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(CBS)
The true cost of the April 20 bloody
massacre at Columbine High School may
never be fully known. Among the victims
were young people who had aspirations
ranging from the religious to the
athletic.
Here is a look at those who died in the
tragedy.
Cassie
Bernall: Occasional Poet
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Cassie
Bernall, a junior, was an occasional poet
and a Mel Gibson fan. Her favorite movie
was Braveheart. Two years ago, she
became a born-again Christian and became
active in church youth programs and Bible
study groups. She recently visited Great
Britain.
The New York Times reports that,
during the massacre on April 20, one of
the gunmen cornered her in the school
library and asked her if she believed in
God. After a pause, Cassie answered
deliberately: "Yes, I believe in
God." She was then shot.
At her funeral, her minister hailed her
as a martyr.
Matthew
Kechter: Ace Football Player
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Matthew
Kechter, 16, a junior, was a straight-A
student and a football standout. He had
hoped to start for the football team. He
also lifted weights.
Matt was shot in library after he tried
to reach friends hiding in an adjacent
video room.
Daniel
Mauser: Just Back From Paris
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Daniel
Mauser, 15, was a sophomore who excelled
in math and science, earning straight A's
on his last report card.
Daniel ran cross-country and was a member
of the debate team.
He recently returned from a two-week trip
to Paris with his French club.
William
'Dave' Sanders: Teacher And Coach
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William "Dave"
Sanders, 47, was a popular business
teacher and the coach of the girls'
basketball team. Sanders was very popular
with the girls with whom he worked. They
say he was a wonderful person who taught
them not only about sports, but about
life as well.
Sanders, a grandfather of five, was shot
twice in the chest and mortally wounded
while hustling students to safety in the
cafeteria. Though the students tried
desperately to stop his bleeding with no
medical supplies on hand, they were
unable to do so.
Gently, they say, they pulled out his
wallet and held it open so some of his
last sights would be the picture of his
wife and daughters. His dying request: "Tell
my girls I love them."
Rachel
Scott: Drama Student
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Rachel
Scott, 17, a junior, loved drama and was
considering following in the footsteps of
her grandfather, a minister. She was on
the forensics team at Columbine High. She
played lead in a student-written school
play, Smoke in the Room. She was
active in Celebration Christian
Fellowship church. She liked photography.
"Rachel was vivacious, the center
of attention wherever she was at,"
says her grieving father. "She
was on the drama team. She had a starring
role in her high school play. She
had a lot of aspirations to be a drama
writer or an actress. And we're just
going to miss her."
Rachel's stepbrother, Craig Scott, 16,
was in the library and survived the
massacre only because he played dead in a
friend's pool of blood. He later helped
lead blood-spattered and frightened
classmates to safety.
Isaiah
Shoels: Music Lover
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Isaiah
Shoels, 18, loved music and spending time
in the outdoors.
Isaiah dreamed of becoming a music
executive. He had suffered health
problems as a child and had heart surgery
twice. Due to graduate in May, Isaiah
wanted to attend an arts college and
become a music executive.
He was small in stature, but he lifted
weights (he could bench-press twice his
weight), played football and wrestled.
"My son, Isaiah, was a very
outgoing student," said his
father, Michael Shoels. "He was
everybody's friend. He had no enemies
He was that kid that everybody
wanted to be."
John
Tomlin: 'A Great Kid'
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John
Robert Tomlin appeared to have life
figured out at age 16. The sophomore was
a focused but cheerful youth who managed
to mix teen-age fun with a mature sense
of purpose.
John liked to go four-wheeling in his
beat-up Chevy pickup down roller coaster
dirt roads in the nearby Rocky Mountains.
But he also worked after school at a
local tree nursery and belonged to a
church youth group.
Last year, he went on a missionary trip
to Mexico with family and built a house
for poor people. Two years from now,
Tomlin planned to enlist in the Army.
"He was a great kid, really
happy, going to school, getting good
grades," said his father, John
Tomlin. "He knew what he wanted
to do. He had everything planned."
Lauren
Townsend: Volleyball Captain
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Lauren
Townsend, 18, was a senior, captain of
the girls' varsity volleyball team. Other
players said she was "consumed"
by the sport. A member of the National
Honor Society, she wanted to major in
biology in college. Her mother is a
teacher at Columbine High School.
Lauren was to have been the valedictorian
in May at her class graduation ceremony.
Daniel
Rohrbough: "A Good Guy"
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Daniel
Rohrbough was quiet and shy. His friends
say he was a good guy.
In fact, he was such a good guy that he
held the door open so his classmates
could flee the scene of the massacre. He
was shot in the back and died calling for
his mother.
Corey
DePooter: Sportsman
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Corey
DePooter, 17, was a former wrestler who
loved to golf, hunt and fish. He recently
took a maintenance job at a golf club to
save up for a fishing boat with a friend.
He was such a conscientious student that,
when he had his wisdom teeth removed this
year, he was frustrated that it forced
him to miss school.
Kelly
Fleming: Artist
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Kelly
wrote poetry, songs, and short stories.
She was learning to play the guitar and
was eager to get her driver's license.
Kyle
Velasquez: Sincerity And Heart
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Kyle
Velasquez |
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Kyle,
16, was in Columbine High School's
program for students with special needs.
A neighbor said at his funeral, "Special
was indeed the name for Kyle,"
calling him a boy of "simple
sincerity and genuine heart."
He enjoyed helping his parents with the
lawnwork and gardening, and he often
helped his father with such other chores
as washing the family car.
One of the last purchases Kyle made was a
glass vase, to hold flowers for his
mother.
Steven
Curnow: Star Wars
Fan
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Steven
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Steven,
14, was a freshman who was such a big fan
of the Star Wars movies that he
could recite their dialogue word for
word.
And, like many other boys before him, he
dreamed of becoming a U.S. Navy "top
gun."
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