Columbine
High School Massacre is perhaps one of the most notorious high school
shootings in America's history to the point that the tapes that
showed the motive behind the attacks and
both boys apologising to their parents for what they were going to
do, called the Basement
Tapes have never been released to the general public out of fear that
an attack like this could happen again, or someone could be inspired
by it. In this blog I will try to answer the questions people may be
asking as well as sharing my theory on why two seemly normal teenage
boys would commit such a notorious crime against their community and
school. I will also be
trying to work out things that didn't appear right with what happened
and mentioning other incidents inspired by Columbine. As
well as asking you some questions at the end.
Columbine High
School Attack
Lets
start with the basics, Columbine High School Massacre took place on
April 20 1999, and was committed by 18 year old Eric Harris and 17
year old Dylan Klebold. Their attack started at 11:19am and ended at
12:08pm. A total of 24 people were injured during their killing
spree, three were injured while trying to escape the pair and the
other 21 were gun-shot victims. 15
people were also killed, 1 teacher and 14 students, two of those
students were Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris.
From
evidence that was found after the shooting, like video's and diary
entries the duo had been planning the attack on the school for over a
year, they made several video's such as The Basement Tapes which
included their motive behind the attack, as well as other
information, but due to what the content on the tape is, these tapes
are not viewable to the public and are in the procession of Jefferson
County. The duo had written several diary entries on their planned
attack including what their inspirations were, they
got inspiration from such incidents as The Oklahoma Bombing and other
terrorist attacks and bombings. In the diaries they listed the
weapons they had including hand guns as well as shot guns, car bombs,
pipe bombs and two propane bombs.
Over the months prior to the attack, Eric Harris did experiments to
see how many students would be in the cafeteria at any give time
during lunch. From his research he found that 11:17am was the busiest
time, when the canteen would be at the fullest with 488 students or
more being in there. Their original plan of the bombs in the canteen
failed, so at 11:19am they began to open fire from the top of the
stairs near the cafeteria entrance, their first victims were 17 year
old's Rachel Scott and Richard Castaldo. Rachel Scott was killed
instantly after being shot six time, Richard Castaldo was hit eight
times and paralysed from the waist down, although it is unknown which
of them started to firing first it is known that Eric Harris was the
one who shot and killed Rachel Scott.
Eric Harris then removed his black trench coat and aimed the gun in
his procession down the west entrance stair case, towards three boys,
15 year old Daniel Rohrbough and Sean Graves and 16 year old Lance
Kirklin, the three youths had been ascending the staircase where the
shooters stood. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold then turned their
attention to the group of friends sitting on the hill opposite the
west entrance, 15 year old Michael Johnson was hit in the face, leg
and arm but escaped. 16 year old Mark Taylor was shot in the chest,
arms and legs, feigned death, the other three escaped uninjured.
Dylan Klebold then turned and walked down the stairs where they had
previously fire down, walking up to an already wounded Lance Kirklin
who was weekly calling for help. It is reported that Klebold said
“Sure. I'll help you” before shooting Kirklin in the face,
although critically injured Kirklin survived. Klebold then shot
Daniel Rohrbough at close range in the upper left chest killing him,
before stepping over the Sean Graves into the cafeteria, it is
suspected that he went to check on the failed propane devices that
they had planted earlier that day. By the time Dylan Klebold entered
the cafeteria, a teacher Dave Sanders had realised that what was
going on outside the school was not a senior prank as most had
thought it was, realising it was a deliberate attack on the school,
he instructed students to run out of the cafeteria but not via the
west entrance where the shooting was happening. Eric Harris shot down
the steps at several students sitting near the cafeteria's entrance
partially paralysing 17 year old Anne-Marie Hochhalter as she tried
to flee. Shortly afterwards Dylan rejoined Eric at the top of the
stairs.
Both of them together shot towards students standing close to the
schools soccer field but didn't hit anyone. They then walked to the
west entrance throwing several pipe bombs, although very few
detonated. One of the art teachers Patti Nielson who was on corridor
patrol that day walked to the west entrance to tell their pair to
knock it off with 17 year old Brian Anderson, she had initial though
the duo were filming a video or pulling a prank. As Brian Anderson
opened the first set of double door, both Klebold and Harris shot out
the windows injuring him with flying glass and hitting Nielson with
shrapnel to the shoulder. Nielson ran back down the hall to the
library, calling 9-1-1 and alerting students studying in there to the
danger. Brian Anderson remained behind having been caught between the
interior and exterior doors.
