As news spirals this week about potential school shootings and threats to our kids’ safety, people across the country are reflecting back on some of the most painful mass shooting anniversaries in recent U.S. history.
Earlier this week was the 16-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting that robbed 35 lives in Blacksburg, Virginia on April 16, 2007. And today is the 24-year anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colorado on April 20, 1999.
13 people were killed in the massacre that day.
Growing up in Colorado myself, I’ve known about the devastation and memory of the shooting since I was five years old. I’ve competed in sporting events at Columbine High School, and I’ve even had teachers who were at the school on April 20, 1999 — the day of the shooting.
I first learned about Rachel Scott when I was a sophomore in high school. Her story and her legacy is so incredible that I’ve kept it with me for years since first hearing it.