Columbine Principal Still Feels Effects Of Shootings
DeAngelis Says This May Be His Last Year At The School
Columbine High School Principal Frank DeAngelis
has found that the words he said two years ago still hold true: things will never
go back to normal.
Columbine Parents' Reaction To Investigation Documents
Friday is the two-year anniversary of the April 20, 1999 shootings that left 23 people injured and 15 dead, including gunmen Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who took their own lives.
DeAngelis, 46, is unsure whether he will remain at Columbine
after the 2001-02 school year, when students who were freshmen
during the shootings will graduate.
"It's been very difficult on my children and my wife, my mom
and dad," said DeAngelis, who has coached, taught and been an
administrator at Columbine for 22 years. "I have to look at if
staying at Columbine is in the best interest of my family."
DeAngelis still cringes when he hears the starter's pistol at a
track meet, a balloon burst or a helicopter hovering overhead.
School administrators still meet monthly with new faculty to
discuss issues related to the April 20, 1999, shootings. A recent
meeting focused on the anniversary coming up this Friday.
Counselors and mental-health workers have periodically
advised the staff about how to help students and each other cope,
DeAngelis said.
"A counselor or a mental-health worker told me, `Frank, the
thing you need to remember is that it's not a sprint, it's a
marathon,"' DeAngelis said. "I wasn't going to wake up one
morning, or people were not going to wake up one morning, and say,
`Jeez, everything's back to normal."'
DeAngelis is also among the defendants in suits filed by victims'
families, who have claimed that several people knew or should have known
about the gunmen's plans but failed to prevent the shootings.
Previous Stories:
Columbine Parents' Reaction To Investigation Documents
THE POLICE INTERVIEW TAPES
- April 13, 2001: Columbine Interviews Released, Grand Jury Requested
- April 12, 2001: Officials Deny Columbine Cover Up
- April 11, 2001: Newly Released Columbine Documents Spark Criticism
- April 9, 2001: Records Show Deputies Wanted To Investigate Columbine Shooter
- April 2, 2001: No School On Columbine Anniversary
- March 28, 2001: Columbine Families Want Quiet Anniversary
Copyright 2007 by TheDenverChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.








