#daniel conner mauser

[techramonic]

What are some facts or tidbits about Daniel that you don't think is very well-known?

Hey! Thanks for the great question. I have a few things not a lot of people have talked about Daniel, all of which are information taken from his father's book: "Walking in Daniel's Shoes".

Facts about Daniel Mauser

1. Daniel's name came from the Biblical character Daniel and his mother Linda's fondness of Elton John's song titled with the same name. Conner was Linda's maiden name and since she was an only child, it was a way for them to carry her family's last name.

2. In sixth grade, he struggled somewhat with depression. After his mother sent him to a therapist, it was revealed that he was feeling stressed because at the time, he had pneumonia and missed school a few times. He felt that his teacher was pressuring him to catch up. Fortunately, he recovered after a few months.

3. Daniel used to be in cub scouts and boy scouts for a few years. Once school had became more hectic and he was more engaged in piano lessons, he dropped out of the scouts. He had earned basic badges but was not too enthusiastic with scouting long-term.

4. On July 24, 1999, Boy Scout 359 installed a park bench in Daniel’s memory along the South Rim Trail at Roxborough State Park, ten miles south of Columbine. Daniel was once a member of the Boy Scout Troop that preceded 359. Roxborough was the Mauser family’s favorite hiking area.

5. He played chess and won second place in a Denver metro tournament as a member of the school's chest club team. He also won two National Science Olympiad awards, presented to the top ten scorers in general science knowledge.

6. He was an occasional babysitter and was great with kids.

7. He was a Junior Volunteer at Swedish Hospital for two summers and helped in the pharmacy and he expressed interest in working in a medical or medical research field.

8. Despite winning often in games like Super Mario Brothers and even Foosball, his dad had caught on he was getting bored of playing with him, but despite that, he still played whenever he was invited because that was how much he loved his father.

9. He had a keen interest in current events and social issues and was a frequent reader of Time Magazine and viewer of 60 Minutes.

10. His father said he sometimes worried about little things, like if the gas tank in the car was getting too low.

11. He played soccer for a couple of years when he was younger, tried skiing, and played baseball on a YMCA team.

12. Before his death, Daniel's Biology teacher told his mother that he would be receiving an award for outstanding sophomore biology student. It was a supposed secret, one which Daniel never found out.

13. His family was very close. Tom described them as a "Dinner Table Family", who always ate dinner together. According to his father's words, "there was no sneaking off to watch the TV or play on the computer. We are together, talked together, and exchanged stories."

14. Daniel and his sister were close despite their contrasting personalities. Daniel was more like his mother—shy, introspective, intelligent, and calm. His sister Christine was like her father—outgoing, witty, a bit wild and crazy. He would often roll his eyes at her and in an exasperated tone, he would exclaim, "Theater people! Oh, my God!"

15. He had a dry sense of humor and his mom thought he prided himself on being a rational sort of fellow who was not given to drama of any sort.

16. Tom, Daniel's father, grew out of poverty. He came from Finelyville, a small town south of Pittsburgh. His father was a coal miner, his mother was a housewife, and he was the youngest out of four siblings. Tom rarely had pictures of himself. However, he didn't want that to happen with his children, so he would frequently take their pictures and film them to keep memories.

17. Daniel didn't like his pictures being taken when he was a teen. His father would still insist to take pictures for keepsake.

18. When he was fifteen and a half, Daniel was qualified to receive his driver's permit but he said he wasn't ready yet.

19. His nickname in debate class, according to Devon Adams, was "Moose": "So appropriate —it's a large, amusing but quick and fierce when-it-needs-to-be animal."

20. Daniel volunteered to rake the leaves off the lawn of a neighborhood senior citizen's house after he recently had a heartattack.

[sporadiceagleheart]

James Radley Mattioli, Daniel Conner Mauser, Sophie Jane “Soph” Lockwood-North, Chase Michael-Anthony Kowalski, Matthew Joseph “Matt” Kechter, Stephanie Dawn Johnson, Ross William Irvine, Dylan Christopher Jack Hockley, Steven Robert “Steve” Curnow, Rachel Joy Scott, Hannah Louise Scott, William David “Dave” Sanders, Reema Joseph Samaha, Daniel Lee “Danny” Rohrbough, Noah Samuel Pozner, Jack Armistead Pinto, John Alexander Petrie, Anne Marie McGowan Murphy, Daniel Vincent Parmertor, Brett McKinnon, James Radley Mattioli, Daniel Conner Mauser, Benjamin Andrew “Ben” Wheeler, Kyle Albert Velasquez, Britthney Ryen Varner-Wilson, Megan Turner, Lauren Dawn “Lulu” Townsend, John Robert Tomlin, Araceli “Ara” Tena, Victoria Leigh “Vicki” Soto, Jeremiah Small, Isaiah Eamon “Bushwick” Shoels, Mary Joy Greene Sherlach, Allison Noelle “Allie” Wyatt, Shannon Dawn Williams Wright,

[love4columbine]

“Daniel's birthday. He would be 39 today. Hard to imagine what would have been. I hope you're celebrating, Daniel.”

