Brian VanDeMark

They were just basically trying to scare these people back to get greater distance created between them and the students who were shooting.

vocally and harassing them and taking in some cases more aggressive steps by throwing things at them.

And it's at that point that Canterbury then orders the guardsmen to retreat effectively back up Blanket Hill, down the other side, across the commons, back to where they had initially proceeded from.

And as the guardsmen retreat back up Blanket Hill, the students who were in the parking lot in the lower slope of Blanket Hill start moving toward them.

First at a walk and then at a pretty rapid walking clip, and in some cases at a run.

And there's a tremendous amount of noise.

There's a campus bell that's clanging.

There's a lot of shouting.

There was actually an audio recording of the event, which has been preserved, and it's just chaotically loud.

And that, again, is one of these factors that contribute to the tragedy.

Because as the guardsmen crested Blanket Hill and a small group of students got relatively close to them, that's when some of the guardsmen were feeling eminently threatened and basically stopped, turned, and pointed their rifles downhill.

Again, initially as a deterrent as they had done when they were down on the practice field to effectively get these people to back off.

And it was at that point that a platoon sergeant named Matthew McManus issued an order to fire in the air in an effort to prevent bloodshed.

Let me reiterate that.

Over the heads of the students in an effort to prevent bloodshed.

The problem was they had not been trained in firing warning shots, and the ambient noise was so loud, and their level of anxiety and the tension there was so tremendous that what effectively happened was some guardsmen, singular or guardsmen, plural, either heard or reacted to just the first word.

Not fire in the air, but fire.

Yeah, right.

Wow.

And the best estimates are that about 35 guardsmen fired their rifles, which is about a third of those who were on the hill.