COLUMBINE
AT 25
What changed. What didn’t.
A special report by
Ellis Arnold, Rylee Dunn,
Scott Gilbert,
Suzie Glassman,
Deborah Grigsby, Nina Joss,
Haley Lena and Elisabeth Slay
Project editors and coordinators:
Michael de Yoanna & Kristen Fiore
Print layout and design: Leah Neu
Digital layout and design: Deborah Grigsby
⚠️This story contains graphic descriptions and images that some may find triggering or uncomfortable.
How Columbine changed us
25 years later, the tragedy is a study of recovery, resilience and triumph
Introduction by
Michael de Yoanna
Editor in Chief
‘It’s just the kind of thing you can feel’
Twenty-five years have passed since that April day that etched sorrow into the hearts of Columbine High School. Two armed students took the lives of 12 of their peers and a cherished teacher and then their own lives. The reverberations of that tragic day have rippled through the years, leaving a sad narrative of killers and victims often repeated in the mainstream media.
But what that narrative misses is Columbine’s story of recovery, resilience and triumph.
Story by
Nina Joss
Shoelaces and support:
A principal’s journey of healing and leadership
In the days following the shooting at Columbine High School, its principal, Frank DeAngelis, started leaving his shoes untied.
The loss of his students and a teacher, who was also a friend, left him feeling he had no control over his life.
Story by
Haley Lena
Changing the narrative:
Love, pride and the Columbine Spirit
The tragedy at Columbine in 1999 changed many lives forever and it also created ripples for what the school should look like even to this day. In the years after, the Columbine community came together, said Principal Scott Christy, and dedicated to rebuilding stronger, pouring all their love into it.
Story by
Suzie Glassman & Haley Lena
How school security changed in the wake of the Columbine shooting
Today, it’s common across the country for children as young as 4 and 5 to participate in active-shooter drills and shelter-in-place lockdowns about as often as they take standardized tests. That includes the Jefferson County School District, where Columbine High School resides.
Story by
Deborah Grigsby
Columbine communication problems helped drive the state’s now-robust interoperable radio program
In the years before the shooting at Columbine High School, Colorado had already started to address challenges within its radio communications system for first responders.
But communication broke down on April 20, 1999, when more than 40 separate agencies descended upon Columbine High School.
Story by
Nina Joss
Just like any high school in America:
Three Columbine employees and survivors reflect on hope and healing
It was just like any high school in America. The school’s colors — navy and white — accented the track as teens ran, stretched and laughed.
Behind them, the word “Rebels” was painted on a shed near the field. A coach blew a whistle and the kids came into a huddle, as others walked through the nearby parking lot with backpacks on.
But unlike most high schools in America, this scene happened close to a memorial with the names of 12 students and a teacher who were killed in a mass shooting on April 20, 1999.
Story by
Elisabeth Slay
Going to Columbine:
Alumnus shares perspective of student in years after shooting
Greg Mees is often asked two questions when people learn he went to Columbine High School.
“‘Were you there?’ is the first question,” Mees said.
He was not. He was in second grade and graduated a decade after the shooting.
“So, then, the next question is, ‘What was it like going to Columbine?”’ Mees said.
Story by:
Nina Joss
Grief through the lens:
How covering the Columbine shooting altered a photojournalist’s relationship to the camera
For the past 25 years, Tom Fildey has struggled whenever he has had to take a photo of a stranger.
Fildey was an intern for Evergreen Newspapers — which published the Columbine Community Courier, the area’s local newspaper — when the Columbine High School attack occurred in 1999. He was only 19, but was called on by editors to help cover the story. His job: take photos.
Story by
Rylee Dunn & Ellis Arnold
An impact America ‘can’t underestimate’: How news coverage of the Columbine school shooting created myths and martyrs
Nearly 25 years after a mass shooting plunged Columbine High School into the national consciousness, a former principal and two current teachers sat down for interviews with news reporters ahead of the tragedy’s anniversary.
Media Day, organized by the Jefferson County School District as a way to shield teachers and students from a barrage of reporters, offered them a chance to reflect on where journalists went wrong in covering the shooting.
Story by
Scott Gilbert
For editor, Columbine attack still reverberates through years
Scott Gilbert was a copy editor at the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, and as he watched the helicopters race toward Columbine, he knew that he should expect to be called in early for his night shift at the newspaper.
Story by
Elisabeth Slay
Columbine and columbines:
Mother, daughter reflect on impact of April 20, 1999
In her home in Parker, Cindy Woodman gazed at trinkets that people sent to her daughter, Crystal Woodman Miller, following the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School. On the walls and a large wooden bookshelf — surrounding the ornaments, small sculptures and decorative boxes — paintings showcase columbine flowers.
Story by
Elisabeth Slay
A Day of Service:
Columbine teacher assists with reshaping narrative
Every day Jeffrey Garkow frequents the halls of his alma mater.
Garkow graduated from Columbine High School in 2006 and now works there as a social studies teacher.
He is one of the first people to help reshape how the school honors the 13 lives taken on April 20, 1999.
Story by
Michael de Yoanna
What Columbine taught our newsroom
Several of the journalists in our newsroom worked to understand, and in some cases, unravel, the narratives woven into the fabric of our community since the Columbine High School shooting 25 years ago. Along with the stories, our journalists came away with a tapestry of lessons that embrace the transformation and resilience those closest to Columbine embody.
IN MEMORIAM