A recent post from Tom Mauser, Daniel Mauser’s father, in honor of Daniels 39th birthday on June 25th, 2022.

[alwaysracheljoyscott]

‘’Devon Adams reminded us that “Moose” was Daniel’s nickname in debate class. “So appropriate-it’s a large, amusing but quick and fierce-when-it-needs-to-be-animal.” ‘’

[sadmmann]

20 years

I want to remember with love the 13 beautiful souls that we lost on this tragic day 20 years ago.

The hole you all left can't ever be filled or measured.Your memories are and will always remain clear and bright.You are so missed and loved by your families ,friends and people who never knew you while you were here but somehow have come to feel as if they did. May all 15 families find some comfort and peace on this day.

Remember their names

Rachel Joy Scott (August 5, 1981 – April 20, 1999)

Daniel Lee Rohrbough (March 2, 1984 -  April 20, 1999)

William "David" Sanders (October 22 1951 - April 20, 1999)

Kyle Albert Velasquez (May 5, 1982 -  April 20, 1999)

Steven Robert Curnow (August 28, 1984 - April 20, 1999)

Cassie Renee Bernall (November 6, 1981 -  April 20, 1999)

Isaiah Eamon Shoels (August 4, 1980 -  April 20, 1999)

Matthew Joseph Kechter (February 19, 1983 -  April 20, 1999)

Lauren Dawn Townsend (January 17, 1981 - April 20, 1999)

John Robert Tomlin (September 1, 1982 -  - April 20, 1999)

Kelly Ann Fleming (January 6, 1983 - April 20, 1999)

Daniel Conner Mauser (June 25, 1983 – April 20, 1999)

Corey Tyler DePooter (March 3, 1982 -  April 20, 1999)

You - our Angels, we will be praying for You Every second and every hour

[thedxwnwardspiral]

Today, Daniel Conner Mauser would’ve turned 35. Rest In Peace, angel. Happy birthday. 💛

•June 25, 1983 - April 20, 1999•

[familyguyepicmoment]

a moment of silence for 

Rachel Joy Scott, Daniel Lee Rohrbough, William David Sanders, Kyle Albert Velasquez, Steven Robert Curnow, Cassie René Bernall, Isaiah Eamon Shoels, Matthew Joseph Kechter, Lauren Dawn Townsend, John Robert Tomlin, Kelly Ann Fleming and Daniel Conner Mauser

I hope they’re resting well

[plutoberryman]

The saying "wrong place, wrong time" has always bothered me whenever it comes to a victim of violence. I remember his name Tom.

Tom Mauser (2017)

[randomthingsthatmakemehappy]

18 Years Ago Today

When I was about ten years old or so, I was sitting in church next to a friend of mine, honestly board out of my mind. My ADD always seemed to be at its worst while I was in church. Honestly, I wasn’t really listening to what my pastor was saying at frist. I just know he was answering the questions us kids had put in his little container to answer, something he did for us often as a part of our youth program. I don’t remember what question he was answering but I started listening when he said he had a little story to tell.

He started telling the story of a girl in high school in the late 90s. I don’t believe he ever said her name. He said it’d been a normal day at school for the young woman when all the sudden, two of her classmates came into the school with guns. He said that they shot the young woman but she didn’t die right away. He said one of the boys with a gun walked over to the girl, grabbed her by her hair, looked her right in the eye and asked her if she believed in God. He said that the girl said yes, she did believe in God, so the boy shot and killed her.

I remember this story having a huge impact on me. At ten or so years old, I don’t think I understood just how amazing what that girl did was. But I knew that her story broke my heart. I didn’t really think to much about it after that day, but I can promise you that I never forgot about the story of the girl who gave up her life for Jesus.

At eighteen years old, I ran across a book that reintroduced me to the girl. Now I could fully understand just what she did for God and she became someone I now look up to. At the time my pastor told is the story of the girl in the school, he never mentioned the name of the school, the shooters or the fact that they and twelve other people had died that day to. As I researched the school and what had happened that day, my heart broke.

Thirteen innocent people were killed on April 20, 1999.

