Columbine victim’s sneakers forge a path for his father 25 years later
LITTLETON, Colo. (KDVR) — Usually they’re safely stored in the back of Tom Mauser’s closet. But anytime he talks publicly about his son, he dons the gray sneakers Daniel Mauser, 15, was wearing when he was killed at Columbine High School 25 years ago.
“And it took a little while, but it started occurring to me, well, that’s very symbolic. I wear his shoes, I’m walking in Daniel’s shoes. This is how I honor him. Especially when I got these shoes, the ones he was wearing on April 20. To me it was inspiring, it was enabling. It was a spiritual thing, you know,” Mauser told FOX31.
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Mauser has dedicated the last 25 years to fighting for gun reform, and he successfully helped pass a ballot measure requiring background checks for all gun buyers at gun shows, closing a loophole that helped a friend of the Columbine gunmen get some of the weapons used in the attack.
“You know, we’ve seen a number of bills pass, but you know, none of those bills take guns away from people who are law-abiding citizens,” Mauser said.
‘These events continue to happen, and our officers need to be trained’
Jeffco Public Schools, Columbine’s home school district, has a modern and high-tech focus on school safety, with the opening of the Frank DeAngelis Community Safety Center. It’s named for the school’s principal at the time of the shooting. Located inside an old elementary school converted into a training facility, the building has been used by more than 200 agencies who have come for active shooter training.
“It gives me a lot of pride. I wish the building did not exist because of the event that happened at Columbine. But these events continue to happen, and our officers need to be trained,” DeAngelis told FOX31.
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The center is a nonprofit that operates with the help of donations. In the five years it’s been in operation, the center has trained 170,000 people.
“I think (with) Columbine, and being the only district with three school shootings, I think we were forced into becoming that gold standard. I think our community deserves to know that we are doing some things above and beyond just the general expectations around school safety to keep our kids safe,” said Jeff Pierson, executive director of the Jeffco Public Schools Department of School Safety.
It is a major investment to try and ensure no father like Mauser ever has to walk in his child’s shoes again.
“I’m doing this for Daniel. I can get through this,” Mauser said.
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