Hero Student Rushed Colorado School Shooter
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: It is the terrifying choice that more and more school children in America are having to face: What will they do if a gunman bursts into their classroom and opens fire? On Tuesday, several students at a Colorado school were faced with that horrific reality. And in the face of extreme danger, Kendrick Castillo, Brendan Bialy and another classmate lunged at the shooter to try to save themselves and other students. And 18-year-old Kendrick did not survive. His classmates now are speaking out and honoring him.</s>BRENDAN BIALY, STUDENT: I want to make something very, very clear. Kendrick Castillo died a legend. He died a trooper. He got his ticket to Valhalla and I know he'll be with me for the rest of my life. CHRIS ELLECJA (ph),</s>STUDENT: I know that his smile illuminated the walls in our school. Everybody looked up to that kid. He was brilliant. He was -- he was probably the best of us. He was one of the best of us by far. He was just an extraordinary kid. He was the most undeserving of what happened to him.</s>BOLDUAN: He was the best of us. CNN's Scott McLean sat down with Kendrick's parents to talk about their son and their loss. Here's Scott.</s>SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, there are a lot of parents and students who owe a debt of gratitude to 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo. He was one of the three students who tackled one of the shooters to the ground on Tuesday. He was the only person who was killed. I spoke with his parents who said they weren't surprised by what their son did. I can't imagine what it's like to lose a child. I'm just hoping you can tell me about what your reaction was when you first heard what happened in that classroom and what your son had done.</s>JOHN CASTILLO, FATHER OF KENDRICK CASTILLO: My immediate reaction was, you know, not knowing his condition, that he was maybe just injured. He was going to be OK. And then I received a text from his friend saying that, you know, he had rushed the shooter and chased him. They broke the news to us in a small room that was adjacent to the nurse's station that after we identified him that he had passed and was still at the school at the scene. And that's when we found out. You know, I just couldn't believe it. Couldn't believe this was happening to my son.</s>MCLEAN: You had to watch all the other parents link up with their own kids.</s>JOHN CASTILLO: Oh, yes, they were there. Buses were coming in. They were on the phone and making contact. And we didn't have that. You know? And I don't know. That's when I found out. And you know, not being able to hold him. We asked if we could see him, at least see him. And they're like, you know, since it was an active scene, he's still in the school, that we wouldn't be allowed to. And we sat and waited. And we had friends and students. They asked if, you know, we wanted the students there around us and stuff. I said absolutely, you know, as I coached the robotics team and I'm around those kids all the time.</s>MCLEAN: They were able to tell you what he had actually done.</s>JOHN CASTILLO: One of the kids told me that like a flash, he jumped up. She said, you know, he's a hero. He saved me. She said he jumped up and he ran. You couldn't see how fast he was running. You know. Out the door and after this person.</s>MCLEAN: Were you surprised by that?</s>JOHN CASTILLO: No.</s>MARIA CASTILLO, MOTHER OF KENDRICK CASTILLO: No.</s>JOHN CASTILLO: Not at all. You know, because we raised him that way. We raised him to be good. And you know, yes, until you're a parent and have something like this happen, you struggle. I know that because of what he did others are alive. And I thank God for that. I love him. And he's a hero. He always will be. But there's another part of you that wishes he would have just turned and ran, retreated, hid. You know, did something to put himself out of harm's way if that was possible.</s>MCLEAN: One of the things that one of the mothers who had a son in that classroom told one of my colleagues is that if it hadn't been for Kendrick, I wouldn't have my baby today. And I can't imagine. How does it make you feel to hear that?</s>JOHN CASTILLO: It makes me happy that she has her son. And you know, but it makes me sad that mine is not here. But in hindsight, I wouldn't have it any other way. I knew Kendrick would -- there's no way he would have traded any of that. He's that kind of hero. And I'm glad. Those kids, when I looked around the room last night at the hospital, they were shaken to the core. But they weren't harmed.</s>MCLEAN: I'm curious about something that you told me earlier about your son being a patriot and about his grandfather being a Marine.</s>JOHN CASTILLO: Yes.</s>MCLEAN: So many people are going to just really idolize your son's bravery. Do you think maybe he got some of that from your family?</s>JOHN CASTILLO: Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, dad taught him. Dad taught him everything. When my father passed away, you know, Kendrick was proud of him. Proud of the marine insignia on the funeral car. Proud of the salute. Proud of everything about it. That his grandfather was a hero. And you know, there's a part of me that knows, you know, Kendrick wanted to live that legacy. He loved the patriotism. You know, we're Hispanic by nature, but we're Americans to the core. And he loves that. He loves everything about it.</s>MCLEAN: One of the things you told me earlier is, you know, for other parents out there, you should really teach your kid to be selfless. How did you teach your son to be selfless?</s>JOHN CASTILLO: We taught him how to be selfless in every way, shape, and form. We were raising him. You know, we're not wealthy folks, but we would sacrifice and buy things. But to horde something valuable or keep it to yourself is worth nothing. So we taught him to share. You know, and that's how we raised him. And to serve, you know. We serve people every day. And you can't fake it. I mean, you have to love people. Often, not all people are going to be nice to you, but the one after that will be. You just deal with that.</s>MCLEAN: Is there anything else that I didn't ask that you wanted the world to know about your son?</s>JOHN CASTILLO: I want the world to know that he was a gift. And you know, if I have one thing to say to people, it's if you have children, you know, nothing is more important than your kids.</s>MCLEAN: And the vigil for Kendrick Castillo went a little sideways last night when a group of students actually walked out after two democratic lawmakers spoke, including Senator Michael Bennett, who is running for president. At one point, this group was chanting "mental health," seemingly in opposition to the political message they were hearing on guns. Meanwhile, according to a law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the investigation, one of the suspects had taken the two guns that were used on Tuesday from his parents, who had bought them legally -- Kate?</s>BOLDUAN: Scott McLean, thank you so much for your delicate, delicate way of handling that. Now, let's just be honest, this news, these stories, they're soul crushing, if we're going to be honest about it. But please don't become immune to this. You watch the story and realize that children, they were terrorized in their school. A child died. Please don't become immune. This is not normal. These kids, they shouldn't face these choices. We'll be right back.