Several students had by now called the police and alerted them to the
shooting that was happening, although at the time it was still
unknown as to who the shooters were, it was original suspected that
there was at least eight shooters. At 11:22am the school assigned
police deputy Neil Gardner, was requested as assistance in the senior
parking lot, the only paved route took him around the east and south
side, where at 11:23 he heard that a female was down via his police
radio, this was most likely have been a reference to the already dead
Rachel Scott. He had initial thought she was involved in a car
accident. Eric Harris who was still at the west entrance fired at
Deputy Neil Gardener with a rifle, Gardner fire back but was unable
to hit either of the shooters due to not having his prescription
glasses.
Five minutes after the attack on the school had started Deputy
Gardener had already engaged in a gun fight with Eric Harris, two
students were already dead and another ten were wounded. Gardner
reported via radio “Shots in the building. I need someone with me
on the south side lot” The gun shot distracted Harris and Klebold
long enough for Brian Anderson to escape to the library where he hid
in the staff break room. Harris and Klebold had began to move along
the main north hallway, shooting at anyone they encountered and
throwing pipe bombs, one of them shot Stephanie Munson in the ankle,
she was able to walk out of the school. They went through the hall
several times shooting at and missing any students they saw. The duo
then went back towards the west entrance and turned on to the library
hallway.
By this point the police had began to accumulate on the parking lot
outside of the library near the west entrance. Teacher Dave Sanders
who had previous evauated the students from the cafeteria was running
down the hall with a student trying to secure as much as the
classrooms as possible, where students were hiding. Eric Harris and
Dylan Klebold had entered from the corner of the North Hallway, both
Dave Sanders and the student ran the opposite direction while both
Harris and Klebold shot at them. Eric Harris hit Dave Sanders twice
in the chest but missed the student, who ran in to a science
classroom and warned everyone in there to hide. Dave Sanders
struggled to a classroom, another teacher took him in where 30
students were located. They placed a sign in the window to alert the
police and medical personnel of his location. “1 bleeding to
death”. One of the students Aaron Hancey who was brought to the
classroom by one of the teachers despite the gunfire and bombs still
going on, attempted first aid and to stop the bleeding with students
jackets, Hancey's father was giving them help in first aid via phone.
At 11:29 Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold entered the library where a
total of 56 people were concealing themselves, 52 of which were
students. Patti Nielson who had ran into the library four minutes
earlier, had rang the police and kept the line open. Eric Harris
shouted “Get up” so loud that he can be heard on the 9-1-1 phone
call. Incording to some of the students and staff hiding in the
exterior library rooms, one of the two said “All jocks stand up!
We'll get the guys in white hats”, it was also reported that Eric
Harris said “Fine, I'll start shooting anyway!” When no one stood
up. Harris fire his gun twice under a near by table, where Evan Todd
was hit by wooden splinters but not serious injured. Kyle Velasquez
who was 16 was shot in the head and neck by Dylan Klebold, incording
to police report he was not hiding when they entered the library but
was curled up beneath the computer desk where he had been sitting.
There pair then reloaded their guns, looking out the windows facing
the outside staircase noticing police evacuating students, it is
reported Eric Harris said, “Let's go kill some cops” after that
he and Dylan Klebold began to shoot out of the window in the
direction of the police who returned fire. No one was injured.
After firing out the window at police, Klebold fire his shotgun at a
nearby table, injuring three students, 17 year old's Patrick Ireland
and Daniel Steepleton and 18 year old Makai Hall, he then proceeded
to take off his trench coat. Harris grabbed his shot gun and walked
towards the lower row of computer desks firing a single shot under
the first desk without looking, killing 14 year old Steven Curnow
with a shot to the neck. Harris then shot under the adjoining desk
causing minor injury to 17 year old Kacey Reugsegger, who he then
told to “Quit your bitching” when she gasped out in pain.
Harris walked over to the table across from the lower computers and
knelt saying “Peak-a-boo” to 17 year old Cassie Bernall before
shooting and killing her, Harris had been holding the gun in one hand
at the time, when it rebounded after he shot it, breaking his nose.
