About 30 people from Columbine High School and the Littleton, Colorado, community gathered June 9 to unveil Columbine High’s new library, built to commemorate the 13 victims—their loved ones and friends—who died in an attack at the school on April 20, 1999, ten of whom died in the library.
Dozens were also injured in the attack, which was carried out by two students who committed suicide before they could be captured.
A specially created foundation called the Healing of People Everywhere (HOPE) raised $3.1 million to build the new 13,900-square-foot library on the west side of the school; the actual site of the former library, which students avoided after the attack, was replaced with a two-story glass atrium.
The new library has large windows facing the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It was opened to students last month, a couple of weeks before the end of the school year, the Associated Press reported June 10. “Never mistake that it’s just stone and mortar,” said Dawn Anna, whose daughter, Lauren Townsend, was one of those killed. “It’s so much more than that.”
Posted June 18, 2001.