No one can yet imagine the severity of the tragedy, but KCNC is mobilizing teams of reporters, photographers, producers, and technicians. Soon four separate news crews are at the high school and two others are at a nearby elementary school. General manager Marvin P. Rockford's philosophy is to roll first and ask questions later. It's much easier to pull back than to recover if you fall behind. Members of an alert KCNC camera crew talk their way onto the roof of a nearby residence with a clear view of the school.
Viewers see police snipers targeting their weapons on the building.
More chilling are the images of children trapped inside, their faces pressed up against the windows. They are confused and desperate faces looking for help. Pacing around Hoffacker's horseshoe-shaped assignment desk in stockings, no shoes, is news director Kucharski. She had begun her job at KCNC only fifteen days earlier, after spending two years as news director at WBNS-TV, in Columbus, Ohio. Yet tonight, she is charged with coordinating coverage of the biggest news story in Colorado broadcast history.