Rachel Joy Scott : (August 5, 1981-April 20,1999)

Daniel Lee Rohrbough: (March 2, 1984-April 20, 1999)

William ‘Dave’ Sanders: (October 22, 1951-April 20, 1999)

Kyle Albert Velasquez: (May 5, 1982-April 20, 1999)

Steven Robert Curnow: (August 22, 1984-April 20, 1999)

Cassie Rene Bernall: (November 6, 1981-April 20, 1999)

Isaiah Eamon Shoels: (August 4, 1989-April 20, 1999)

Matthew Joseph Kechter: (February 19, 1983-April 20, 1999)

Lauren Dawn Townsend: (January 17, 1981-April 20, 1999)

John Robert Tomlin: (September 1, 1981-April 20, 1999)

Kelly Ann Flemming: (January 6, 1983-April 20, 1999)

Daniel Conner Mauser: (June 25, 1983-April 20, 1999)

Corey Tyler DePooter: (March 3, 1982-April 20, 1999)

What gets me when I really think about it is: two teenage boys went into that school wanting revenge on the place that had caused them so much pain. They went in knowing they were going to kill people, then take their own lives. They wanted to end the torment both physically and mentally.

Being raised in the Christian faith, I’ve always been told that suicide sent you to Hell. That the only person who should decide whether you live or die is God. Knowing that, it hurts me to think that what those two boys did, didn’t make it any easier on them. It just made it worse.

Though they are to blame for what happened, I still see it as two young boys loosing their lives…

Eric David Harris: (April 9, 1981-April 20, 1999)

Dylan Bennet Klebold: (September 11,1981-April 20,1999)

None of these kids got to graduate high school, go to college,get married,have kids, see their dreams come true.

Eric and Dylan never got to see that THINGS DO GET BETTER.

Dave Sanders never got to see his children again. See his grandchildren.

Today my heart goes out to those families who lost a loved one that day. Including the Harris and Klebold families. May your hearts find room for forgiveness and love…

[love4columbine]

Little Daniel Mauser💙

(Columbine victim)

[alwaysracheljoyscott]

Nearly two decades have passed. Christine, struggles to remember the sound of Daniel's voice, their shared moments and conversations only come to her in snippets. But the memories surrounding the school shooting that robbed her of her innocence? Those will never go away.

She  was only 13 when the quiet and exceedingly normal life she and her family enjoyed in Littleton, Colorado, shattered.

Seventh-grade Spanish was letting out when an administrator at her middle school herded Christine and her classmates back into their classroom. It had to do with something that was happening at the nearby high school, though no one would say more.  Eventually the teacher turned on the television. With the rest of America, Christine and her classmates watched the breaking news with confusion. She saw students being escorted out of the high school. 

"There could be up to 20 fatalities," Christine remembers her mom saying hours later, when she was picked up at school. "I didn't know if fatalities meant deaths or injuries, and I was too afraid to ask."  The house filled with neighbors and family friends. The neighbors set out to distract her. She remembers her father making repeated drives to the high school, desperate to pick up his son. Returning from one of his last trips, he dissolved into screams and tears. 

 The neighbors set out to distract her. They ordered pizza and turned on movies. Though it became harder to do so as the hours passed, she tried to convince herself that Daniel was just hiding in a closet, too afraid to come out.

Reality hit the next day around noon, when officials showed up at the family home."They told us my brother was among the dead," Christine says. "I don't really remember anything they said after that.’‘

In an instant, she became an only child. It was a role she hated, not least of all because she couldn't bear to see her parents in so much pain. 

For a while, she insisted that a friend sleep over every night.  "It sounds horrible, but you almost don't want to be alone with your parents," she says, "because watching them go through that is the worst thing in the world."

Sometimes she'd overhear them losing it in the next room. She didn't have the words to comfort them and feared that anything she'd say would make matters worse. So she sat frozen, wracked with guilt for ignoring their cries. 

At first the kids in school showered her with kindness -- even stuffed animals. But they couldn't really look her in the eye. Truth is, she didn't want them to. She had changed overnight."I remember just how awkward I felt, and how different I felt," she says.

And in middle school, being different can mean trouble.

There were students who stared, watching her every move. If she cracked a joke or laughed in a desperate attempt to feel human, they looked at her stunned. On field trips, if the school bus rolled past Columbine High, their heads whipped around to monitor her reaction. She refused to be a mess in front of them, but the more she tried to act normal, the weirder she seemed -- which only increased the gawking, her anxiety and, eventually, their bullying.

Unlike her brother, who didn't like to be filmed or photographed, Christine was into acting and enjoyed being on stage. She surrounded herself with a bigger group of friends than he did. But  after Columbine, she withdrew from others and gave up the stage. The last thing she wanted was to be the center of attention.

It wasn't that she was "all sunshine and rainbows" before her brother's killing, but she emerged someone else. Irrational fears consumed her, as did an obsession with death. Like many children who lose a sibling, she convinced herself she wouldn't live beyond the age her brother died.

She knew her concerns were illogical and didn't want to alarm anyone, so she kept her dark thoughts to herself. Still, rumors circulated at school that she was going to kill herself. 

Her mother, an introvert like Daniel, often retreated. Her father became an activist, rallying for better background checks and protesting the National Rifle Association. While she was proud of his work, it brought new forms of unwanted attention.   She answered the phone when the first hate call came in and was cussed out by a stranger.

