Godspeed, Emily Keyes

Reports the Rocky Mountain News:

Bailey - The last communication between Emily Keys and her father was a simple txt message via cell phone. "I love you."

A few hours later, she was dead.

Keyes was killed by Duane Morrison inside an English classroom at Platte Canyon High School on Wednesday afternoon — after the 53-year-old transient took six female hostages and before he shot himself about 4 p.m.

On Thursday, Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener was still grasping for answers even as clues continued to crop up — including a male student who reported that Morrison approached him prior to the shooting and asked for a list of female students.

"Agents are following up on that with the student and we'll let you know more about that," Wegener said. "Again, we're right back into the why and the mystery and everything surrounding that."

The text message between father and daughter was one of the more emotional revelations of the day — one passed along by a family spokesman with the bittersweet note that John Keyes, who created the Infohiway in 1994 that featured Web- based yellow pages and a search engine and had plenty of computer savvy, had to find someone "under 30" to show him how to text message.

Once he was able, said spokesman Louis Gonzalez, Keyes stood at the pedestrian overpass of U.S. 285 and sent the message, "R u OK?"

At 1:52 p.m., his daughter replied with these words, "I love U guys."

A follow-up question of "Where r u?" was never answered.

Keyes was shot in the back of the head trying to flee as SWAT team members stormed the classroom less than two hours later.

From the Associated Press, not more than an hour ago:

CAZENOVIA, Wis. - Sheriff's deputies confirmed that a principal was shot in a rural Wisconsin school, and they said a suspect is in custody. All the children were reported safe.

WKOW-TV reported that principal John Klang of Weston School was shot Friday morning by a former student who entered the school armed with multiple weapons.

The district told WKOW that Klang was shot, but would not confirm his condition. The station reported that the school is in lockdown.

People who answered the phones at the Sauk County Sheriff's Department and the Weston School District did not immediately comment to The Associated Press.

Richland County Sheriff Chief Deputy Tom Hougan was at the scene outside the southwest Wisconsin school, but would not confirm the details because it was not in his jurisdiction.

"The students are safe," Hougan told the AP. "The scene is secure."

Columbine, now seven years past, not forgotten.

These times we live in: confusion, anger, irreconcilable grief. The question: Why? I don't know. I don't know.

Godspeed, Emily Keyes.