Thousands ride in honor of
slain student
BAILEY, Colo. (AP) -- About 5,000 motorcyclists rode in a caravan in honor
of the 16-year-old girl who was shot at her high school by a gunman who held
her hostage.
The motorcyclists, including Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener, rode 40 miles
to Platte Canyon High School from Columbine High School, the scene of the
nation's worst school shooting in 1999.
It was Wegener who made the call for SWAT officers to invade a classroom
where authorities said Duane Morrison, 53, took Emily Keyes and other girls
hostage and molested them on Sept. 27.
Morrison shot Emily in the head after SWAT officers stormed the classroom
and then shot and killed himself, authorities said. The other hostages
survived.
On Saturday, bikers paid donations to take part in the ride from Columbine
to Bailey. The procession was so long that the first bikers, riding two
abreast, pulled into Platte Canyon High School as the last bikers left
Columbine.
Money collected from the ride will go to a fund to help the girls who were
taken hostage.
Dan Patino, who came up with the idea for the ride, said he was stunned by
its turnout.
"There's not a lot to say," Emily's father, John-Michael Keyes, told the
crowd. "This is amazing."