 It is a statue of an angel (sculpted by James Barnhill of Asheville, North Carolina) on a base engraved with the names of the 21 local victims and a brief history.The memorial is in a circular grove of 21 trees, one for each person lost.The angel was chosen because onlookers thought a cloud seen above the high school on July 21, 1996, resembled an angel, with 21 small clouds at its feet.