Rachel Scott

Rachel Scott
Scott in 1997
Born
Rachel Joy Scott

(1981-08-05)August 5, 1981
DiedApril 20, 1999(1999-04-20) (aged 17)
Cause of deathGunshot wounds[2]
Burial placeChapel Hill Memorial Gardens, Centennial, Colorado, U.S.[3]
Occupations
Signature

Rachel Joy Scott (August 5, 1981 – April 20, 1999) was an American student who was the first fatality of the Columbine High School massacre, during which 11 other students and a teacher were also murdered by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who then committed suicide.

Scott has been revered by groups of evangelical Christians as a Christian martyr. She posthumously was the subject and co-writer of several books, and also was the inspiration for Rachel's Challenge, an international[4][5] school outreach program and the most popular school assembly program in the U.S.[6] The aim of Rachel's Challenge is to advocate Scott's values, based on her life, her journals, and the contents of a two-page essay, penned a month before her murder, entitled My Ethics; My Codes of Life.[7] This essay advocates her belief in compassion being "the greatest form of love humans have to offer".[8]

  1. ^ "2010 CENSUS – CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Columbine CDP, CO Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine" U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on April 25, 2015. 1990 U.S. Census maps: index and pages 30 and 35. The school's location is on Pierce Street, which runs north-south through Columbine, roughly one mile west of the Littleton city limit. See also: "Littleton Zip Codes". City of Littleton. Retrieved July 16, 2024. Zip Code 80123 Area in City Limits Partially.
  2. ^ Dobersen, Michael J. (May 18, 1999). "Opinions". Autopsy Report – Scott, Rachel. Colorado: Jefferson County Coroner's Office. p. 2. Archived from the original on October 2, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  3. ^ "Rachel Joy Scott". billiongraves.com. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  4. ^ "'Rachel's Challenge' promotes little acts of kindness among Calgary kids". globalnews.ca. May 15, 2014. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  5. ^ "Sharing her pain to help stop bullying". royalgazette.com. February 4, 2016. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  6. ^ "Speaker challenges for positive impact". The Wahkiakum County Eagle. January 17, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  7. ^ "Father remembers Columbine victim". Today show. NBC. April 20, 2009. Archived from the original (video) on April 24, 2009. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
  8. ^ "Rachel's Story: Darrell Scott brings his daughter's memory to the Shoals". Times Daily. September 15, 2001. Retrieved August 25, 2016.