Sunday, April 20, 2008

Today in History: April 20

  • 1786 French engineer Marc Séguin born; invented the wire-cable suspension bridge; built the first one over the Rhône River.
  • 1893 American actor Harold Lloyd born; Safety Last! (1923), Girl Shy (1924), The Freshman (1925), Speedy (1928), Feet First (1930), The Cat's-Paw (1934).
  • 1999 Two crazy students massacre 13 people and wound many at the "gun-free zone" of Columbine High School, near Denver, Colorado. The crazies murder 10 people and wound 12 during the ten minutes *after* police arrive on the scene. Eleven minutes after police arrive, the final victim is murdered. Twelve minutes after police arrive on scene, Jefferson County SWAT arrives. Twenty five minutes after police arrive, Denver Metro SWAT arrives. Twenty eight minutes after police arrive, SWAT, which is already on scene, is given authorization to enter the school. Forty one minutes after police arrive, the crazies are still wandering around shooting. Forty two minutes after police arrive, the first SWAT team enters the school. Approximately forty three minutes after police arrive, the crazies commit suicide by themselves. Fifty three minutes after police arrive, a young man who had come through a nearby park to help police, with a .22 rifle, is disarmed at gunpoint. One hour seven minutes after police arrive, SWAT is moving toward the west side of the school. Two hours fifty one minutes after police arrive, a SWAT member sees a sign in a window, "1 BLEEDING TO DEATH". Approximately four hours after police arrive, the 10 murdered in the school library are found, along with numerous wounded and bleeding. Five hours and twenty one minutes after police arrive, the school is declared "safe", again.
Yesterday | Tomorrow

No comments:

Post a Comment

We reserve the right to delete comments, but the failure to delete any particular comment should not be interpreted as an endorsement thereof.

In general, we expect comments to be relevant to the story, or to a prior comment that is relevant; and we expect some minimal level of civility. Defining that line is inherently subjective, so try to stay clear of insulting remarks. If you respond to a comment that is later deleted, we may take your response with it. Deleting your comment isn't a personal knock on you, so don't take it as such.

We allow a variety of ways for commenters to identify themselves; those who choose not to do so should take extra care. Absent any prior context in which they may be understood, ironic comments may be misinterpreted. Once you've earned a reputation for contributing to a conversation, we are likely to be more tolerant in those gray areas, as we'll understand where you're coming from.