However, in April 1999, two students killed thirteen people at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado. In the wake of the massacre, DC's publisher Paul Levitz learned of the story, and Ellis said he "hit the roof". Levitz refused to publish "Shoot" in its original form, reasoning that the story's subject matter – and in particular its ending – was too disturbing in light of the Columbine massacre. Ellis and Vertigo's head Karen Berger pushed for the story to still be published as it was written, but a couple weeks of negotiations were unsuccessful in reaching this result. Ellis compared Levitz's requested edits to that of an episode of "Scooby-Doo", and told DC to either publish the story in its original form or publish it edited without his name on it. "Shoot" was cancelled as a result, and Ellis resigned from writing "Hellblazer".