Some kids at school lectured her about the Second Amendment and told her what her dad was doing was wrong."I was so taken aback I just didn't know what to say."

Near the end of middle school, when being there became unbearable, she was pulled out and home schooled for the rest of the year. There was no way she could attend Columbine High, so she was given a special provision to attend high school outside the district. She craved anonymity. She needed people to know her for who she was, and not for what her family had been through. By 17, she says she began to find her footing again.

A big part in helping Christine and her family was Madeline, the 11-month-old baby they adopted from China a little more than a year after they lost Daniel. "We still felt a lot of the same pain and heartache and everything like that, but she was kind of just a different force," Christine says. "I was so grateful to have her there and to be a big sister."

When her stepdaughter, Bethany, mentioned having "intruder training" at school, she held her tongue. The 9-year-old explained it was done in case "a robber comes to your school." Christine didn't have the heart to tell her the truth. Christine still holds onto Daniel's copy of J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye." It's stamped in the back with "English Resource Center Columbine High School." She didn't go to that school, nor does her sister Madeline. All these years later, her parents still can't bear to pick up a child there.

Her brother has been gone longer than he was here, and Christine feels as if she's lived two lives. She's not who she was when she lost him. When she sees adult siblings being best friends, she can't help but feel a bit bitter. She can't help but wonder what might have been had Daniel lived.

[plutoberryman]

Happy Birthday Daniel!!

[sadmmann]

Daniel Mauser (June 25, 1983 - April 20, 1999) was killed in the attack on his high school, Columbine. Daniel became the ninth victim in the library. He is the only one who tried to rebuff the murderer.

Daniel Conner Mauser was born on June 25, 1983 to Tom and Linda Mauser. He has one sister named Christine. He was a Sophomore who excelled in math and science, and got straight 'A's on his last report card. His dad, Tom Mauser, remembered his son as a smart young man who wasn't afraid of challenges and who wasn't ashamed to hug his parents. 

He had a keen interest in current events and social issues, becoming a regular reader of Time magazine. He enjoyed watching "60 Minutes" on TV. Daniel had concerns with the proliferation of guns in the U.S. Just two weeks prior to his death he asked his dad if he knew that there were loopholes in the Brady Bill (a Federal law that requires background checks for certain gun buyers). It wasn't a topic in his debate class, but he had heard about it in a conversation. His dad was motivated into action when he realized that this was a sign--that Daniel was shot with a gun that was purchased through one of those loopholes in the Brady Bill

He was somewhat intense, but had a boyish sense of humor. He could be a tease, but usually knew when he had crossed the line. He was sensitive, gentle and sweet but had recently developed a very deep voice. People found him charming.

Daniel is described by his family as a shy, gentle soul; lovable and loving. He was close friends with his sister Christine. He liked to ski, play video and computer games, and bike. His father was hoping that in the summer of 1999, after the leg strength he developed in cross country running, Daniel would hike up his first 14,000-foot mountain with his dad. He learned to play the piano.

He was a Junior Volunteer at Swedish Hospital the last two summers, helping in the pharmacy. He had some interest in a career in the medical or research field.

His funeral was held jointly with Kelly Fleming's at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church.He was buried in Mount Olivet Cemeteryin Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

[investigatetruecrime]

Something very important to me came in the mail today!

I am already reading Brooks Brown’s book and it’s very interesting!

[icybeer]

Happy Birthday Daniel Conner Mauser!

June 25, 1983 / April 20, 1999

Daniel Mauser was a Sophomore who excelled in math and science, and got straight ‘A’s on his last report card. His dad, Tom Mauser, remembered his son as a smart young man who wasn't afraid of challenges and who wasn't ashamed to hug his parents. Daniel was shy but he didn't let that stop him from joining the debate team and though he wasn’t a natural athlete, he still joined the cross-country team. He liked to ski, camp and recently returned from a two-week trip to Paris with the French club.  Daniel is described by his family as a shy, gentle soul; lovable and loving. He was close friends with his sister Christine. Daniel liked pepperoni pizza, playing video and computer games, and watching shows like the Simpsons and the X-Files. Daniel was fond of trivia and knowledge games, as well as swimming and hiking. His father had hoped that in the summer of 1999 to take Daniel on his first 14,000 mountain hike. Daniel volunteered at the Swedish Hospital and he was preparing for Confirmation in the Catholic Church. He would have been Confirmed at St. Frances Cabrini Church two weeks after the date of his death. 

[love4columbine]

Columbine victim, Daniel Mauser, as a toddler💛

“He was an adorable baby. As a toddler he loved animals, and I remember how excited he got about the baby ducks going off miniature diving boards at the Stock Show. I could hardly tear him away.”

- Linda Mauser (Daniel’s mother)