Shooting incident hits home for OSU community

Described as a “tight-knit,” low-key suburb of Denver by one Ohio State student, Littleton, Colo., was the focus of a nation in disbelief Tuesday after two students blitzed through their school firing machine guns and setting off explosives. Reports said 13 people from Columbine High School are dead after an apparent suicide mission by the two students believed to be members of an outcast clique called the “Trenchcoat Mafia.” Michael Ahr, a junior wildlife management major who’s family lives in Littleton, graduated from Arapahoe High School, which is about 15 minutes away, in 1996. He described Littleton as a typical suburb with a population of about 40,000 located only a stone’s throw away from the mountains. “It was real surprising because I heard the news right away,” he said. “I just hoped for the best.” Ahr said once he determined it was a bigger problem than he originally estimated, he called his family to check on them. He also said that because the community is so close, this incident will stick with residents for a long time. “It’s going to take time to heal,” Ahr said. Lynne M. Borden, assistant professor in human and community resource development and extension specialist of 4-H youth development, also said it appeared a peaceful community. “It’s a suburban community much like Westerville or Dublin,” she said. “It is tragedy for everyone.” Borden was formerly a school teacher and consultant in Littleton. Students at OSU also expressed their concerns about the high school shooting. “It’s really upsetting and disturbing,” said Karla Patterson, a junior medical dietetics major. “But anything can happen anywhere.” Jon Jones, a junior industrial systems engineering major, said that parents, availability of guns and social pressures are all partly responsible for the accident. Littleton may appear unsafe to the public, but Ahr said there was never anything like the “Trenchcoat Mafia” at his school. He said he had never heard the term “Trenchcoat Mafia” used, but there were some “shady characters” at Columbine he heard of that were not labeled through extended groups of friends.

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