A little more than a week ago, a nation mourned the anniversary of the shooting in Littleton, Colo.

Friday, April 28, 2000

A little more than a week ago, a nation mourned the anniversary of the shooting in Littleton, Colo., that took the lives of 12 students and a teacher.

Now, anyone with $25 can see a copy of the aftermath of the shootings on videotape.

The video, prepared originally as a training tape for firefighters who must deal with large-scale emergencies like the April 1999 Columbine tragedy, has now been made available to the general public.

It contains pictures of the library where most of the students died as well as other views of rooms disturbed by fleeing students and teachers.

There is no question that the scene is disturbing – no matter who is watching. Imagine how tough it must have been for the parents of the students who died in that library to not only view the tape, but to know that others would see it, too.

And that is the unnecessarily horrible part of this story.

The tape, which has an added music track, is being sold to anyone who wants a copy. That is sad. No matter where the profits from the sales go, every time that video is played, the families will suffer, as will the entire Littleton community.

The prosecutor said he had no choice, that the tape was now a matter of public record because so many had asked for a copy. He said he had no choice but to make it available to everyone.

There are lessons to be learned from the Columbine tragedy, but they do not need to be taught with a videotape of the crime scene. The faces and stories from the massacre should make even more of an impact than the blood stains and yellow cards marking the locations of the bodies of the students who were gunned down in their high school.

There was no need to release a for-purchase version of this tape. In fact, the decision was remarkably callous. But now that it has been released, the best way to show respect and compassion for the Littleton families and victims is for the nation to keep its money in its pocket.