Harris then proceeded to taunt Bree Pasquale who was sat next to the
table rather than under it, asking her if she wanted to die, to which
she pleaded for her life, witnesses and survivors state that Eric
Harris appeared to be disorientate at this point. Dylan Klebold
noticed Patrick Ireland trying to help Makai Hall who had suffered a
shot to the knee. As he was trying to help Hall, his head rose above
the table, Klebold shot him a second time, hitting him in the foot
and twice in the head, Patrick Ireland survived.
Klebold walked to the next set of tables where he found 18 year old
Isaiah Shoels and 16 year old's Matthew Kechter and Craig Scott, all
three were popular athletes. Klebold tried to pull Isaiah from under
the table, calling to Harris, witness state that it was a racist
remark. Both of them taunted him before Harris knelt down and shot
him in the chest at close range, killing him instantly. Klebold then
opened fire under the desk, hitting and killing Matthew Kechter,
while Craig Scott was uninjured lay in his friends blood feigning
death. Eric Harris then threw a CO2 bomb which hit Daniel Steepleton
in the thigh, Makai Hall quickly threw it away.
Both of the shooters then walked and randomly shot at the display
cases and books before meeting up together near the entrance. Eric
Harris then shot at the closest table hitting 17 year old Mark
Kintgen in the head and shoulder, he then turned towards a table to
his left and injured Lisa Kreutz and Valeen Schnurr both 18 with the
same bullet. Dylan Klebold then fired under the same table killing 18
year old Lauren Townsend. Harris then moved on to the next table
disregarding the girls underneath it as “Pathetic” before moving
on, where he fired twice injuring Nicole Nowlen and John Tomlin both
16, when John Tomlin attempted to escape he was repeated shot until
dead by Klebold after being taunted by Eric Harris.
Eric then went back to the table where he had previously shot under
walking behind it where he found 16 year old Kelly Fleming, like Bree
Pasquale was sat next to it rather than under due to the lack of
space, he shot and killed her, he then shot at the table behind her
hitting Lisa Kreutz and the already dead Lauren Townsend, as well as
wounding 18 year old Jeanna Park. Harris and Klebold moved to the
centre of the library where Harris noticed a student hiding and asked
him to identify himself. John Savage, an acquaintance of Dylan
Klebold said his name and asked Dylan what he was doing, to which he
replied “Oh, just killing people”, Savage asked if they were
going to kill him, to which Dylan Klebold hesitated then told him to
leave.
Eric Harris then fired at the table directly north of where they had
been, grazing 15 year old Daniel Mauser, who fought back against Eric
by pushing a chair at him, Harris fired again, this time hitting
Daniel Mauser in the face at close range and killing him. Both of
them moved south and randomly shot under tables, one of them
seriously injured 17 year old's Jennifer Doyle and Austin Eubanks and
fatally injured 17 year old Corey DePooter. There was no more injures
after 11:35am and Corey DePooter was the last victim of the massacre.
Witnesses heard Harris say he no longer found a thrill in shooting
his victims, to which Klebold then responded with “Maybe we should
start knifing people that might be more fun”. Eric Harris threw a
pipe bomb but it failed to explode, the duo them made their way back
to the entrance finding where Evan Todd had moved to, they pair
taunted him and debated whether or not to kill him before eventually
walking away, before leaving the library Dylan Klebold fired a single
shot into an open library staff break room, hitting a small
television, he then slammed a chair on the computer terminal on the
library counter directly above where Patti Nielson was hiding. The
two walked out of the library at 11:36am. Where the teachers
evacuated the students except for Patrick Ireland who was unconscious
and Lisa Kreutz who was unable to move.
At approximately 11:44am the pair were captured on security footage,
re-entering the canteen, the footage shows Eric Harris attempting to
detonate one of the propane bombs that had failed, from a kneeling
position on the landing. Shortly afterwards the footage shows Dylan
Klebold examining one of the bombs then throwing a pipe bomb at it
before leaving, the pipe bombs blast partly detonates one of the
propane bombs, a few minutes later a fire ignited from the fuel which
is quickly extinguished by the sprinklers.
After leaving the canteen, the duo return to the north and south
halls of the school and aimlessly fired. On several occasions the
pair looked through windows of classroom doors, making eye contact
with students inside but neither tried to enter the rooms, they even
reloaded their weapons outside of the room that Dave Sanders was in.
at 12:02pm both Harris and Klebold re-entered the library after going
back to the canteen and taunting students hidden in the toilets. They
once again open fired at the police through the windows but didn't
hit anyone.
