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Next-day editorial in The Denver Post on the slaying at suburban Platte Canyon High School. It's brief and, properly I think, doesn't come to any grand conclusions. Nor does it advocate solutions, again, I think properly. Sometimes it's enough to express the community's sense of shock and outrage. Sometimes it's all you can do.

The editorial begins:

Wednesday's sickening events at Platte Canyon High School hit home in so many ways that we literally have to gasp for breath. The more we learn about the gunman who assaulted a group of girls and killed 16-year-old Emily Keyes, the more confounded we are by his horrific crimes.

After recounting Duane Morrison's rampage, the editorial notes:

The scant rap sheet that has emerged for him so far - including possession of marijuana and obstructing a police officer - doesn't hint at the potential to commit much darker crimes. Questions about his motives and choices far outnumber the answers. Why Platte Canyon High School, in a peaceful community like Bailey? What triggered his violent outburst? What did he want?

Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Emily Keyes, as well as to the other students who were terrorized and assaulted by Morrison.

Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener, who has lived in the community for 36 years, knew the victim and her family. On Thursday, he expressed sentiments that likely are shared by many. "I've gone from upset to angry," he said. "Angry that this man has done this to our community. Angry that this man has done this to our children."

Notice how the Post underscores the sense of community by personal condolences to the families involved.

Again, I think that's the most important thing a newspaper editorial can do at a time like this ... enhance the sense of community and common humanity we feel when tragedy strikes. The editorial adds:

The shock waves reverberating through Bailey are shared by all of us - the moments of terror, anger and relief as parents learned of the situation and wept with joy at finding their children unharmed. And of course the shock and grief that accompanied the final classroom scene.

We have to be grateful there weren't more fatalities or injuries, and we hope the process of sifting through the clues left in Morrison's wake will give us some way to understand how this horror came to be.

Editorials aren't as exciting as rushing to the scene of a crime and getting eyewitness reports. But they're important. And this one ably fills an important role at a difficult time.