I hate to admit this, but I take too little comfort in the heroics of Kendrick Castillo, who took down one of the STEM shooters at the cost of his life.
Castillo, a genuine hero, an only child whose father said he wished Kendrick had hidden instead of lunging at the shooter, had only three days of classes left before graduation. For his act of heroism, for his selflessness, for his wish to save others, he was shot and killed. Someone’s child. Someone’s friend. Everyone’s hero and not, apparently, the only hero at STEM.
It breaks my heart, but I don’t need my heart broken. I need — we all need — something more to be done.
We are grateful for people like Castillo, but we must remember, most of all, that he should never have had to die. And a STEM parent should never have had to think, as he told Indy reporter Alex Burness, that the shooting was “inevitable.”
If it was inevitable, it shouldn’t have been. And that’s where we find ourselves. Again. Mourning a brave young man who should be alive and looking forward to a bright future.
Read the full column at Colorado Independent.