William “Dave” Sanders
On April 20th, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold terrorized their school, Columbine High School, by opening fire on students and staff after their placed bombs failed to detonate. Before the two perpetrators committed suicide nearly an hour after starting their attack, they killed 12 students and one teacher, and left 24 injured.
The death toll likely would have been much higher if it weren’t for William “Dave” Sanders, a teacher at the school that realized before many others that this was not a senior prank. He ran through the cafeteria (above) to warn students to run and hide before the two could find them. This proved beneficial because the cafeteria was their main target.
As Sanders ran out of the cafeteria to warn other students, he ran into Klebold and Harris in the hallway, where he was shot twice and died before first responders were able to reach him. He was the only teacher killed that day.
