Cassie René Bernall

Posted December 8, 2001 11:28 AM

CASSIE RENÉ BERNALL was a young woman of seventeen years who was reborn after struggling with her family and the occult in the past. She was born in Littleton, Colorado, on November 6th, 1981 to Misty and Brad Bernall. Her brother Chris is two years younger, and like normal siblings, they fought, but were very close. She enjoyed climbing, fishing, and reading, and practiced being the overall Good Samaritan.

Tuesday, April 20th, 1999, was just like any other day for “Cass,” who was like any other teenage girl. When Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold stormed into the school, the next few hours were a nightmare. Influenced by Gothic practices, witchcraft, and negligent parents, the two of them spent their last moments on a shooting spree throughout the building.

Cassie walked into the library to work on some homework, like any day. Crystal, a friend of Cassie, recalls:

"Sara, Seth, and I had just gone over to the library to study, like any other day. We had been there maybe five minutes, when a teacher came running in, yelling that there were kids with guns in the hall. At first we were like, “It’s a joke, a senior prank.” Seth said, “Relax, it’s just paintballs.” Then were heard shots, first down the hall, then coming closer and closer. Mrs. Nielson was yelling at us to get under the tables, but no one listened. Then a kid came in and dropped to the floor. There was blood all over his shoulder. We got under our table, fast. Mrs. Nielson was at the phone by now, calling 911. Seth was holding me in his arms, with his hand on my head, because I was shaking so badly, and Sara was huddled under there with us too, holding onto my legs. Then Eric and Dylan came int
the library, shooting and saying things like, “We’ve been waiting to do this our whole lives,” and cheering after each shot."

"I had no idea who they were – I only found out their names afterward – but their voices sounded scary, evil. At the same time they seemed so happy, like they were playing a game and getting a good kick out of it. Then they came up to our table and knocked a chair over. It hit my arm, and then it hit Sara on the head. They were right above us. I could hardly breathe, I was so scared. Then they suddenly left the room, probably to reload. It seemed like they had run out of ammunition. That’s when we ran for it. We dashed out a side door of the library, an emergency exit, and made it just before they came back in."

Crystal lost track of Cassie once the shooters had entered the room, and there are few versions of what she was doing. Some students say she was under her desk praying, and some say she remained seated. Josh, a sophomore, did not see her but will always remember what he heard:

"I couldn’t see anything when those guys came up to Cassie, but I could recognize her voice. I could hear everything like it was right next to me. One of them asked her if she believed in God. She paused, like she didn’t know what she was going to answer, and then she said yes. She must have been scared, but her voice didn’t sound shaky. It was strong. Then they asked her why, though they didn’t give her a chance to respond. They just blew her away."

Josh wonders whether or not she was visibly praying. He says he does not think they would just pop the question on someone who was not:

"They were talking the whole time. They went over to Isaiah and taunted him. They called him a nigger before they killed him. Then they started laughing and cheering. It was all just a big game for them…."

An investigator who knew Cassie instantly when he walked into the room explains:

"Cassie had been shot in the head at very close range. In fact, the bullet wound indicated the muzzle was touching her skin. She may have put her hand up to protect herself, because the tip of her finger was blown away, but she couldn’t have had time to do more. That blast took her instantly."

In the end, one teacher and fifteen students from Columbine High School were no more than cold, lifeless matter, only alive in the memories of their loved ones.

According to the kids in Cassie’s youth group, there were also other selfless acts of bravery that day:

"In one classroom, a teacher pulled out the light bulbs to darken the room to trick the shooters into thinking it was empty. One boy threw himself on top of his sister to protect her from the gunfire and take the bullets himself. Another grabbed a bomb and tossed it clear of a group of students, even though he was wounded himself. Dave Sanders, a teacher, stood in the hallway as the gunmen approached, blocking oncoming students and urging them to run the other way to safety. Minutes later he was shot, and by the time the rescue squad got to him, he had bled to death."

Before composing this report, I read She Said Yes by Misty Bernall, Cassie’s mother. I also used a number of web pages for miscellaneous bits of information, including dates, locations, and pictures.