Story of the students and the teacher that were killed:
Cassie Rene Bernall:
It is believed that student Cassie Bernall was murdered because she answered the killers infamous question of "Do you believe in God?" with a strong, passionate yes. 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. But she wasn't always a faithful Christian. For a time in her early teenage years, Cassie and her friend, stated in the book She Said Yes as Cassie's friend named "Mona", got caught up in satanic ideas and wanted to kill themselves, as well as their parents and family. Cassie started struggling with her image and battling her personal demons. She started sneaking out late at night, drinking, and experimenting with drugs.Because of her destructive ways, her mother, Misty Bernall, moved the family to a different area, discontinued Cassie's contact with Mona, and started making Cassie go to a Christian youth group. But positive changes came out of it. She found a way to appreciate and care for herself, find healthy hobbies, love her family more, and find a belief to guide her through her life. She was a big supporter of her Christian faith and wether she was even question by the duo, and if so responded, her story influenced many young adults and parents around the world. Cassie was laid to rest in Golden Cemetery in Golden, Colorado
Steven Robert Curnow, 14 years old:
Steven was the youngest one that died in the shooting. He was in the library under a small table with a computer near survivor Kacey Ruegsegger. The shooters shot him in the neck with a sawed-off gun. Steven always wanted to be a Navy top gun pilot, loved soccer and Star Wars. He also enjoyed refereeing a soccer team while his dad coached it. 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. Steve was buried in Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado.
Corey Tyler DePooter, 17 years old:
Corey was under a table near a window in the library with his best friend Stephen "Austin" Eubanks and surviving victim Jennifer
Doyle. He died in the library from multiple gunshot wounds to the neck, chest and left arm. Corey's hobbies were wrestling, fishing, hiking, hunting, golfing, and in-line skating. He had taken a maintenance job at a golf club to save up to buy a fishing boat with a friend. Because he always wanted to be in the Marines, in honor of that desire, at his funeral he was named an honorary Marine. His funeral was held at Trinity Christian Center.
Kelly Ann Fleming, 16 years old:
Kelly was hiding beside a table with other girls who she had been sitting with: Lisa Kreutz, Jeanna Park, Diwata Perez, Valeen Schnurr, and Lauren Townsend. At one point Dylan Klebold fired under the table, injuring Val and Lisa. He fired his gun again, killing Lauren. Both gunmen reloaded their weapons and taunted Val, asking her if she believed in God. The shooters then moved away from Kelly's table, moving to another table where they shot Nicole Nowlen and killed John Tomlin before coming back to the girls's table. Coming up from behind, he shot Kelly in the back with his sawed-off shotgun. Kelly had always been a shy person, until about two months before the shooting when she came home and told her mother that she wasn't shy anymore. She was also a very creative girl that loved Halloween. Her hobbies were songwriting, writing her auto-biography, reading books (especially about vampires), and entering writing contests. Her body was laid to rest at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.
It is believed that student Cassie Bernall was murdered because she answered the killers infamous question of "Do you believe in God?" with a strong, passionate yes. 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. But she wasn't always a faithful Christian. For a time in her early teenage years, Cassie and her friend, stated in the book She Said Yes as Cassie's friend named "Mona", got caught up in satanic ideas and wanted to kill themselves, as well as their parents and family. Cassie started struggling with her image and battling her personal demons. She started sneaking out late at night, drinking, and experimenting with drugs.Because of her destructive ways, her mother, Misty Bernall, moved the family to a different area, discontinued Cassie's contact with Mona, and started making Cassie go to a Christian youth group. But positive changes came out of it. She found a way to appreciate and care for herself, find healthy hobbies, love her family more, and find a belief to guide her through her life. She was a big supporter of her Christian faith and wether she was even question by the duo, and if so responded, her story influenced many young adults and parents around the world. Cassie was laid to rest in Golden Cemetery in Golden, Colorado
Steven Robert Curnow, 14 years old:
Steven was the youngest one that died in the shooting. He was in the library under a small table with a computer near survivor Kacey Ruegsegger. The shooters shot him in the neck with a sawed-off gun. Steven always wanted to be a Navy top gun pilot, loved soccer and Star Wars. He also enjoyed refereeing a soccer team while his dad coached it. 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. Steve was buried in Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado.
