Junior Emily Keyes was in English class when the gunman burst in.
At St. Anthony Central Hospital on Wednesday night, a friend recalled their last conversation.
“I saw her earlier in the day before we went into class,” 16-year-old Jessica Leedom said. “Emily had just said she was having a bad day. She had a problem with people at school. She wasn’t getting along with certain people.”
Keyes was pronounced dead at 4:32 p.m., 20 minutes after the medical helicopter landed. Police say the gunman shot her before killing himself.
Leedom said she was in algebra in a classroom next to the English class where the gunman took hostages. She said she had noticed a man pacing in a hallway. A teacher called out “code white” over the intercom system, and the classroom went into lockdown.
She heard what sounded like a balloon pop, but she knew it was a gunshot. The other students in her classroom huddled in a corner while her teacher tried to keep the window in the door covered.
“As soon as a cop came in and told us a gunman was next door, everyone started crying,” Leedom said.
After the students were evacuated from the school, Leedom and about 10 other classmates rushed to St. Anthony, where they waited in the emergency area with Emily’s parents, John Michael and Ellen, and Emily’s twin brother, Casey.
Casey had been in Denver for a field trip Wednesday and wasn’t at the school.
Emily, Leedom said, was involved in speech but was a quiet girl outside of the speech team. She liked hanging out with her brother, and she liked playing video games, Leedom said.
“She has never done anything to anybody to deserve this,” she added. “She is a beautiful girl.”
Sisters Jessy and Jamie Badaracco were at a community service in Bailey on Wednesday night and spoke about their friend.
“She was a very sweet person,” said sophomore Jessy, who played volleyball with Keyes.
Senior Jamie said she and Keyes talked about boys, friends and college – “you know, the things girls talk about.”
Their mother Michelle Badaracco, also knew Emily.
“She always had a smile on her face,” she recalled. “She seemed to be a very happy kid.”
Neighbor David Bauer said Emily’s mother called to tell him she had been killed.
“She had a lot of friends at school,” he said. “I’m sure it’s going to have a big impact.”
Bauer and Emily’s father had worked together as computer programers. John Keyes recently started his own company.
The Keyeses are a well-known family who are involved in school activities, Bauer said. Emily was a very friendly girl, he said.
“She’s a very sweet young lady,” he said. “It’s extremely unfortunate that a wonderful girl’s life was cut short.”
Staff writer Kieran Nicholson contributed to this report.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