At around 12:08pm, 32 minutes after they had originally left the
library, Patti Nielson who had locked herself in the break room with
a student and library staff and called 9-1-1, reported she overheard
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold suddenly shout 1,2,3 in unison, which
were followed by gunshots. Both gunmen had committed suicide. Eric
Harris by firing his shot gun through the roof of his mouth, killing
him instantly, and Dylan Klebold by shooting himself in the left
temple, the shot itself didn't kill Klebold, he died a few minutes
after as both left survivors reported hearing him coughing and
struggling to breath. Dylan Klebold died due to drowning in his own
blood.
Police Failure
It is a well know fact that the Jefferson County Police failed when
it come to Columbine, from my review they could have saved the
students in the library or they could have prevented it happening
altogether. Both Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold had been arrested for
theft the year before the shootings, after they broke into a van and
stole computer equipment, both were put through classes designed to
steer young people away from crime. Eric Harris even wrote a letter
apologising for their actions to the owner of the van. Also a year or
so before, the parents of Brooks Brown, had alerted the police when
they found their son's name on Eric Harris's website, with a death
threat, there was also guides on there on how to make pipe bombs and
other home made weapons.
The police offer who responded to them drew up a search warrant, but
it would never seen the courts, if it had then there is a chance
Columbine would have never happened, the warrant was also “Lost”
in a two year period between the massacre and 2001. other police
departments said it was worrying that evidence had disappeared.
Police officers as I said before could have saved students in the
library, the west entrance door to the library where students later
escaped from was propped open, but instead of entering the school,
they stood outside listening as the students inside were murdered.
They also didn't get the survivors out of the school until 3:22pm
over three hours after the massacre ended. Dave Sanders died before
he could receive medical attention or even be removed from the school
by the SWAT team. By 3:30pm the SWAT team found the bodies of the
students in the library.
Police also made a mistake when parents went to collect their
children from the near by elementary school, they told the parents
left that there was going to be one more bus, when in reality there
wasn't another bus coming. The parents of Daniel Rohrbough were not
notified by the police or by the morgue that their son was one of
them killed, they found out the next day, when there was pictures in
the newspaper, one of the pictures showing their son lying on the
ground near the west entrance. By 11:30am on April 21st
the investigation was under way with thirteen of the bodies still
inside the school. By 5pm most of the bodies had been removed from
the school and had been identified.
Eric Harris's father contacted the police straight away when he heard
about the school shooting on the news, he informed them that he
thinks his son was one of the shooters at that he was a member of the
Trench Coat Mafia. Although he was incorrect about his son being a
member of the Trench Coat Mafia, he was right when he said Eric was
one of the shooters. Although Police knew Eric was one of the
shooters, the still never attempted to stop him. It is unknown when
Dylan Klebold was identified as the other shooter, however it is
known that his mother had a feeling that her son had something to do
with it.
The police could have saved both Dave Sanders and Dylan Klebold. If
they had entered the school at the first chance they had. As Dave
Sanders was bleeding to death but hardly able to do much else because
of the extreme blood loss, he would have been able to live if they
had gotten to him sooner than they originally did. Dylan Klebold the
younger of the two shooters could have been saved, even know he shot
himself in the head he didn't die instantly, if police had gotten
there then there was a chance that he would have survived the suicide
attempt rather than had to suffer the pain he went through, possibly
wondering what was happening and to think of what he had done.
It is also known that police found two car bombs in the park lot, it
was later identified that the cars belonged to the perpetrators Dylan
Klebold and Eric Harris. Both cars had a bomb in them, Bomb Squads
successfully removed the bomb in Eric Harris's car without detonating
it, but set of the one in Dylan Klebold's car when one of the
officers scrapped a part of the bomb off something, although the bomb
detonated it didn't injure.
Do You Believe In
God?
There have been many debates surrounding the murder of Cassie
Bernall, who was killed in the library by Eric Harris. Eric Harris
was reported to have asked her whether or not she believed in god
prior to her murder, Bernall is reported to have said yes before she
was killed. Emily Wyant, the closet living survivor and witness to
Bernall's death, denied that this discussion took place. Another
survivor Valeen Schnurr claims she was the one questioned by Eric
Harris, both Joshua Lapp and Craig Scott (younger brother of first
victim Rachel Scott) both claimed it was with Bernell, but when they
were asked to point to the location, they pointed to where Schnurr
was shot rather than where Bernall was.
