CBS THIS MORNING - August 16, 1999
In the four months since the massacre at Littleton's Columbine High School, fingers of blame have been pointed in many directions--gunmakers, movies, video games. But for the parents of 17-year-old victim Isaiah Shoels, the blame for their son's death lies with the parents of his killers, so they are suing the parents of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris for $ 250 million. Michael and Vonda Shoels join us this morning from Denver. And from Los Angeles, their attorney, Geoffrey Fieger.
Good morning to all of you.
Mr. GEOFFREY FIEGER (Shoels' Lawyer): Good morning.
Mrs. VONDA SHOELS (Columbine High School Victim's Mother): Good morning.
Mr. MICHAEL SHOELS (Columbine High School Victim's Father): Good morning.
MITCHELL: Mr. Shoels, I'll begin with you. Why do you hold the parents of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris responsible for your son's death?
Mr. SHOELS: Well, I mean, it's like this here: All parents are supposed to know what their children are doing at all times. I know it's almost impossible sometimes to know everything they're doing, but, you know, knowing the creation of bombs--I mean, you know, having weapons in their--in their possession, you know, not--not knowing--you know, not knowing what they're going to do with them. I mean, you know, I say they have to hold some kind of responsibility.
MITCHELL: Mrs. Shoels, I know you pulled your two children out of Columbine High School last week and you have moved out of Littleton and now live in Denver. Do you still think Columbine High School is a dangerous place?
Mrs. SHOELS: Well, I don't know if it's a dangerous place, but my children are not interested in going back.
MITCHELL: Why not? What happened? I--is--are things continuing to happen there?
Mrs. SHOELS: They're scared of Columbine...
Mr. SHOELS: They're scared of...
Mrs. SHOELS: ...under the circumstances, what happened.
Mr. SHOELS: They can't be around a crowd of people.
Mrs. SHOELS: So they're--they don't want to go back.
MITCHELL: I understand.
Mr. Fieger, let me ask you, $ 250 million in damages is what you're seeking. How did you come up with that figure?
Mr. FIEGER: The money isn't the issue, and it never has been.
Mr. SHOELS: Oh, no.
Mr. FIEGER: The issue is getting to the root of this problem. This is a phenomena that has never occurred in America before, children coming to school with guns and slaughtering other children. And let me just add also--and to Michael and Vonda, it's good to hear from you again...
Mr. SHOELS: All right.
Mr. FIEGER: ...that Isaiah's murderer--and I'm not suggesting that the--that the tragedy isn't horrific, but Isaiah's murder at Littleton was racially motivated. They went looking for Isaiah. Isaiah was one of only a handful of African-American students. And that's something else that people have to be aware of. But nevertheless, we're--we're looking to get to the root of this phenomena that has never occurred in America before. We've had guns, we've had kids have access to guns, but we've never had children slaughtering other children at school. And we're looking to get to the root of this problem through the auspices of a lawsuit, Russ.
MITCHELL: Well--well, Mr. Fieger, many Americans have wondered how the activities of the gunmen could've gone unnoticed, but in court how do you plan to prove negligence?
Mr. FIEGER: Well, it's simply what Michael just said. Can you imagine the parents of high school students who relinquish their home over to their students to amass an armory that would make a small army look proud? We understand that one of the parents wasn't allowed in the garage, but the--because they were making propane bombs. So that's certainly an issue that's gotta be explored.
Also--and we want to point out, and we haven't revealed this before--we've also brought two additional people into the case now: Mr. Duran and Mr. Manes, who have previously been charged with supplying the weapons. They are also part of the lawsuit against the Klebolds and the Harris parents. So we've added two additional people...
MITCHELL: Do you...
Mr. FIEGER: ...in the last week.
MITCHELL: Let me ask you this, Mr. Fieger. Do you plan to name other people as well?
Mr. FIEGER: Yes. And we should also point out that interestingly enough--and I haven't seen the order yet--the judge in Denver has recused himself and we have a new judge, and we'll be interested in seeing the reason for the judge's recusal.
MITCHELL: Mr. Shoels, I know since you've filed this suit, you've taken some criticism from people in Littleton, Colorado, who feel you should not do this. They said the community should be together right now. What's your response to that criticism?
Mr. SHOELS: Well, my response to that is that, you know, we was--you know, we was part of that community. We felt very highly. Now all of Littleton--I mean, all of that community is not in that s--sickly mode, put it that way, because--and the reason I say that is because everyone did not vandalize our house three times before the shooting. I mean, you know, under these circumstances, I mean, you know, it's kind of hard to be--you know, feel like you're part of a community and, you know, these type things are happening. You know what I'm saying? I mean, we're all Americans. We're supposed to be able to stay where we want to stay.
Mr. FIEGER: Russ, let me point out that by filing the lawsuit...
MITCHELL: Very quickly, Mr. Fieger.
Mr. FIEGER: ...Vonda and Michael aren't anti-community. I think they're doing a public service by seeking to get to the root of this problem so it never happens again to any other parent's child.
MITCHELL: Mrs. Shoels, let me ask you very quickly in the short time we have left, what do you say to people who are critical of this lawsuit?
Mrs. SHOELS: Well, I think we need to get down to the root of the problem. It's--it's not the money. It--you know, no one deserves to go through pain like this.
Mr. SHOELS: We want justice.
Mrs. SHOELS: And all I'm asking for is justice...
MITCHELL: OK.
Mr. SHOELS: Exactly.
Mrs. SHOELS: ...because it--it wasn't right.
MITCHELL: Vonda and Michael Shoels joining us from Denver and Geoffrey Fieger from Los Angeles.
Mr. FIEGER: Thank you, Russ.
MITCHELL: Thank you all for joining us this morning.
Mrs. SHOELS: Thank you.
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