
Warning: This post deals with suicide, and may be triggering for some readers.
On April 20, 1999, Austin Eubanks was in the library with his best friend Corey DePooter when a teacher ran through the doors.
They had been talking about going fishing after school, but the teacher’s yelling stopped their conversation.
“Get under the tables – somebody has a gun,” Eubank recalled hearing.
He and DePooter hid under a table as two armed teens made their way into the library, shooting their classmates under other tables.
Eubanks was shot in the hand and knee, and watched as DePooter became the last person killed by the gunmen.

DePooter was one of the 13 people - 12 students and one teacher - killed at Columbine High School in what was the worst school shooting in US history at the time.
Eubanks survived Columbine, but he was heavily medicated in treating his injuries. This quickly developed into an addiction to pain medication.
"I didn’t know any better. I was 17 years old, and I had been given medication to feel better. Immediately I learned that if I took substances, I didn’t have to feel, I didn’t have to feel the emotional pain," Eubanks told Denver7 in 2016.
Eubanks struggled with addiction throughout his 20s and went through multiple treatment centres before finding long-term recovery. He became dedicated to addressing issues of substance abuse and recovery through public speaking, according to his website.
On Saturday, Eubanks was found dead at his Colorado home during a welfare check after he didn't answer his phone. No foul play is suspected and an autopsy is scheduled for Monday.
His family released a statement to KMGH saying Eubanks "lost the battle with the very disease he fought so hard to help others face. Helping to build a community of support is what meant the most to Austin, and we plan to continue his work".

Top Comments
That is just so incredibly sad.
Imagine surviving such a horrific incident, only to develop an addiction to painkillers, not helped, no doubt, by the lack luster US health care system that has dealt so appallingly with the epidemic of opioid use and abuse.