School Recalls Shootings in Somber Rites

On a balmy spring day much like the one last year, the students and staff of Columbine High remembered their slain classmates and teacher Thursday--and attempted amid the cameras and microphones to privately mark the first anniversary of one of the nation’s worst school shootings.

Church bells throughout Denver tolled 13 times at 11:21 a.m., a year to the minute that distress calls began to flood from the school in suburban Littleton, Colo. Inside, two teenagers rampaged through the halls, tossing bombs, shooting and in the end killing 12 students and one teacher. They finally turned their guns on themselves.

Gov. Bill Owens ordered all flags to be lowered to half-staff Thursday, called for a statewide minute of silence and led a memorial on the steps of the state Capitol. It was just one of scores of services that marked the anniversary that many had dreaded for weeks.

Meanwhile, a flurry of lawsuits were filed late Wednesday, rushing to beat a one-year deadline for taking legal action against peace officers. Fifteen families of victims filed suits against the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, alleging negligence. Later deadlines loom for suits against government agencies and others.

Two of the lawsuits were sharply critical of the actions of law enforcement officers and charged that their response--or lack of it--led to the death of a student and a teacher. The family of Daniel Rohrbough charged that the 15-year-old was killed by a sheriff’s bullet as he lay wounded on the sidewalk in front of the school. The daughter of teacher Dave Sanders alleged in her suit that inaction by authorities allowed Sanders to bleed to death.

Although school officials had feared potential violence on the Columbine anniversary, no problems were reported. Schools were closed in nearby Aurora, as were some in New Mexico, New Hampshire and Wisconsin because of threats.

The biggest concern here was the flood of memories unleashed by the weeklong focus on the massacre, which has made Littleton synonymous with youthful violence. Many students and families chose to leave town rather than face the reminders. Attendance at Columbine has been off by one-third all week.

No classes were held Thursday, and attendance at a morning assembly was optional. About 1,000 students, staff and alumni attended, school officials said. Counselors at Columbine on Thursday said some of the students returned to the place in the school where they were when the shooting began.

At an afternoon service at a park next to Columbine, a crowd of about 2,500 sat in the sun and listened to music and speeches. Principal Frank DeAngelis tearfully began by reading the names of the 13 dead.

Emphasizing that the school had grown stronger as a result of the shootings, DeAngelis said: “The Columbine community has been chosen to make the world a better place.”

Teacher Patti Nielson, who made the widely broadcast frantic 911 call from the school library, told of huddling in a cupboard for hours. She spoke of survivor’s guilt and anger.

“I want to make today the day that I let go of the anger and give myself permission to be happy again,” she said.

The lawsuits had been expected and were the result of a court order Monday that allowed the families access to investigative information held closely by the Sheriff’s Department.

Included in the material were hundreds of hours of unedited 911 tapes and police and fire department radio calls, video from helicopters, school surveillance tapes and a draft of the sheriff’s report. The completed version is expected to be released next month.

Based on that information, families and their lawyers constructed their own accounts of the day’s events--which contrasted with the official version. The delay in getting medical aid to Sanders was, according to one lawsuit, “shocking, unconscionable and inexcusable.”

Sanders was the last person in the school to get medical attention. He bled to death as his students attempted for hours to staunch the flow of blood from his wounds. Teenagers had hung a sign in the window of the science classroom saying: “1 BLEEDING TO DEATH.”

Angela Sanders’ suit alleges that a police sharpshooter positioned on the roof of a nearby house had Dylan Klebold in the cross hairs of his scope but was not given permission to fire. The suit also charges that those trapped in the school repeatedly were instructed to remain inside, even though there were several safe escape routes.

The Sheriff’s Department has denied that any of the injured or dead were hit by police gunfire and has defended the tactics of the SWAT teams.

Sheriff John Stone, who is the target of a recall petition over his handling of the shootings, would not comment on the lawsuits. However, Stone was quoted in the Denver Post as calling the allegations “totally outrageous.”

Attorneys representing Sanders and the Rohrbough family would not comment Thursday.