20th Anniversary of Columbine Shooting

Growing up in Northern Colorado in the 90’s, I spent most of my time outside on my bike or playing near train tracks. As I got older, I realized how many tragedies took place throughout Colorado during that time. From the JonBenet Ramsey murder to the brutal hate crime upon Matthew Shepard  despite the hate crime happening in Wyoming, he was taken to Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins to the devastating shooting at Columbine that claimed 13 victims; it is evident many people in Colorado were no stranger to tragedy. This year the 20^th anniversary of the columbine shooting will be on April 20^th. With Colorado always being a marijuana friendly state, in 1998 several young adults were more than likely preparing to “celebrate” smoking with their friends, however, in Columbine, a “celebration” was the last word someone would use to describe that particular day. Stated by Paula Reed, a teacher and survivor of columbine in regard to how school shootings affect her, “The years after Columbine have been rough, and she says each subsequent mass shooting has affected Reed differently. She says that not every shooting triggers her. But the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School was hard. The Las Vegas shooting was hard, too.”

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