LITTLETON, Colo., April 20 -- As many as 25 people are believed to be dead after two young gunmen on an apparent suicide mission opened fire in a suburban Denver high school, shattering the quiet of a spring day just one month before graduation. Two suspects are believed to be among the victims. The gruesome shooting spree started just after 11:30 a.m. MDT at Columbine High School. Terrified students ran for cover as the gunmen carried out a rapid-fire rampage in the school of 1,800 students a few miles southwest of Denver. The gunmen, wearing black trenchcoats and masks, started shooting as they approached the school. At least one student was shot outside the school, but most of the carnage took place in corridors, classrooms and in the library. Senior Nick Klaus, 18, said the gunmen were throwing bombs as they walked into the school and through the corridors randomly firing their weapons, but saying nothing. Sgt. Steve Davis of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department says the number of fatalities is still unconfirmed. He told reporters, 'Earlier the sheriff was talking ahout upwards of 25 fatalities. The investigators...hope that number is high, but it certainly could go that high.' He said it's unknown whether the victims are students, faculty or a mixture of both. Davis said, 'It's such a tremendous crime scene that it's going to take hours if not days for our investigators to go through the crime scene, so it may be some time before the bodies are removed.'
Sheriff John Stone said it appears the gunmen were on a suicide mission. He said the suspects were students at Columbine and may have been part of a group known as the 'Trenchcoat Mafia.' Dozens of SWAT team members worked the area outside and the building's interior looking for more victims and other possible suspects, as well as unexploded bombs. At least 18 people were taken to area hospitals, some in critical condition. A doctor at Swedish Medical Center said one girl underwent surgery on nine chest wounds, which turned out to be from shrapnel, presumably from explosives set off by the gunmen. She is now in serious condition. A third youth who was believed to have been a friend of the suspects was taken into custody for questioning. The sheriff also said explosives were found around the school and at the home of one of the suspects. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents were at the scene with literally hundreds of law officers from a variety of agencies. More than four hours after the first shots were heard, SWAT team members cautiously led students, teachers and staff members -- all with arms stretched over their heads -- out the doors to safety. Each student was checked for weapons before SWAT team members allowed them to drop their hands and gather at a safe spot outside the building to wait for police vehicles to shuttle them to safety. At least four victims were taken to Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, six others to Littleton Adventist Hospital and four to St. Anthony's Hospital in Denver. Four others were under treatment at Denver Health Medical Center. Student Kathy Park told CNN she was in the library when she heard noises coming from downstairs, then a 'girl came up screaming like, 'Somebody's got a gun.'' A 10th-grader said he heard gunmen say, 'they were gonna kill all the jocks at the school,' seconds before one of them held a gun to his head. A student identifying himself as Aaron Cahon told KOA radio that he believes the gunmen may belong to a group in the school known as the 'Trenchcoat Mafia.' He said group members 'think they're God.' Another student said she begged for her life. 'He laughed and said he was doing it because people were mean to him last year.' In a dramatic rescue, a fire truck crept through a school parking lot to shield fleeing students. Ambulances remained in front of the school to transport more victims. Students huddled against an outside wall as police cruisers shuttled them off school grounds to a nearby elementary school being used as a rendevous point. Area streets were gridlocked with traffic as horrified parents and friends tried to get near the school in hopes of learning the fate of loved ones, many of whom embraced in emotional reunions. Others waited in tears. In Washington, President Clinton delayed the start of a scheduled address on the world economy at the White House to get a further update on the situation in Littleton. He began the address by calling it 'a terrible shooting,' and adding: 'I hope the American people will be praying for the students, the parents and the teachers.' Gov. Bill Owens and his wife, Frances, spent time with parents and students at nearby Leawood Elementary School, a designated rendevous point for students and parents. Owens said, 'I think I'm going to go home and see (his) kids,' teens who are not Columbine students but attend public school in the Denver area. 'We'll actually try to teach them something from this and have them learn from it, that there are bad people in the world and occasionally good people get hurt by bad people.' Owens refused to discuss new concealed weapons legislation moving through the Republican-controlled Colorado Assembly. Owens generally supports gun rights. ---
Copyright 1999 by United Press International. All rights reserved. ---
