Rachel Joy Scott

110 Years After Hitler's Birthday

Rachel was the first of thirteen people to be shot; twelve students and one teacher. She was shot four times while eating lunch outside with a friend, Richard Castaldo. Richard was shot eight times and became permanently paralyzed from the waist down.

Finally, after many hours of wreaking havoc on Columbine, the two shooters, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, committed suicide, raising the number of deaths to fifteen. At least 24 people were seriously injured.

A couple days after the shooting, Rachel's 1988 Acura Legend coupé was still left in the parking lot where she had parked it on April 20, 1999. Friends, classmates, family members, and colleagues brought flowers, letters, and teddy bears. A chain-link fence was put around the car so they could add even more stuff. Witnesses say that you could barely see Rachel's car over the amount of stuff that had been piled on top. One of the people who came to shower the car with flowers was Rachel's then sixteen-year-old brother, Craig Scott. He was in the library when the shooting began and survived unharmed. 

Rachel Joy Scott was buried at the Chapel Hill Cemetery on April 24, 1999, after a two-hour service at the Trinity Christian Center. It was attended by more than 1,000 people, including friends, family, and staff who worked at Columbine.

"What has happened to us as a people that this should happen to us?" Reverend Porter began. He also went on to speak about Rachel's kind, giving, and religious outlooks on life.

"You have graduated early from this life to a far better one, where there is no sorrow, violence, or death," he said. Friends from the Orchard Road Christian Church Youth Group sang a song composed in her honor, titled: "Why Did You Have To Leave?"

Friends and family were also invited to speak at the ceremony and share their memories of Rachel. In the background as memories and stories were being told, the song, "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion played.

"All my life I prayed that someone would love me and make me feel wanted. God sent me an angel," one student at Columbine who had been thought of as an outcast said, while staring at her coffin and weeping.

"A truer friend you couldn't find. You could be having the worst day of your entire life; all she had to do was smile," said Nick Baumgart, who accompanied Rachel to prom three days before the shooting.

Rachel's family decided not to speak at the service, but released a statement where they described their daughter as "a girl whose love for life was constantly reflected in her love and zeal for music, drama, photography, and for her friends."

The mourners were also invited to come up and write little messages to Rachel on the clean, white coffin. It was described by an observer as an "achingly beautiful calligraphy of grief." Most of the messages said something like "I'll see you in heaven."

Rachel's funeral service was broadcast live on CNN, and more people watched it than the funeral service for Princess Diana. Her mom said that Rachel would've been proud.