My Theory On The
Motive
Although no one can know for certain what the actual motive was, I do
believe at least 90% of it was down to bullying, it was shown on the
video's that the boys took prior to the attack that the were often
bullied by the jocks of the school. Brooks Brown a friend of Dylan
Klebold and acquittance of Eric Harris, also stated that people
covered the pair in tomato source on several occasion, with teachers
watching but not doing anything to stop it. I have come to the theory
of bullying being a course of it as the pair specifically aimed at
the school, if they wanted to do something to course chaos in society
then they would have gone to a local store or a police station,
instead they aimed at the school they attended.
Although they didn't target anyone in-particular, I think that they
aimed at the school as a whole because of the bullying they had
suffered for the years attending the school, the teachers for not
stopping the bullying or doing anything about it when it came to
their attention and the students for keeping quiet if they seen it
happening or were taking part in it. This theory of the jocks being
responsible for the bullying is backed up when Dylan Klebold shouts
in the library “Everyone with white caps stand up”, I do believe
if they had of stood up then they would have been killed for the part
they played.
As for the suicide bit, I think that Eric Harris wanted to end things
quickly hence why he shot himself through the roof of his mouth, to
make sure he absolutely wouldn't survive, also from looking at the
positioning they were in when the police took photographic evidence,
I believe that Eric was sitting down of the floor with his back
against a book shelf and the gun propped up between his legs, it also
unknown which committed suicide first. As for Dylan, I do believe
that he changed his mind about being killed after, hence why he chose
a shot to the temple, as there was a chance he would survive, I
believe he wanted the police to find him.
Police and
Media's Explanation
Although we will never know for sure what caused Dylan Klebold and
Eric Harris to committ one of the most notorious high school killings
in American History. And the Basement Tapes have been concealed or
destroyed to prevent it happening again, the police and media did
have their theory on what happened. Only a few people will know for
sure on what the actual motive was, only the survivors and families
of those killed have watched The Basement Tapes as well as the police
that investigated the massacre.
They put bullying down as one of the motives, although some of the
authors believe that it may have been a factor but not the main
factor, they also believed that depression and psychopathy were also
factors if not the main factors in the whole thing. It was well know
that Eric Harris was on antidepressants, and that he had been changed
from one to another brand due to having suicidal and homicidal
thoughts. Most believe that violent video games may have also
contributed to the idea of a mass shoot out of the school, although
it is known that Eric Harris created his own levels on Doom where the
gamer was in a school similar to the design of Columbine, killing
students and teachers. The film Natural Born Killers was also a
contribution as it was know that both of the boys admired the
killers, and even went as far as naming their planning for the attack
on the school and the whole operation NBK after the film.
It was also reported that both of them were members of The Trench
Coat Mafia, a group of students at the school who were the opposite
to the jocks and had been bullied on several occasions, this was
assumed after Eric Harris's father, informed police that his son
could possibly be one of the shooters, and that he was a member of
the Trench Coat Mafia. It was later revealed that the duo only knew
one member of the group and most members of The Trench Coat Mafia had
already left the school when the shooting happened.
The Majority of the blame was directed at Marilyn Manson, mainly
because he was one of the top alternative singers with his band at
the time of the massacre. He was still blamed even when it was
reported that neither Eric Harris or Dylan Klebold were fans of the
band. As a result of being blamed for the massacre the band cancelled
the remaining North American dates for their Rock Is Dead Tour out of
respect for the victims. While stating that Music, Movies, Books and
Video Games were not to blame for what happened. On May 1st
1999 Manson did an article in Rolling Stones Magazine, that further
implied he had nothing to do with what happened. Called Columbine:
Whose Fault Is It?. When Marilyn Manson was asked over a year later,
during the bands first tour in Devour since the shootings, what he
would say to Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris and to the students of
Columbine, he replied with “I wouldn't say a word to them. I would
listen to what they had to say and that's what no one did”
I also believe that Dunblane School Massacre in Scotland UK, had
something what of an inspiration on both Dylan Klebold and Eric
Harris, both of which were aimed at schools and are put as the worst
in history. It is also worth noting that both Eric Harris and Thomas
Hamilton committed suicide in a similar fashion, as well as over ten
people including the perpetrators died during the attack. With
Columbine 15 people were killed including both Dylan Klebold and Eric
Harris, where as 18 people including Thomas Hamilton were killed
during the Dunblame School Massacre.
