Survivors of the Columbine massacre and local law enforcement officials expressed mixed feelings following Sue Klebold’s Friday night interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC.
The Colorado attorney general’s office on Twitter called the episode of “20/20” “irresponsible” and “inflammatory.”
“Shooter’s mom doesn’t get it,” the tweet read. “Decision to talk now doesn’t prevent #SchoolShootings. Instead could have very negative consequences. #selfish.”
But Coni Sanders, whose father, Dave Sanders, was the teacher who died in the shootings, had more sympathy.
“My heart really goes out to her,”she said Saturday. “If anybody’s pain is bigger than mine, I imagine it’s hers.”
Sanders now works with violent offenders in the hopes that she can prevent future victims of gun violence. On Saturday, she was at a gun control roundtable event in Denver hosted by former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
Sanders watched Klebold’s interview and said what stood out most was that Dylan Klebold seemed like a normal kid and that his mother was initially worried for his safety when she heard about the shooting.
“How horrific of a turn her mind had to take to realize not only that he was one of the shooters but that he lost his life,” Sanders said.
In an open letter posted Thursday on Facebook, survivor Anne Marie Hochhalter commended Klebold for committing to use proceeds from the book to help people suffering from mental illness.
Hochhalter was paralyzed in the shooting.
“I have no ill-will towards you. Just as I wouldn’t want to be judged by the sins of my family members, I hold you in that same regard,” she wrote.
Staff writer Elizabeth Hernandez contributed to this report.
