Colorado's tragic legacy of mass shootings/bombings

Monday's tragedy in the Arvada business district in Colorado which left three people dead is the latest of a stunning history of mass killings in that state.

Colorado is home to the notorious April 20, 1999 Columbine High School tragedy when two students perpetrated a failed mass bombing intended to blow their school off the face of the planet. When two massive bombs planted in the school's cafeteria failed to detonate, these killers moved into active shooter mode. They murdered 12 students and one teacher, wounded more than 20 others, and tossed handheld incendiary devices while firing hundreds of rounds of bullets. They then turned their guns on themselves.

Presently, Colorado ranks sixth highest in the nation for public mass shootings.

Authorities report that one of the people killed in Arvada, a "Samaritan," lost his life trying to stop the shooter and that his actions prevented what could have been a higher death count. Prior to Monday's tragedy in Arvada, the Denver Post published research summarizing Colorado's deadly growing legacy (see above).

As the WVPI has previously reported, "Columbine" has served as the inspiration for countless other deadly attacks in Colorado, across the country, and world-wide.

Columbine "copycats" were responsible for such tragedies as the December 2012 assault at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut which left 28 people dead, mostly first grade children, and the October 2018 massacre at the Kerch Polytechnic College in the Ukraine where 20 people were shot dead and 70 others wounded. Others were injured at Kerch by similar handheld explosives to those detonated at Columbine. Like the Columbine killers, both shooters committed suicide on scene.

SOURCES:

https://www.denverpost.com/2021/06/22/olde-town-arvada-shooting-samaritan/?utm_email=5449646E3466742F5430852738&g2i_eui=tuNj9na9EgoPoEX7gQH6vhMiGA1rlyKUZ4mpdJCU7aV%2bEjkZyWocNOr1grSebXsp&g2i_source=newsletter&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=https%3a%2f%2fwww.denverpost.com%2f2021%2f06%2f22%2folde-town-arvada-shooting-samaritan%2f&utm_campaign=denver-evening-post&utm_content=automated

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/03/23/boulder-shooting-colorado-mass-shootings-include-aurora-columbine/4796081001/