Columbine massacre still haunts survivors

COLUMBINE, Colo., April 13 (UPI) -- The shooting rampage at Columbine High School in Colorado that left 12 students and a teacher dead a decade ago still haunts some survivors, a doctor says.

Dr. Frank Ochberg, a former FBI psychiatrist who helped coordinate counseling efforts following the April 20, 1999, tragedy, compared the incident to the battle of Gettysburg that turned the tide of the Civil War, ABC News reported Monday.

"There were relatively few who were right at the heart of (the shootings) and were direct post-traumatic stress syndrome candidates," Ochberg said. "But there were relatively many for whom Columbine was their Gettysburg.

"It changed them, and if they were young, they grew up fast. Within that group, some are better and some are worse."

Retired chemistry teacher Kent Friesen told ABC News he still has issues related to the massacre perpetrated by students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who also wounded 23 people before concluding their shooting spree at the Denver-area school by killing themselves.

"A gun and holster is the worst one for me," the 58-year-old said of the April 20, 1999, incident's fallout. "But you live with it. You learn to cope."