Red Lake Shootings

Red Lake, Minn. (AP) ― Derrick Brun's sense of humor came through, even when he was fighting crime.

It was that playful side, as much as his bravery, that family and friends remembered at a memorial service on Tuesday, the first anniversary of Brun's death at the hands of a teenage gunman at Red Lake High School.

Victoria Brun, his sister, recalled the night Brun was working as a police officer when he got called to Ponemah for a domestic dispute. He went in to find that members of the family had been drinking, and they were arguing so loud he couldn't get a word in edgewise.

So Brun stretched himself out on the couch and waited, saying jokingly, "This reminds me of home." When the family realized Brun was lying on their couch, they started laughing so hard they forgot what they were arguing about, his sister said.

The service was one of several held around the reservation over the last few days for Brun and the others who died in the attack on the Red Lake Band of Chippewa's reservation.

Brun, a 28-year-old security guard, was the first to die at the school. The gunman, 16-year-old Jeff Weise, eventually killed five students and a teacher before shooting himself in the worst attack at a U.S. school since Columbine. Weise had killed his grandfather and grandfather's companion earlier that day.

The band's official recognition of the anniversary was muted. The high school was open to any students who cared to come in, with counselors on hand, but no classes were held. Media were not welcome.

In addition to Brun's Mass and dinner on Tuesday, another dinner was held in the community of Ponemah for Chanelle Rosebear, 15, and a dinner was held at the high school for Neva Rogers, 62, the teacher who was killed.

A reporter outside Rosebear's dinner was politely asked to leave by a man who said the family wanted privacy.

Far to the south, Gov. Tim Pawlenty led a moment of silence at the Capitol in St. Paul, and urged people afterward to continue offering comfort to the people of Red Lake.

"It's a scar that's going to exist and a wound that's going to exist for a long time," Pawlenty said.

At Brun's Mass at St. Mary's Mission Church -- the site of his funeral Mass last year -- 10 red candles burned on the altar, one for each of the dead.

Brun was credited with saving lives; witnesses have said he stalled Weise long enough to allow others to flee to safety.

"I believe that I'm here today, as are a lot of children, because Derrick stood up and said, this isn't going to happen here today, not on my watch," said Sheila Horn, a social studies teacher who was in the school library when Weise entered and began firing.

Horn, who hadn't planned on speaking at the Mass, said she needed to tell her story. She choked up and cried when she talked about hearing the shots that killed Brun, saying that those two gunshots were her warning to lock the library door. As a result, she said, about 20 people in the library were spared.

Several people in the church wiped their eyes as Horn was speaking.

After the Mass, she hugged Brun's father and mother, and said "Thank you for your son."

About 70 people attended the Mass, several wearing black T-shirts with gold writing that said, "In loving memory of Derrick B. Brun, 9-28-76 -- 3-21-05." The back of the T-shirts had a drawing of a police academy badge on it, which Brun designed when he was at the academy, said his sister, Victoria Brun.

The readings held messages of life after death, and of forgiveness, while prayers were offered for the Brun family, for all those who lost people in the tragedy, and for those living with grief on the reservation.

"In the presence of God, there is no pain or suffering," said the Rev. Pat Sullivan, who presided over the Mass. He said Brun had been reunited with his 4-year-old daughter, Courtney, who had died of a medical condition a couple of years before the attack.

The Rev. William Mehrkens, who presided over Brun's funeral last year, said his theme at the funeral was that God loves the brokenhearted and those whose spirits are crushed. Now, he said, he prays for healing.

Victoria Brun said her brother had a giving spirit and he was a prankster. She also said he was a poet, played the guitar, and he was a good father.

"When Derrick was killed, it felt like I had a huge piece of my heart ripped out from me. As months passed, I realized that nothing was gone. My heart is still intact, and he is still there," she said.

She also said that the community has a responsibility to make sure that another tragedy like the school shooting never happens again.

"We love you, Derrick. Your memory lives on," she said.

Later, more than 100 people attended a memorial dinner for Brun at the Red Lake Humanities Center. A buffet dinner included chicken, beans and potatoes. At the dinner, Victoria Brun said: "I didn't shed a tear today because Derrick was with me. He would not have wanted me to shed a tear."

Brun's father, Francis Brun, was having a hard time with Tuesday's anniversary.

"My son had a big heart and he could make friends with anyone," he added. "I wish I had his charisma and character."

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