CHARLOTTE — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Sergeant Chris Kopp teaches classes to businesses and schools in Mecklenburg County that want to be prepared for mass shootings. The program taught by Kopp and his fellow officers is so good it's gotten national recognition.
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Incredibly, he is also a graduate of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County, Florida - the school that was the scene of Wednesday's mass shooting that left 17 dead and more than a dozen more hurt.
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"Definitely surreal. I graduated in 99, back when Columbine happened," Kopp told Channel 9 Thursday.
After Columbine, he was part of a panel at the school that discussed the shooting.
“Who would have known 19 years later not only did that kick off my being a student of these events, but it would happen at the high school that started it all for me,” he said.
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Two decades later, Kopp is dealing with the same type of tragedy at the school that has so many great memories for him.
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"That's my community," he said. "It was fun, it was a good time you know it was good to be a kid."
Kopp graduated with Aaron Fies, who returned to the school to become a football coach. Fies died Wednesday when he threw himself in front of students to protect them from the gunfire.
"I'm proud he did what he did. That took some guts. They train military, they train police to run towards fire, they don't train school staff," Kopp said.
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Kopp's parents still live less than a mile from the school. He married his high school sweetheart right after he got out of boot camp, and he spent Thursday calling and confronting old classmates.
"Our children, they are growing up with this. This is all that they know," Kopp offered.
His heart now breaks because of what happened at his old high school.
"Yeah, I'd like to go back and visit and go walk those halls again. That way, I can remember what it was like in 1999, not what it's like right now," he said.
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