DENVER-
Invoking Colorado’s own school tragedy at Columbine eight years ago, Gov. Bill Ritter on Thursday asked the state to join a nationwide bell-ringing and moment of silence for the victims of the shooting rampage at Virginia Tech.
The observance will be at 10 a.m. MDT Friday.
“We experienced a terrible tragedy at Columbine High School,” Ritter said. “The people of Colorado will stand in solemn silence on the anniversary of that dreadful day with the people of Virginia as they grieve.”
Columbine students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shot 13 people to death before taking their own lives on April 20, 1999. On Monday, Cho Seung-Hui shot 32 people to death and committed suicide at the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Va.
Ritter said he would make brief remarks just before the observance at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver. First lady Jeannie Ritter will attend a bell-ringing ceremony at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Fort Collins.
Ritter said he told Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine on Thursday “we will support him and all Virginians in any way possible. We will do everything we can to share advice, expertise, guidance and comfort.”
Ritter urged places of worship across the state to toll their bells or chimes at the designated hour Friday. He has ordered the Colorado flag to be flown at half-staff at state facilities until 5 p.m. Sunday.
