Columbine: The Brave, the Faithful, and the Innocent

[Odinson]

WASHINGTON D.C.
The White House
April 20, 1999
1:27 P.M. EST

Al Gore was sitting in a secluded corner of the White House Library. He was reading a book about the redwood forests that dotted the West Coast, including the Muir Woods that were just on the other side of San Francisco's famous Golden Gate Bridge. He read about how there use to be two-million acres of old growth redwoods along the United States's West Coast before the logging companies moved in. Muir Wood National Monument was established by President Theodore Roosevelt and named after naturalist John Muir. It had been decades since Al had been among the giant redwood trees. He went with his mother and father as part of a family trip. He didn't remember much, as he was young, but he did remember seeing a tree that had twice the diameter of his bedroom. He also remembered his father driving their family car through one of the massive trees.

There were a series of short, steady knocks on one of the doors that went into the library. Al sighed - he had asked to not be disturbed for forty-five minutes. The President's Chief of Staff stepped in. He looked to his right and then his left and saw the President.
"I suppose you're not here to check out a book, are you?" Al asked. He knew he wouldn't be able to finish the chapter he was on, so he closed the blook.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, Mister President. There is a ongoing shooting at a high school in Colorado with multiple gunmen, it's going to break on TV any minute. This could be very serious," he stated matter-of-factly. Duncan waited for direction from his boss.

"Alright, let's go watch in the Oval Study. I'll be right behind you," the President said with a sigh, not yet realizing the gravity of the situation. Duncan left the same way he came in. Al put the book he was reading back on the appropriate shelf and walked out of the library. He didn't make eye contact with the Secret Service agent who was waiting outside for him.
"Phoenix is on the move," Agent West, the head of the President's detail, softly said into the microphone that was hidden under his right shirt sleeve. Al walked mostly in silence down the center hall of the White House's ground floor. He occasionally saw another person slip into a room and join others who were watching television. Everything was eerily quiet. The President walked outside to the West Wing, through the Oval Office, and then to the lesser-known Oval Office Study that is located directly next to the President's official office. Inside was a smaller desk, a leather chair, a couple of comfortable lounge chairs with ottomans, and a television. Duncan was sitting on one of the chairs and promptly stood up when the President entered the room.
"That's alright, sit down," Al said as he joined Duncan. He took off his jacket and rested it on the leather chair in front of his other desk.

The two men watched as CNN returned from a break probably a minute or so earlier than expected - Al could tell because the broadcaster will still staring into oblivion as he listened to his producer feed information to him. A few more seconds passed by before he remembered they were live and stared into the camera. The banner next to the CNN logo at the bottom of the screen simply said BREAKING NEWS. Just as the anchor began to speak, it transitioned to SCHOOL SHOOTING IN LITTLETON, COLORADO.

"CNN has breaking news out of Littleton, Colorado. There is an ongoing shooting at Columbine Highschool. Local police have already arrived at the school en masse and are forming a perimeter. We're going to Sam White who's on the ground at Columbine - Sam, what's going on?"

The screen transitioned to a man in his early forties who was broadcasting not far from the entrance of the school. In this distance behind him, high school students could be seen running for their lives from the building. "Mark, the word on the ground is that there are at least two shooters inside the school. We have heard explosions as well as dozens of gunshots. Shots came out from the school to police on the other side of the building - we're not sure if anyone was hit here on the outside. This is still a developing scene, Mark. Ambulances and medical personnel have arrived, but they can't get to anyone inside until police have cleared the building. Some students running out of the school said that there are many dead and injured inside."

"This is going to be bigger than what happened in Oregon," Duncan said, referencing a school shooting that had happened earlier in the year. "I wonder what they meant by 'explosives,'" he asked as Al stood up and grabbed his jacket.
"Do you think we could get this in the Oval?" the President asked as he opened the door to the room.
"Yes sir, we'll set it up on the mobile," he said, in reference to one of the televisions they had on a movable TV-stand. The President walked in to the Oval Office and sat behind the resolute desk. He removed a few sheets of paper from one of the drawers and uncapped the pen in his jacket so that he could start writing his planned remarks.

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President Gore had only been standing behind the door to the press briefing room for ten or so seconds. The Press Secretary had been going over questions about the shooting in Colorado for the past half hour. In reality, the White House probably only had a little more information than local leaders. The President had time to prepare his remarks and speak to some officials in regards to what had happened. The Press Secretary's assistant gave her a subtle nod. She finished answering a question and then stated, "Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States."

The reporters seated in the press pool stood up as the door to the press room opened. President Gore walked in and was carrying a black leather portfolio which had the seal of his office impressed into it, and it contained his remarks.

"Good afternoon, please take your seats," he said as he opened the portfolio.

"Mary and I are deeply saddened by this tragedy that took place this morning... Two students at Columbine Highschool in Littleton, Colorado undertook a mass shooting against their classmates and teachers before turning their guns on themselves. I've been told that they targeted student athletes, Christians, and minorities. Over a dozen are confirmed dead and at least two dozen more have been seriously wounded. I've spoken with Governor Owens, the Director of the FBI, and the Principle of Columbine High...

"Events like this call the sanity of our society into question. The utter madness, and evil, it must take to do something like this is not comprehendible. We may ask ourselves, momentarily, if there is any good left in the world? I've asked myself this question all afternoon. It wasn't until I spoke to local leaders that I found the answer to that question. A teacher, Dave Sanders, drug injured students to safety and kept others away from danger. He died protecting his students. I was also told of two janitors, and other staff, who put themselves in the line of fire to get students to safety and to distract the gunmen. Some of the students helped hide their fellow classmates or lead them to safety, and I was told that some even used their own bodies as shields for others. Seventeen year-old Rachel Scott was among the first victims... She was shot several times and in her final moments was asked if she believed in God... Staring down the barrel of a gun she defiantly answered, 'You know I do'.... There's countless more stories like this - the amount of good embodied by the students and teachers in Columbine must be like a blinding beacon of light to the few corners of darkness there. Saint Peter's Gates are wide open today - the brave, the faithful, and the innocent are walking in together, bringing even more light to the high reaches of heaven.

"I've instructed the Director of the FBI and the Secretary of Education to begin an immediate investigation into why this happened and what we can do in the future to prevent tragedies like this. While we take time to learn more and to mourn the devastating loss of innocent life, I ask that you remember the distinct heroism of so many young people, teachers, and staff at Columbine. We will follow their example and do everything we can to preserve life and prevent such tragedies in the future. Please join me in a moment of silence.............................. May God bless the victims and their families, and may God bless the United States of America."