving way. Because of their actions, our lives are no longer the same, and we lost 12 fellow students and one teacher; and our community was now added to the growing list of fatal school shootings; and our community would long be remembered by this event. Now, whenever people would talk about Columbine, Colorado, they would probably make reference to the school shootings.
I, thankfully, was NOT hurt (just had bruising from when I was knocked down by the stampede), but I now have reaccuring nightmares, and I am now depressed and scared of guns or anything having to do with violence. It got to be so bad we moved to another city not too far away, and I now attend a different high school; and I now suffer from ongoing trauma. I saw and heard things a kid should never have had to, and I saw a kid getting CPR right in front of me as she lay dying on the ground. They couldn't save her; and I don't think I will ever forget the horrific sight of blood pouring out from her side, and also from her mouth and nose as she started "bleeding out" as the paramedics fought valiantly to "bring her back to life"--but to no avail. She was only 14 years old--and was in my class. Her name was April. I also saw injured people lying on the ground, moaning and crying out for help, and the weary faces of the paramedics, police, and firemen/women as they tried their best to deal with the injured and dying. There was blood everywhere, and the scene was like a neverending, reaccurring nightmare.
Now I am very selective on what I watch on tv; I don't watch action or police dramas on tv, and if I see any violent images on tv, I get all upset, and I start crying until my mom or my sister changes the channel to something more pleasant. I am very anti-violence, anti-guns, and I absolutely refuse to watch the news, as the news is just full of it. People do not understand what I have seen or witnessed, and they can't seem to understand why I freak out whenever they tell me "to get over it". The trouble is, I CAN'T just "get over it". I saw a friend (rather FRIENDS) die in front of me, and I saw the shootings happen, with my own eyes; and I don't think I shall ever forget the carnage I witnessed. What happened was flat out unbelievable and horrific, and I will NEVER forget it as long as I have breath inside my body! People don't know what I went through, and unless they saw what I did, or went through what I did on April 20, 1999, they can't POSSIBLY understand how I feel or WHY!
A horrific event in our history. You describe
it through the eyes of a young witness, making it even
more real to us. Excellent write Karen, and something
we can never forget.
It must have been a truly horrific experience for those involved; and, unfortunately, as you so graphically describe, one they will probably never be able to forget.
(((((Karen))))
This was a powerful write I remember that day well, and have read both She Said Yes, the book Cassie Bernall's Mom put out and Rachel's Tears, and both books were powerful this was obviously well researched as your work always is, and I agree with Sarah I love this new series...
God Bless
~Michelle~
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