The Columbine High School Massacre

Preliminary Activities -

In 1996 Eric Harris created a website on AOL. Eric originally created the website so he could host gaming sessions of the popular game "DOOM" with Dylan Klebold and other friends. The site included a blog where Eric posted thoughts about parents, friends and school. By the end of the year, the site contained instructions on how to make explosives and posts about mischief him and Dylan were getting into.

The site had few visitors until March 1998, when Dylan gave Brooks Brown the web address. The blog posts contained multiple death threats against Brooks. Brooks informed his parents and police of the threats.

Investigator Micheal Guerra was told about the site, when he accessed it he found numerous violent threats against the students and teachers at Columbine High. Blurbs on the website also contained the desire Eric had to kill anyone who annoyed him. As Eric had posted that he was in possession of explosives Guerra wrote a draft affidavit for a search warrant of the Harris household. The affidavit also mentioned the suspicion Guerra had that Eric was involved in an unsolved pipe bomb case from 1998. The affidavit was never filed. The draft was hidden by police and not released until September 2001.

On January 30, 1998, Eric and Dylan stole tools and other equipment out of a parked van near Littleton, Colorado. Both were arrested and attended a joint hearing where they pleaded guilty to the felony of theft. Both were sentenced to attend a juvenile diversion program. There, the boys attended mandated classes such as anger management and spoke often with diversion officers. Eric attended therapy, Dylan had a history of drinking and failed to stay sober during the diversion program but neither attended substance abuse classes. The boys were released from the program early due to good behavior and both were put on probation.

During the hearing Eric's blog posts were deleted and the site returned to it's original purpose. Eric began to write in a journal and continued attending scheduled therapy sessions until a few months before the massacre.

Medication -

During a therapy session, Eric complained about anger, depression and suicidal thoughts. As a result, he was prescribed an anti-depressant by the name of Zoloft. Due to side effects of restlessness and lack of concentration he was switched to a different anti-depressant called Luvox.

Journals and Videos -

Both Eric and Dylan began journals after their arrest. The journals contained entries about ways to escape to Mexico, plans to hijack a plane and crash it into a sky scraper in New York, as well as plans about their attack. The duo hoped that after the bombs exploded in the cafeteria killing over 500 people, they would shoot survivors fleeing the school. Then, as first responders and news reporters arrived, bombs in the boys cars would detonate, killing the reporters and emergency personnel.

It didn't happen as they had planned, the only bombs that worked were pipe bombs. The pair kept videos journals that documented their explosives, ammunition and weapons. They revealed the ways they hid their weapons as well as how they hid their weapons and activities from their parents. The boys shot videos of them at target practice as well as areas of the school they planned to target during the attack.

On April 20, about 30 minutes before the attack the boys filmed their final video, apologizing for what was about to occur and saying goodbye to friends and family.

Firearms -

In the months prior to the attack, Eric and Dylan acquired two 9mm firearms and two 12-guage shotguns. Their mutual friend. and Dylan's date to prom the weekend before the shooting, Robyn Anderson unknowingly purchased three of the guns for them at a gun show in December 1998. Through a mutual friend Phillip Duran, the boys purchased a handgun for $500 from Mark Manes.

Using instructions found on the internet the duo constructed 99 improvised explosives. They sawed the butts and barrels off their shotguns. On April 20, Eric was armed with a 12-guage savage Springfield 67H pump action shotgun, which he discharged 25 times, and a Hi-point 995 Carbine 9mm with 13, 10-round magazines, which he discharged 96 times for a total of 121 shots fired. Dylan was armed with a 9x19mm Intratec TEC-9 semi automatic handgun with on 52, one 32 and one 28-round magazine and a 12-guage Stevens 311D double barrel shotgun. Dylan shot a total of 67 shots, 54 shots less than Eric.

Prior To The Massacre -

On the morning of April 20, 1999 Eric and Dylan placed a small pipe bomb in a field about three miles south of the school. Set to explode at 11:14am the bomb was intended to act as a diversion to draw emergency personnel away from the school. At 11:10am Eric and Dylan arrived in separate cars at Columbine High. Eric parking at the south entrance and Dylan at the west, with their primary target, the cafeteria, placed in-between them.

After parking their cars, each containing bombs set to detonate at 12am, the duo met at Eric's car and armed themselves each with a 20-pound propane tank converted to a bomb, concealed in duffle bags. They placed the bags inside the cafeteria and set them to detonate at 11:17am. They returned to their separate cars and waited for the bombs to detonate. Had the bombs exploded as they were meant to, they would have killed the 500+ students eating in the cafeteria as well as collapsed the ceiling, causing the library to fall into the cafeteria.

