Life Story: Cassie Bernall (1981–1999) and Rachel Scott (1981–1999)

Cassie René Bernall was born on November 6, 1981, in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. She grew up in a white evangelical Christian home with her parents, Misty and Brad, and her younger brother Chris.

Cassie liked spending time outdoors. She loved to swim and go on bike rides with her dad. She also enjoyed fishing and rock climbing. 

As a teenager, Cassie went through a difficult emotional time. She started smoking, drinking alcohol, and taking drugs. When she was 15 years old, her mother found letters between her and her best friend in which they talked about murdering their teachers and parents. In response, Cassie’s parents transferred her to a Christian private school.

Over the next few months, Cassie was very upset with her parents. She was not allowed to see her friends and only spoke to them over the phone. When they talked, she expressed her anger at her parents. She wrote about her struggles in poems, which often included suicidal thoughts. 

Cassie eventually found support and new friends at her church, where her parents made her attend youth group meetings. In 1997, she attended a church summer camp. There she committed herself to a life free of drugs and alcohol, considering herself a born-again Christian. That fall, she transferred to Columbine High School, a local public school. 

At Columbine, Cassie did well in her classes. She developed an interest in photography and loved reading Shakespeare. 

Rachel Joy Scott was born on August 5, 1981, in Denver, Colorado. Her parents were Darrell and Beth, and she had two older and two younger siblings. Like Cassie, Rachel grew up in a white devout evangelical Christian home. Darrell Scott was the pastor of their church in Lakewood, Colorado, in addition to his full-time job in sales. 

As a child, Rachel enjoyed photography and poetry. She was outgoing and friendly, often looking out for the well-being of others. Rachel attended Columbine High School from her freshman year. She earned good grades and was active in the drama club. Outside of school, she was a member of three Christian churches. She dreamed of becoming a writer, actress, or Christian missionary.

Her devotion to her religion did affect her social life. While she was well-liked at school, Rachel avoided parties because she worried that she would not be able to resist drinking alcohol. She had a boyfriend for a while but broke up with him when she was concerned it would lead to sex. 

Cassie and Rachel grew up in a thriving Christian pop culture scene. Christian rock grew out of a response to 1950s rock music and 1970s hippie culture, which the church considered to be too sinful and dangerous for teenagers. By the 1990s, the rise of conservative evangelical Christianity had created a large audience for Christian music and entertainment. Religious parents felt comfortable having their teenagers listen to Christian pop music and attend concerts, events, and conferences that promoted Christian values.

Rachel and Cassie both attended Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. At 11:19 a.m., two male students, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, arrived at the school carrying guns, knives, and explosives. Rachel had lunch outside with her friend Richard. Cassie was in the library. Dylan and Eric killed twelve students and one teacher, including Cassie and Rachel.

When the shooting at Columbine High School occurred, it shocked the nation. This was the deadliest school shooting at the time.

In the aftermath, the American public was desperate to find an explanation for the horrific attack. It sparked a moral panic about teen culture. Parents feared that easy access to media, especially through the internet, encouraged teenagers to commit such terrible crimes. The media blamed violence in video games, music, and movies. Many parents of teenagers closely monitored and restricted the media content their children consumed out of fear that they would commit violent acts. Despite these fears, academic studies have not shown clear links between violent media and crime.

Dylan and Eric attacked their victims randomly. But a popular narrative emerged in conservative media outlets who claimed that Rachel and Cassie died because of their Christianity. One story said of Cassie that Eric asked her if she believed in God, and he shot her when she responded yes. A similar story spread about Rachel. The parents of the two girls promoted these stories about their daughters, and they stressed how important their religion was to them. Christian books, magazines, films, and songs portrayed the two girls as Christian martyrs for their faith. They were presented in contrast to Dylan and Eric, who the mainstream media portrayed as evil and influenced by the very behaviors Cassie and Rachel avoided.

Investigators have proven that the stories about Cassie and Rachel declaring their faith at the time of their death and being specifically targeted are not true. But they were such powerful narratives that they overshadowed the real story. As the nation grappled with understanding Columbine, they placed values and meaning onto two 17-year-old girls. Cassie and Rachel never intended or expected to become nationally known overnight. In death, they had no power or control over how their stories were told.

Tragically, school shootings have become more frequent in the United States since Columbine. While some schools implemented lockdown drills and other preventive measures immediately following the shooting at Columbine, such precautions did not become common in schools and workplaces until over a decade later.

• born-again (Christian): A person who becomes an evangelical Christian after a religious experience.
• evangelical: A form of Christianity that focuses on the importance of the Bible and a personal belief in Christ.
• martyr: A person who dies for their religious or political beliefs and is admired by others for it.
• missionary: A person who travels to another country to spread Christianity.