Caitlin Hammaren, who was 19, was killed in the same classroom where Colin Goddard was shot three times. Caitlin was a sophomore majoring in international studies and French. She was also a resident adviser in the dorms.
Her friends and roommates, Rochelle, Kelsey and Jessica, remember Caitlin as an amazing friend. "She said that I was her best friend. I think everybody that she talked to was her best friend. Everybody thinks that they were her best friend because that's how she made everybody feel," Rochelle says.
Kelsey says she last saw Caitlin at 9 a.m. on her way to class and that they didn't hear about Caitlin's death until about 11 p.m. that night. Waiting for her response was "horrifying," Rochelle says. "I texted her yesterday morning at 9:30 because I knew that she had left the dorm. I heard her leave," Rochelle says. "And then when I didn't hear back from her around 10:15, I texted her mom, and then her mom called me and said that they were headed down because they hadn't heard from her and that's not like her."
If they could say one last thing to Caitlin, what would it be? "We love her," Kelsey says. "When I saw her yesterday, now all I want to do is be able to go back and just tell her, 'Don't go to class,' after knowing what I know now. That's not going to happen."
Published 01/01/2006
