But it was not the only story of bravery and determination in the face of mortal danger. Elsewhere in the building, students fought off attempts by the gunman to force open the doors to their classrooms. In one case, Cho had shot as many as a dozen students in a German language class, then departed in search of new targets. Two students held the door shut when the gunman returned; he reportedly fired several rounds into the door in frustration.

Derek O’Dell, a 20-year-old sophomore majoring in biological sciences, said the gunman entered his classroom and opened fire without saying a word. O’Dell said most of the students in the class were hit. A bullet struck him in the right arm.

Cho left the room, and O’Dell and another student slammed the door and held it shut with their feet. Minutes later, Cho reportedly returned and tried to push his way back into the classroom.

Another student who kept Cho at bay was Zach Petkewicz. “I was completely scared out of my mind initially and then realised, you’ve got to do something. And so I said, ‘We need to barricade this door.’ Me and two others got up, threw a couple of tables in front of it, and had to physically hold it there. ... He came to our door, tried the handle, couldn’t get in,” Petkewicz told CNN.

“He tried to force his way in, got the door to open up about six inches, and then we just lunged at it and closed it back up. And that’s when he backed up and shot twice into the middle of the door.”

... contd.