Neil Gardner, Columbine High's armed resource officer, was eating lunch in his patrol car at the northwest corner of campus. The security staff didn't see the boys place the duffel bags or enter the cafeteria, due to switching the tapes. No witnesses recalled seeing the boys enter the cafeteria of place the duffle bags. As they returned to their vehicles, Eric encountered Brooks Brown. Brooks commented on Eric's absence in class earlier that day and informed him that he missed a test. Eric responded by saying "It doesn't matter anymore, I like you now, get out of here, go home." Brooks, feeling uneasy, walked away, several minutes later Brooks was seen walking away from the school.

11:19am - Shooting Begins -

When the cafeteria bombs failed to explode, Eric and Dylan headed towards the school. Both armed, they climbed to the top of the west entrance steps outside the school. At 11:19am, 17-year old Rachel Scott was having lunch with friend Richard Castaldo while sitting on the grass next to the west entrance of the school. Castaldo said one of the boys threw a pipe bomb, which partially detonated. At that moment, a witness heard Eric yell "Go! Go!", the two then pulled out their weapons and started shooting.

Rachel was shot three times before Eric approached her, it's rumored that he questioned her about her religion, however that's never been confirmed, after which, he fatally shot her. Richard Castaldo was shot eight times in the chest, arm and abdomen, and was permanently paralyzed below the chest, he becomes unconscious after Rachel was killed. It is unknown who fired first however, Eric is the one who killed Rachel and Richard later reported she was hit before he was. Eric then removed his trench coat and aimed his 9mm Carbine down the west stairs at three students. 15-year old's Daniel Rohrbough and Sean Graves as well as 16-year old Lance Kirklin were shot and wounded. Inside the school, some students believed they were witnessing a senior prank. Meanwhile, in the cafeteria, Dave Sanders, teacher and coach at the school, quickly realized it wasn't a prank

Eric and Dylan began shooting west in the direction of five students. 15-year old Micheal Johnson was hit In the face, leg and arm, but ran and escaped. 16-year old Mark Taylor was shot in the chest and arms before he fell to the ground and pretended to be dead. The other three escaped uninjured. Dylan shot Lance Kirklin in the face, wounding him further. Daniel Rohrbough and Sean Graves descended the stairs while Eric and Dylan were distracted. Graves crawled into the doorway of the cafeteria's west entrance, and collapsed. Dylan shot Daniel at close range through the upper left chest and stepped over graves to enter the cafeteria.

Officials speculated that Dylan went into the cafeteria to check in the propane bombs. Eric shot down the steps at several students, severely wounding and paralyzing 17-year old Anne Marie Hochhalter. Meanwhile, inside the school, Patti Neilson, an art teacher, had heard the commotion and walked towards the west entrance with student Brian Anderson. Eric and Dylan shot out the glass doors, injuring Brian and Patti with flying glass and shrapnel. Patti ran to the library, alerting students and telling them to get under desks. Patti dialed 911 and hid in the library. Brian remained behind, caught in-between the sets of doors.

Police Response -

At 11:22am school resource officer Neil Gardner heard on his police radio that a female was down near the senior parking lot. Neil assumed the woman had been ran over by a car. While exiting his patrol car in the senior parking lot at 11:24am, he heard another call come through stating that there's an active shooter in the school. Eric, at the west entrance, immediately turned and fired 10 shots at Gardner, who was 60 yards away. As Eric reloaded, Gardner fired 4 rounds. Eric then fired 4 shots at Gardner before retreating into the school. No one was hit during the exchange. At this point, two students were dead and ten were wounded.

Gardner reported on his radio that there were shots fired and requested backup. The gunfight distracted Eric and Dylan from Brian Anderson who managed to escape and hide in the library. Eric and Dylan moved along the north hallway, throwing pipe bombs and shooting anyone they encountered. Dylan shot Stephanie Munson in the ankle, although she was still able to exit the school.

Eric and Dylan went toward the west entrance and down the library hallway. Dave Sanders had successfully evacuated students from the cafeteria. Dave and a student were at the end of the library hallway alerting students when they encountered Eric and Dylan. Dave and the student turned to run but Eric and Dylan shot at them, only hitting Dave, who was shot twice.

Dave struggled towards the science classrooms where a teacher took him into a room occupied by 30 students. One of the students held a dry erase board in the window that read "1 bleeding to death". Due to his knowledge in first aid, student, Aaron Hancey was brought into the room from across the hall. With the assistance of a student, Kevin Starkey, and teacher, Teresa Miller, Aaron administered first aid to Dave for three hours, attempting to stem the blood loss using shirts from students in the room, Miller and students maintained contact with the police outside. All students in the room were later evacuated safely.

