Carla Hochhalter was instantly dubbed “the 14th victim” of the Columbine shootings, but there are hundreds, if not thousands, of victims, and they continue to suffer–from wounds, from grief, from depression and from each other’s jealousy and wrath. Fearful of another massacre, school administrators and police have imposed a policy of “zero tolerance” for threatening remarks. Some angry parents are suing, or threatening to sue, the authorities, and others are seeking religious meaning in the tragedy. Few have found peace, judging from the events of last week.

On Wednesday, hundreds of Columbine High’s 2,200 students walked out of class in fear after hearing that police had arrested a 17-year-old senior for allegedly threatening to “finish the job” started by classmates Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who killed 12 students and a teacher and wounded 23 before shooting themselves six months ago. The youth, a Boy Scout described by friends as hungry for attention, was held on $500,000 bail. Reportedly, police found his diary containing a diagram of the school and threats to kill himself and others. Steve Cohn, whose son Aaron stumbled out of the high school covered with blood after the shootings last spring, is all for a tough policy. “Anyone who even talks about weapons should be out,” he says.

But the parents of other children who have been punished or asked to leave for their remarks are charging “high-school McCarthyism.” Jamie (Lydia) Shofner, a self-described Goth who took her nickname from the character played by Winona Ryder in “Beetlejuice,” was issued a ticket by a sheriff’s deputy stationed at the school for allegedly saying that she had wanted to marry Eric Harris and now wanted to carry out his lethal designs. Shofner denies saying anything like that, and her parents pulled her out of school. “If you’re coming out of this school and you’re not the next John Elway-to-be,” they don’t want you, her mother, Lori, told a reporter.

The anxiety of school officials is understandable. At least 19 families have filed notice of their intent to sue the school or the police for negligence in the Columbine shootings. They include Klebold’s parents, who say authorities should have warned them that their son was keeping bad company with Harris. The Klebolds’ lawyer, Gary Lozow, insists that his clients are merely protecting themselves from a lawsuit filed by the family of a shooting victim, Isaiah Shoels. The Shoelses have hired lawyer Geoffrey Feiger, whose clients include Dr. Jack Kevorkian. Feiger has filed notice of intent to sue 21 others, including parents, police and gun makers. The Shoelses, who are black, have appeared with the Rev. Al Sharpton in New York, accusing the Littleton community of racism.

Whatever else it may be, Littleton is a strongly evangelical Christian community. NEWSWEEK has learned that a local self-identified Christian lawyer sent a letter to at least one victim’s family warning against hiring “Jewish lawyers.” Evangelicals in Littleton and around the country were moved by the story of Cassie Bernall, a Columbine student murdered after she said “yes” when the shooters asked if she believed in God. A book by Bernall’s mother, “She Said Yes,” became a best seller. After interviewing witnesses, investigators now believe the incident never happened. Another girl, Valerie Schnurr, did tell the shooters she believed in God after they shot her in the leg. Her assailant reloaded and moved away. Schnurr’s story is, in a different way, as touching as Bernall’s, but Schnurr has been accused of trying to horn in on the glory. A college freshman now, Schnurr says she just wants to be left alone so she can get on with life. In the end, that may be the only cure for the rest of the Littleton victims.