marking a turning point for the country. on the eve of the anniversary, community members gathered in denver, colorado to remember the lives lost. candles flickered on 13 empty chairs — one for each of the victims — as short biographies were read out. after each, the crowd replied together "never forgotten." "never forgotten. " since columbine, gun violence in the united states has become increasingly severeboth in schools and in wider communities. according to data collected by the washington post, there have been more than 400 school shootings since 1999 — exposing more than 370 thousand students to gun violence. so far this year alone, there have been 120 reported mass shootings — that data coming from the gun violence archive. on saturday, us presidentjoe biden issued a statement to mark the anniversary of columbine and condemn gun violence. in it he said quote — "i've met with countless families who've lost loved ones because of gun violence.