Corey Tyler DePooter, 17 years old:
Corey was under a table near a window in the library with his best friend Stephen "Austin" Eubanks and surviving victim Jennifer
Doyle. He died in the library from multiple gunshot wounds to the neck, chest and left arm. Corey's hobbies were wrestling, fishing, hiking, hunting, golfing, and in-line skating. He had taken a maintenance job at a golf club to save up to buy a fishing boat with a friend. Because he always wanted to be in the Marines, in honor of that desire, at his funeral he was named an honorary Marine. His funeral was held at Trinity Christian Center.
Kelly Ann Fleming, 16 years old:
Kelly was hiding beside a table with other girls who she had been sitting with: Lisa Kreutz, Jeanna Park, Diwata Perez, Valeen Schnurr, and Lauren Townsend. At one point Dylan Klebold fired under the table, injuring Val and Lisa. He fired his gun again, killing Lauren. Both gunmen reloaded their weapons and taunted Val, asking her if she believed in God. The shooters then moved away from Kelly's table, moving to another table where they shot Nicole Nowlen and killed John Tomlin before coming back to the girls's table. Coming up from behind, he shot Kelly in the back with his sawed-off shotgun. Kelly had always been a shy person, until about two months before the shooting when she came home and told her mother that she wasn't shy anymore. She was also a very creative girl that loved Halloween. Her hobbies were songwriting, writing her auto-biography, reading books (especially about vampires), and entering writing contests. Her body was laid to rest at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.
Anne Marie Hochhalter explains her experience and injury from the shooting:
Returning Columbine students as teachers in the high school:
Injured student Mark Taylor interviewed:
Rachel's Challenge: a program started in honor of victim Rachel Scott
Columbine in social media:
Music:
Television:
- Underground rap artist Ill Bill released an album which includes the song "The Anatomy of a School Shooting".
- Christian rock band Superchick wrote the song "Hero", referencing to school bullying and a boy coming to school with a gun. The song is about spreading kindness to prevent suicide and murder.
- Christian ska band Five Iron Frenzy wrote a song called "A New Hope" about what happened at Columbine. The band is from Denver CO and band member Micah Ortega's sister was one of the students trapped in the choir room during the massacre.
- Members of KMFDM, one of the bands to which Harris and Klebold were avid fans, had formed a group called MDFMK and wrote a song called "Witch Hunt".
- The massacre inspired Finnish symphonic metal group Nightwish to write "The Kinslayer" for their Wishmaster album (1999). The song references the victims (9 men, 4 women) and shooters and contains a conversation between Nightwish singer Tarja Turunen and guest singer Ike Vil that are supposed to be a conversation between one of the killers and one of his victims.
- Underground Rapper Denace (also knowing as "Nasty" ) wrote the song "Change The Road" inspired by the massacre. The song tells the story of two the killers both from different worlds but both commit the crime due to being bullied.
- Rapper Eminem references the massacre in his 2000 album The Marshall Mathers LP, in songs "Remember Me?", "I'm Back", and "The Way I Am".
- Napoleon referenced it at the end of a Outlawz song "The Good Die Young" on Still I Rise, not to be confused with the D12 song released on D12 World approximately 5 years later.
- In 2000 the Insane Clown Posse and fellow label mates Twiztid wrote the song "Bad Rep" for side project Dark Lotus.
- Singer-songwriter David M. Bailey wrote and recorded a song, "One More Day", which discusses the shootings.
- In 2004, shots of surveillance footage of the Columbine shooting spree appeared in the music video for "Alert Status Red" by Matthew Good.
- Filter's 2002 album, The Amalgamut, is social commentary with one song "Columind" displaying a portrayal of the Columbine shooting.
- Contemporary Christian Musician Michael W. Smith released This Is Your Time in 1999, which was inspired by the Columbine massacre; especially the title track "This is Your Time", which is about the mistaken belief that Cassie Bernall was asked if she believed in God.
- Christian songwriter and artist, Brad Richardson wrote "A Colorado Columbine" featured on the Lullaby for Columbine CD released in 1999. The song was inspired by a blanket of snow that fell on the morning after the Columbine shooting. The song evokes a spirit of cleansing and
hope in the aftermath of America's deadliest school shootings. - Nu-metal band Limp Bizkit made reference to the Columbine shooting in their song "Head for the Barricade".
- The band The Calling has a song called "One By One" was inspired by many school shootings, including The Columbine Massacre.