Library Massacre -

As the shooting unfolded, Patti Neilson talked on the phone with emergency services. According to transcripts, her call was received by a 911 operator at 11:25am. The time between the call being answered and the shooters entering the library was four minutes and 10 seconds. At 11:29am Eric and Dylan entered the library, where 52 students, 2 teachers and 2 librarians were hiding. Eric can be heard on Patti's 911 call yelling "Get up!" right when they entered the library at 11:29am. Staff and students hiding in the library recalled hearing one of the gunmen say "All jocks stand up! We'll get the guys in white hats!" Wearing a white hat at Columbine was a tradition among sports team members, typically jocks. When no one stood up Eric said "Fine, I'll start shooting anyway!"

he then fired twice at a desk, not knowing student Evan Todd was beneath it. Evan was hit by wood splinters but not seriously injured. The duo walked to the rows of computers Kyle Velasquez was sitting near. Dylan shot Kyle in the head and back. The duo stopped to reload. Noticing the police evacuating students outside, Eric said "Let's go kill some cops." He then shot out windows in the direction of police. After firing at police but not hitting any, Dylan fired at a nearby table, injuring three students, Patrick Ireland, Daniel Steppleton and Makai Hall.

As Dylan shot at the three under the desk, Eric fired a single shot under a desk without looking. He hit 14-year old Steven Curnow with a fatal wound to the neck. Eric shot under an adjacent desk, injuring 17-year old Kacey Ruegsegger with a shot that passed completely through her right shoulder and hand, also grazing her neck, severing a major artery. When Kacey began to gasp in pain Eric told her to "quit her bitching."

Eric walked over to a table, slapped the surface twice before kneeling and saying "peek a boo" to 17-year old Cassie Bernall before shooting her once in the head, hilling her instantly. Eric had been holding the gun wrong when he shot Cassie, it recoiled and broke his nose.

After shooting Cassie Bernall, Eric went to the next table, where Bree Pasquale sat next to a table. Eric asked Bree is she wanted to die and she replied with a plea for her life. As Eric taunted Bree, Dylan noticed Patrick Ireland trying to provide aid to Makai Hall who had a wounded knee. As Patrick Ireland tried to help Makai, his head rose above the edge of the table and Dylan shot him twice in the head and once in the foot. Patrick was knocked unconscious but ultimately survived. Dylan walked towards another table, where he discovered 18-year old Isaiah Shoels, 16-year old Matthew Kechter and 16-year old Craig Scott, younger brother of Rachel Scott, all three were popular athletes.

According to witnesses, Eric and Dylan taunted Isaiah, making derogatory racial comments towards him. Eric knelt down and shot Isaiah once in the chest at close range, killing him instantly. Dylan then knelt down and fatally shot Matthew Kechter. Meanwhile, Craig Scott remained uninjured, pretending to be dead.

Dylan then shot at the closest table, hitting 17-year old Mark Kintagen in the head and shoulder. He then turned to a table on his left and fired, injuring 18-year old Lisa Kreutz and Valeen Schnurr with the same bullet. Dylan then fired his TEC-9 at the same table, killing Lauren Townsend.

Eric moved to a table where he fired twice, injuring 16-year olds Nicole Nowlen and John Tomlin. When John attempted to move away form the table Dylan kicked him. Eric taunted his attempt to escape before Dylan shot him repeatedly, killing him. Eric then walked to the table Lauren Townsend's body lay, behind it, 16-year old Kelly Flemming was hiding. Eric shot Kelly, hitting her in the back and killing her instantly. He shot at the table Kelly was behind, hitting Lauren Townsend and Lisa Kreutz again and wounding Jeanna Park.

While reloading, Eric noticed a student nearby and asked who it was. It was John Savage, a friend of Dylan's. John identified himself, then asked Dylan what they were doing, to which he replied "Oh, just killing people." John asked if they were going to kill him, Dylan asked hi to repeat himself, which he did. Dylan hesitated, then told him to leave. John fled immediately and escaped through the library's main entrance.

After John left, Eric shot at a table north of him, grazing the ear of 15-year old Daniel Mauser. When Daniel fought back by shoving a chair at Eric, Eric fired again, hitting Daniel in the face at close range, killing him. Eric and Dylan moved south and fired randomly under a table, injuring 17-year olds Jennifer Doyle and Austin Eubanks and, fatally wounding 17-year old Corey DePooter.

Eric and Dylan had killed 10 people in the library and injured 12. Of the 56 library hostages, 34 remained unharmed. Investigators would later find that the boys had enough ammunition to kill all of them. Dylan turned and fired a single shot into the break room, hitting a small tv. Before they left, Dylan slammed a chair down on the library counter that Patti Neilson was hiding beneath. The duo left the library.

Fearing their return, 34 uninjured and 10 injured survivors escaped from the library and school. Kacey Ruegsegger was evacuated by Craig Scott, had she not been evacuated then, she would have bled to death. Patrick Ireland, unconscious and Lisa Kreutz, unable to move, remained in the building. Patti Neilson joined Brian Anderson and the librarians in the break room, Dylan previously fired into. They locked themselves in the break room and remained there until rescued at 3:30pm.

