BAILEY, Colo. - The gunman who took six girls hostage in a high school
classroom, killing one of his captives and himself, began the takeover by
ordering students to line up at the chalk board as he tapped each with his gun
and told them to stay or go, a student in the classroom said Thursday.
Cassidy Grigg, 16, said the man walked in, fired a warning shot at the floor
and ordered the students to line up. He told some to leave and others - all
girls - to stay.
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Platte Canyon High School student were reunited with parents
and family after being evacuated from the school near Bailey, Colo., on
Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2006. A middle-aged gunman walked into the high
school of this mountain town Wednesday, shot and critically wounded a
student and then killed himself after SWAT team members entered the
building, authorities said. [AP]
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"You could tell that he wanted the females," Cassidy said on NBC's "Today"
Thursday. "He tapped me on the shoulder and he told me to leave the room. I told
him, 'I don't want to leave.'"
"He told me that if I didn't go then he would pretty much kill me," Cassidy
told ABC's "Good Morning America." "I noticed that he wanted to keep the females
in the class. That's the main reason why I didn't want to go because I'm sure
the girls would have felt more support if there would have been some males in
the class with them."
No one recognized the man, who seemed to be dressed as a student, Cassidy
said.
"He was just an old guy who came on a mission, and I think he got what he
wanted," he told "Today."
The high school in this tiny mountain town was closed Thursday, a day after
the mysterious gunman held the girls for hours before fatally wounding one and
then killing himself as authorities stormed in.
"We are a community in mourning," schools superintendent Jim Walpole said.
"Our thoughts, our prayers are with our students, staff and their families.
Especially the family of the student we lost."
The victim was identified by acquaintances and a co-worker as 16-year-old
Emily Keyes, shown in a yearbook photo as a smiling blonde who played volleyball
and was on the debate team at Platte Canyon High School. She was pronounced dead
at a Denver hospital after Wednesday's standoff, which reminded many people of
the 1999 massacre at Columbine High, less than an hour's drive away.
Grigg described Emily as one of his first friends when he moved to the area
in 6th grade.
"She was always sweet," he told "Today." "She was just friendly. She was just
a good person in general."
There was no known link between Keyes and the gunman, who was not identified
by authorities. Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener, who had a son in the school as
the drama unfolded, was at a loss to explain a motive.
"I don't know why he wanted to do this," Wegener said, his voice breaking.
The gunman claimed he had explosives in a backpack and was wielding a
handgun, authorities said. He released four hostages one by one, then abruptly
cut off communication with authorities and set a deadline that forced
authorities to act.
Wegener wouldn't say what the man threatened to do.
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