- The band Flyleaf has a song entitled "Cassie", which is about the mistaken belief that Cassie Bernall was asked if she believed in God.
- The band Korn has a song about a bullied teenager who dreams of killing his tormentors called "Thoughtless" on the 2002 album Untouchables.
- Frank Ticheli visited the school after the massacre, and wrote an alma mater for the school after discovering that the school did not have one. The song was later self-quoted in "An American Elegy", a piece written for band.
- Marilyn Manson put out an entire record that incorporated reflections concerning the shooting of Columbine: Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death). It was the band's first album since the Columbine High School massacre. The album focuses on America's celebrity culture, its obsession with guns and its fascination with death and martyrdom, and especially the fame - driven by the national media - which violent death can bring. Songs such as "Disposable Teens" and "The Fight Song" were directly written about the Columbine incident. The slower, thought-provoking "The Nobodies" concluded the work.
- A song called "Leave Me Alone" by goth band The Crüxshadows was remixed as the "Leave Me Alone (Shaft 20/20 Mix)" to incorporate audio clips from the anti-goth segment of the ABC newsmagazine show 20/20 that aired the day after the shooting.
- The band Pitchshifter has a song entitled "As Seen On TV".
- Alice Cooper's Brutal Planet album, released in 2000, includes a song "Wicked Young Man" which explicitly refers to the Columbine massacre.
- In the Chumbawamba song, "Everything You Know Is Wrong", the lead character (the song is from the point of view of the man in the background of conspiracies) makes reference to both Columbine and the two semi-associated events, the Waco Siege and the Oklahoma City bombing.
- The Chumbawamba song "We Don't Want to Sing Along", was based on the Columbine incident with the protagonist first learning how to make a bomb in an internet chat-room and is abandoned by a friend who dismisses the idea of action.
- In the song "Loyal To the Game (Remix)" on the Tupac album Loyal To the Game, rapper DJ Quik refers to the event.
- The Game mentions the massacre on the G-Unit remix of the song “Hate It Or Love It” on 50 Cent's album The Massacre.
- Columbine students Jonathan and Stephen Cohen wrote a song called “Friend Of Mine (Columbine)”, which briefly received airplay in the US after being performed at a memorial service broadcast on nationwide television. The song was pressed to CD, with the proceeds benefiting families affected by the massacre, and over 10,000 copies were ordered. Shortly following the release of the CD single, the
song was also featured on the Lullaby for Columbine CD. - The video for Montgomery Gentry's song “You Do Your Thing” contains a few brief clips of Columbine High School during the massacre.
- Amanda Palmer, one half of The Dresden Dolls, performed "Strength Through Music" during the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It is a song about Columbine. “Strength Through Music” is on her first solo CD Who Killed Amanda Palmer, and she also did a music video version of it shot in Lexington High School, Massachusetts, her alma mater. The video has a spoken mode-setting preface.
- In 2008's Ice Cube's "Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It" video, clips of Columbine can be seen.
- The song "Teenagers" by the band My Chemical Romance is partly based upon school shootings and teen violence.
- Michale Graves' song "Nobody Thinks About Me" makes many references to Columbine.
- The song "Ready To Die" by Andrew W.K. is about orchestrated and "revenge" shootings.
- SITD's song "Laughingstock" largely refers to Columbine.
- Mindless Self Indulgence make reference to Columbine in their song "Mastermind" from their 2008 album, If.
- P.O.D in their song “Youth of the Nation”, was inspired by the Columbine and Santana school shooting.
- Swedish punk band "Atlas Losing Grip" reference the shooting in their 2008 song "All In Vain" off their Shut The World Out album. In the last half of the song the clip of Patti Nielson's 911 call can be heard in the background of the music and the song ends with a gunshot.
- French black metal band "Nocturnal Depression" recorded a song entitled "Bonus (Hidden Track)" dedicated to the tragedy on their album Soundtrack for a Suicide - Opus II.
- American hip-hop artist Tyler, the Creator makes a reference to the shootings as well as the Virginia Tech massacre in his song “Yonkers”.
- Rapper Nicki Minaj makes a reference to the shootings in her song “Roman Reloaded” featuring Lil Wayne.
- American band Foster the People arguably referenced the Columbine Massacre in the song “Pumped Up Kicks”.
- Rapper Krizz Kaliko most recently made a reference to the shooting in the song "Created a Monster" on his 2012 album Kickin' and Screamin'.
Television: