In the years since Columbine, police have been called out for mishandling the situation (per All That’s Interesting). The response was inadequate, and it is believed to have caused at least one death — that of Dave Sanders, a teacher who bled out. Moreover, some parents were not even notified about their child’s death. According to CNN, it took five hours after Harris’ and Klebold’s suicide for authorities to announce that the situation was under control. Needless to say, the students who did survive were left with both physical and emotional trauma.
Per All That’s Interesting, several survivors noted that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were laughing as they shot at people. In 2019, Missy Mendo, a survivor who was a freshman at the time of the shooting, told CBS News that she was still dealing with insomnia as a result of the massacre. Mendo also said that she’s heavily triggered anytime another school shooting occurs.
The Denver Post writes that survivor Evan Todd was asked by Harris and Klebold why they shouldn’t kill him. He replied with, “Look, I’ve been good to you and everyone in this school, and you know it.” They let him go. Several survivors, including Lauren Cartaya, have described that sending their kids to school sends them into a panic (via NPR). Ultimately, the consensus from all survivors is the same — despite it being over two decades since Columbine, they are still dealing with its aftermath.
