'An incredible, helpless agony': Sue Klebold, Columbine shooter's mother, on living with legacy of tragedy
CBC Radio | Posted: February 15, 2016 12:48 PM | Last Updated: February 17, 2016
Warning: this interview contains disturbing material.
Columbine. The name of the school has come to symbolize a moment of mindless murder and overpowering sorrow. On April 20, 1999, two 17-year-old boys, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold brought shotguns and automatic weapons to their school in Littleton, Colo.
At the end of their rampage, 15 people were dead: 12 students, one teacher and the two gunmen, by self-inflicted gunshots.
Loving someone is not enough to keep them safe if their thoughts are broken. - Sue Klebold
For the past 17 years, Sue Klebold, Dylan Klebold's mother, has lived with the grief and shame of what her son did on that horrific day. She has racked her mind to comprehend how the kind, young son she loved could carry out such a despicable crime.
And, she's finally began to talk about her journey in a new book, A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy. Profits from the book will be donated to research and charitable organizations focusing on mental health issues.
This segment was produced by The Current's Howard Goldenthal.