Perpetrator Suicide -

After leaving the library, Eric and Dylan proceeded down the south hallway, where they shot into an empty classroom. At 11:14am the duo could be seen on security footage re-entering the cafeteria. The footage shows Eric kneeling and the landing and firing a shot at one of the propane bombs, in an unsuccessful attempt at detonating it.

Dylan lit a pipe bomb and threw it at the propane bomb, partially detonating at 11:46am. Two minutes later a gallon of fuel ignited a fire that was eventually extinguished by the sprinklers. At 12:02am the boys re-entered the library. At 12:08, 32 minutes after they left the library, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold died next to each other, both had taken their own lives. Eric by firing his shotgun through the roof of his mouth, Dylan by firing his TEC-9 into his left temple.

Patrick Ireland had regained and lost consciousness several times after being shot by Dylan. He managed to crawl to the library window where, at 2:38pm, he stretched out the window, intending to fall into the arms of SWAT members who were standing on a armoured truck beneath the window but instead falling directly onto the roof of the vehicle in a pool of blood.

18-year old Lisa Kreutz , shot in the shoulder, arms, hand, and leg, remained in the library, keeping track of time by the school bells until police arrived. She tried to move but became light headed. She was finally evacuated at 3:22pm along with Patti Neilson, Brian Anderson and the librarians.

Crisis Ends -

By noon, SWAT teams were stationed outside the school and ambulances were taking the wounded to local hospitals. Meanwhile, families of students and staff were asked to gather at Leawood Elementary School to wait for information.

Two SWAT teams entered the school at 1:09pm, moving from room to room, discovering hidden students and faculty. Dave Sanders was found at 3pm. He was the only teacher who died in the shooting. By 3:30pm officials found the bodies in the library. At 4:30pm the school was declared safe. At 5:30pm additional officers were called in as more explosives were found in the parking lot. At 6:15pm officials found the bombs in Dylan's car. The sheriff decided to mark the entire school a crime scene. All 15 victims remained inside the building. The total count of deaths were 12 students and one teacher, not counting Eric and Dylan. 20 students were injured, and 3 more were injured trying to escape the school.

Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold took their own lives 49 minutes after the massacre started. A total of 188 rounds of ammunition were fired by the duo.

Rationale -

In the aftermath, speculation occurred about the perpetrators motivation and wether it could have been prevented. Both shooters took their own lives which made the massacre much harder to asses.

Both Mark Manes and Phillip Duran were charged with supplying a firearm to a minor and possessing a sawed off shotgun. Mark Manes was sentenced to 6 years in Prison and Phillip Duran was sentenced to 4 and a half years. Robyn Anderson wasn't charged due to her cooperation with police.

Psychopathy and Depression -

On the fifth anniversary of the shooting, the FBI published their conclusions. It stated that Eric was a clinical psychopath while Dylan was depressive. Eric had hoped the massacre would show his superiority to the world while Dylan participated primarily as a means to end his life.

Dylan's final words in the video filmed the morning of the shooting were "Just know, I'm going to a better place. I don't like life very much." Eric's journal contained methodical preparation for the attack.

Lawsuits -

After the massacre, many survivors filed lawsuits. Most of them were dismissed due to governmental immunity. The lawsuit regarding the death of Dave Sanders wasn't dismissed due to police preventing medical aid from getting to him after they knew the shooters were dead. The case was settled in August of 2002 for $1,500,000.

In April of 2001 over 30 families received a $2,538,000 settlement in their case against the families of Eric, Dylan, Mark and Phillip. The Harrises and Klebolds contributed $1,600,000. The Manes contributed $800,000 and the the Durant $300,000.

Memorials -

A permanent memorial "To honor and remember the victims of April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School." was dedicated on September 21, 2007, in Clement Park, a meadow next to the school where impromptu vigils were held in the days following the shooting. The memorial fund raised $1.5 million in donations over the 8 years of planning.

2019 Update -

Austin Eubanks, a Columbine High School shooting survivor, who traveled the country sharing his story of fighting addiction due to his injuries in the shooting died in Colorado at the age of 37 on the weekend before May 20, 2019.

It is believed Austin died of an accidental drug overdose.

Austin had a fiancé and two children from a previous marriage, Caden, 13, and Landon, 9.

Autopsies -

Cassie Bernall

Corey DePooter -

Daniel Mauser -

Daniel Rohrbough -

Dave Sanders -

Isaiah Shoels -

John Tomlin -

Kelly Fleming -

Kyle Velasquez -

Lauren Townsend -

Matthew Kechter -

Rachel Scott -

Steve Curnow -

Eric Harris -

Dylan Klebold -

Photos -

*Author's Note: Out of respect for the victims and possible survivors of these events, no photos of any one involved during these events or post-mortem will be shown.*

The Columbine High School Massacre

コメント

Subscribe Form