At Columbine, pain lingers

Johnny Lee remembers hearing gunshots at Columbine High School as he hid in his middle school across the street.

Andrea Colburn had transferred out of Columbine shortly before the shooting.

On Monday, they joined about 1,000 others in Littleton, a Denver suburb, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the worst high school shooting in American history. Twelve students and one teacher were killed by two teenage gunmen on April 20, 1999. After a four-hour siege, the pair took their own lives.

Lee, 22, has avoided many of the regular Columbine memorials but couldn’t ignore this one. “It’s the emotions that get you,” he said. “But today I was just laying in bed and figured I should go pay my respects.”

Colburn, 27, had also dodged commemorative gatherings until Monday. “A lot of people I know were doing the same thing, hoping it’ll go away,” she said. But “it’s just time for everybody to get back together. Everybody’s married with kids now.”

The incident is etched on this state’s consciousness. Many cars still sport memorial license plates featuring a columbine, the state flower. Newspapers and TV stations continue to produce features about prominent figures in the tragedy. A memorial to the 13 victims, dedicated in 2007, draws regular visitors.

On Monday, the state marked the anniversary by lowering flags to half-staff. The Legislature played a memorial video and passed a resolution commending the school for overcoming the tragedy.

Principal Frank DeAngelis, who remains at Columbine, says in the video: “We will forever remember our beloved 13 who lost their lives, and the many others who were injured. We must pay homage to them by making the world a better place to live.”

On the steps of the State Capitol, gun-control advocates gathered to warn that stricter gun regulations passed after the massacre are being unraveled. They noted that the Legislature is considering exempting gun-show buyers from background-check requirements, which passed in 2000 in the wake of the shooting.

The two young gunmen, Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, brought an arsenal to school that day, including sawed-off shotguns and pipe bombs. Some of their victims bled to death as police officers surrounded the school but did not enter.

For years, locals have complained that the shooters garnered too much media attention. Oprah Winfrey canceled her 10th anniversary show on the violence, saying it focused too much on the killers.

On Monday, mourners concentrated on the victims.

At the memorial in Clement Park, beneath snow-covered foothills of the Rocky Mountains, DeAngelis read the names of the 13 victims. A white dove was released for each one.

Dawn Anna, whose daughter, Lauren Townsend, was killed in the massacre, marveled at the passage of time. “Could it really have been 10 years?” she asked the crowd. “It seems like yesterday. It seems like forever.”

She recalled how in the days after the shooting, people would approach her and other grieving parents and tell them how they were honoring the dead. She called for a renewal of that spirit: “Let us recommit to being a better parent, a better partner and a better person,” she said.

Speakers also hoped that, over time, the world would see their community as more than a synonym for violence and terror. The school’s music director, Lee Andres, summed up that spirit:

“It is my hope that someday, the word Columbine will no longer be used as a metaphor for a terrible tragedy, but as a symbol for hope.”

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nicholas.riccardi@latimes.com