The Calls for Help

Transcripts of emergency telephone calls made by a Columbine High School teacher known only as Peggy in the library area and from a female student. Some portions were unintelligible.

Peggy: Yes, I’m a teacher at Columbine High School and there is a student here with a gun. He just shot out a window. I believe, um, I’m at Columbine High School. I don’t know what’s in my shoulder. If it was just some glass. I don’t know what’s going on.

Dispatcher: Has anyone been injured, ma’am?

Peggy: I am, yes! Im sort of in a panic and I’m in the library. I’ve got students down. Kids, under the table! My kids are screamingunder the table, kids!and my teachers are trying to take control of things. We need police here.

Dispatcher: OK, OK, we’re getting them. Who is the student, ma’am?

Peggy: I don’t know who the student is. I saw a student outside .... I said, what was going on out there. (Talking to students) I don’t think that’s a really good idea. (Back to dispatcher) And we were waiting to see what was going on. He turned the gun straight at us and shot and, my God, the window went out, and the kid standing there with me, I think he got hit.

Dispatcher: OK, we got help on the way, ma’am.

Peggy: Oh God! Oh God! Kids, just stay down. Do we know where he’s at? I’m in the library. He’s upstairs. He’s right outside of here. He’s outside this hall. There are lines of people ... Kids, just stay down! Do we know where he’s at? He’s outside in the hall. There’s alarms and things going off and smoke. (Yelling): My God, smoke is coming into this room! I’ve got the kids under a table. I don’t know what’s happening in the rest of the building. Shouldn’t someone else be calling 911?

Dispatcher: Yes, we have a lot of people on. I need you to stay on the line with me. We need to know what’s going on.

Peggy: I am on the floor.

Dispatcher: You’ve got the kids there?

Peggy: I’ve got every student in this library on the floor. (Yelling): You guys just stay on the floor!

Dispatcher: Is there any way you can lock the doors?

Peggy: Um, smoke is coming in from out there and I’m a little ... My God, it’s ... (Sounds: Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!)

My God, the gun is right outside my door. OK, I don’t think I’m going to go out there. We’re not going to go to the door. I’ve got the kids on the floor. I got all of the kids in the library on the floor.

Dispatcher: We have paramedics and we have fire and we have police en route.

Dispatcher: Columbine Senior High School. There’s been a shooting. There’s a female in the south parking lot. OK, I’m sorry, can you tell me where she is?

Student: She’s in the south parking lot on the lower parking lot.

Dispatcher: She’s in the parking lot, the lower one?

Student: Right, toward the east end of that parking lot .... I just saw everyone running. I just saw the smoke.

Dispatcher: OK. We had a report of explosions down there. Is there a car fire or anything?

Student: People are saying there’s a gun.

Dispatcher: Do you know if anyone was carrying a weapon out there?

Student: There’s, like, smoke going off in the parking lot right now. There are loud noises. I’m not sure exactly. A cop is pulling up.

Dispatcher: Can you direct them?

Student: No, but they’re going in the right direction. People are running out of the school like mad right now.

Dispatcher: Where is the female ... is she still in that south parking lot?

Student: I can’t see her anymore. I ran to the phone.

Dispatcher: Can you see anything else?

Student: A lot of people are at the front of the parking lot and they’re running out.

Dispatcher: When the kids came out of the school, which direction were they going?

Student: They went down towards the street.

Dispatcher: What part is this? Is it, like, the gym area, the cafeteria or just classrooms?

Student: They’re coming from, like, the commons, the lunch area right now.

Dispatcher: The commons area?

Student: Everyone’s running and I’m still standing here.

Dispatcher: You’re out of the way of danger, aren’t you?

Student: I believe so, I don’t know.

Dispatcher: Do you mind if I keep you on the phone here so you can tell me if anything else is going on there?

Student: I think the fire alarm is going off right now. Yeah, the fire alarm is going off.