On April 20th, 1999, Daniel sat in the library studying as he used to. When the gunmen came in, he hid under a table with other students. He was shot once while under the table, and then he pushed a chair at his attacker. He was shot again, this time fatally.     Daniel's parents describe him as a gentle, mild mannered, well mannered, mature, lovable boy who was not afraid to hug his parents. He was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church on September 23, 1983, and was currently working on receiving Confirmation, he would have been confirmed two weeks after his death. In March Daniel had spent two weeks in France with his French class. He had especially enjoyed living for 5 days with a French family. Daniel was eligible to get his learner's permit for driving at 15½ (December 25 of last year), but because of his trip to France, debate competitions, and other school demands, he agreed to wait until this summer to get it and take drivers training.   School Daniel was a tenth grader (sophomore) at Columbine High School. After years as an A and B student, Daniel had received straight A's the last two grading periods. He exelled in math and science. He was selected to be in the gifted and talented program in junior high school. Daniel was also a "Stretch for Exellence" award winner and had been named as the top biology student of the Columbine High School sophomore class. He died before he knew he had been selected. When he was attending at Ken Caryl Middle School, Daniel won two National Science Olympiad awards, presented to the top ten scores in the area of general science knowledge. While in 8th grade he tied for second place! Daniel did not like to speak in front of an audience, and he joined his school's debate team to overcome his shyness. He participated in cross-examination debate, Congress, and Lincoln-Douglas debate. He earned membership in the National Forensic League. Topics debated included alternative energy sources, genetic engineering and the rights of journalists to conceal sources. He won several excellent and superior ratings.   Leisure Daniel was the kind of boy who volunteered to rake the leaves of an old man in the neighbourhood after he had a heart attack, and he was also an occasional babysitter. Someone who played with the children he cared for. He was also a Junior Volunteer at Swedish Hospital the last two summers, helping in the pharmacy. He had some interest in a career in the medical or research field. Daniel was a walker in the past two AIDS Walks in Denver. After all the voluntary work, Daniel had also some time left for his hobbies. Among other things, he liked to ski, bike, play computer and video games. Daniel's favourite computer games were Star Wars Rebellion (he played it over the internet with friends), StarCraft and Theme Hospital. His favorite Nintendo games were GoldenEye and Ken Griffey Baseball. He loved the challenge of playing games with adults, including the computer versions of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, as well as trivia and knowledge games. He learned to play the piano, and he played chess. He even won 2nd place in a Denver metro-area tournament as a member of the Ken Caryl Middle School Chess Club Team. For three years, he was a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout. Daniel had a great interest in current events and social issues, and was a regular reader of Time Magazine, and often watched "60 Minutes" on TV. He had concerns with the proliferation of guns in the U.S. Just weeks prior to his death he told his dad that there were loopholes in the Brady Bill. Gun Control wasn't a topic in his debate class, so his dad doesn't know what prompted his comments. Besides "60 Minutes", Daniels favorite TV shows were The Simpsons, The X-files, Seinfeld, Siskel and Ebert and the Headlines on the Tonight Show. Family fun in the Conner Mauser family included vacations, games, swimming and hiking (especially in the red rock majesty of nearby Roxborough State Park). Even though was a slender 5'10" and non athletic, Daniel joined the cross country team. He and his father had hoped, after the leg strenght he developed in cross country running, that Daniel would hike up his first 14,000-foot mountain When eating at restaurants, Daniel's favorite places were always Italian and BBQ. Other food he enjoyed was pizza with pepperoni and sausage, steak, salmon, pancakes, BBQ chicken, and his father's famous whole wheat waffles.   Travelling Even though his spare time was pretty limited, he was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit a great number of places, including: France this March; Washington D.C.; Disneyland, Universal Studios, Los Angeles and San Diego; Disney World and Sarasota (where he was bitten by a sting ray in the ocean!); Yellowstone National Park; Pittsburgh, PA (his father's hometown); Niagara Falls; Devil's Tower, Wyoming; Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, Jewel Cave and Wall Drug, South Dakota; Las Vegas; Grand Canyon; Zion, Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in Utah; Maine and Boston; and New York City. He also saw plenty of Colorado, with visits to Mesa Verde and Rocky Mountain National Parks, Great Sand Dunes and Black Canyon National Monuments, and weekends in little places as Steamboat Springs, Estes Park, Buena Vista, Trinidad, Ouray, Durango, Vail, Marble, Breckenridge and Mt. Princeton Hot Springs. One of the family's favorite spots was Glenwood Springs, where they played miniature golf, was skiing, and swam for hours at the huge hot springs pool.   Family Daniel's father Tom, works as the Manager of the Transit Unit at the Colorado Department of Transportation. He was borned and raised in Finleyville, 15 miles south of Pittsburgh, PA. Tom is the son of coal miner Edward Joseph Mauser (deceased) and Helen Popich Mauser. The Mausers (the name was changed from Mausser) emigrated from a German-speaking region called Gottshee, which is in current day Slovenia. Tom is a graduate of Ringgold High School and the University of Pittsburg. He moved to Colorado in 1976. Daniel's mother, Linda, doesn't work outside home. She was borned in Illinois, but has spent nearly all her time in Colorado. Linda is the daughter of Joe and Virginia Conner (both deceased). She is a graduate of Longmont High School and the University of Colorado. Linda has worked as a legal secretary and also completed paralegal certification. He also had a sister, Christine, 13, born October 4, 1985. They were a very close brother and sister, and good friends. After Daniel's death, the Mauser family decided to adopt a chinese baby. Read more here.