Columbine Legacy
Although it happened on April 20th 1999, it has made a
lasting impact, school policies were dramatically changed after the
shooting and gun laws were changed to make sure that minors could not
get guns even through friends or family. Bullying was also dealt with
in a more sensible manor instead of being ignored although some
believe that it hasn't changed that much as teachers still ignore it
unless they really have to do something about it.
Although Columbine was Inspired by L.A Riots, Oklahoma Bombing and
Natural Born Killers, it wasn't inspired by any school shooting,
although I think that Dunblane may have had something to do with it,
as at the time it was the worst known school shooting. Eric Harris
and Dylan Klebold's actions on that fateful day have inspired may
others to do things similar, and as a result the events of Columbine
High School Massacre is though to be connected to around 50 school
attacks and plots. Some of the most notable ones, were Sandy Hook
Elementary School Shooting which took place in 2012, Virginia Tech
Shooting which happened in 2007, Northern Illinois University
Shooting and the failed Pocatello High School shooting – this one
was planned but both who intended to take part were arrested for the
murder of one of their classmates for the shooting, incording to the
police they were planning an attack that was inspired by both
Columbine and Dunblane.
A memorial was built for the victims of Columbine, in Colorado. It
has the names of the 13 victims and something about them written by
their families, there was also 15 crosses put out before the memorial
was built 13 to the victims and the other two to the perpetrators,
although people defaced the ones meant for Dylan Klebold and Eric
Harris, and tried to cut them down. The cross were eventually removed
from the park and destroyed by the owner to prevent any public
outcry, as well as the crosses being defaced as they had previously
been. There is a website which I will put a link to giving all
information on the victims, as well as Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris,
as well as information on the Basement Tapes.
Things Don't Add
Up?
There are many things that don't add up about the things that
happened at Columbine and the media reports. For example why the
police didn't enter and save the students in the library when the
door was propped open, they could have saved some of the students in
there yet they chose to stay outside and listen as they were killed.
There is also the question on why the didn't enter the school for
another hour and a half after Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris had
committed suicide. Also why didn't they remove the bodies from the
school until the day after the shooting had happened.
There are also things that don't add up with the autopsy reports on
Dylan and Eric which you can read for yourselves on the website
linked above. It said that Eric Harris had black hair, it is unknown
why this was put down as pictures clearly depicted him with blond
hair, it also states he was wearing green plaid jockey shorts, when
crime scene phones show him to be wearing black combat trousers,
again it is unclear how this came to be. Dylan Klebold has mistakes
also it states that his height was 7'4” it is possible but highly
unlikely that this was the case, in other place it states that Dylan
was actually around 6ft 2 – 6ft 3, it also clearly states that he
was wearing black trousers with a belt that was cut away to fit him,
yet had no mention the belt or trousers on Eric's autopsy.
You can find the autopsy reports of both Eric Harris and Dylan
Klebold on the website given above, below the Columbine Legacy part
of the blog.
Dylan Klebold
Mystery.
For those of you who have read most things to do with Columbine, you
would have read that Eric Harris was on Anti-depressants at the time
of the massacre and that he had been given another brand name from
which he had become emotionless and kind of detached from what was
happening around him. Dylan Klebold however was clear of all drugs in
his system and alcohol thrust it is harder to understand why he
committed such an act against the school.
There are also questions on whether Dylan was just a helpless
follower who was roped into it by Eric Harris who was aware Dylan was
depressed and wanted to end his life, or if he was the one who came
up with the entire thing. His actions and journal entries suggest
that he would have committed an act like Columbine with or without
Eric Harris, his journal suggest that he had planned to do it with a
lost friend who he felt had abounded him. He was also the first one
to mention the code name for the Massacre in his journals. NBK
(Standing for Natural Born Killers).
But other evidence suggest that Dylan Klebold was the follower, for
example although he was loud during the video's particularly the
Hit-men for Hire video, he was described as being quiet around people
he didn't know and nervous when it came to talking to girls,
especially to those he liked. Other piece of evidence from video's
show him looking to Eric for approval, like he was wanting to be
accepted by at least one person outside of his parents.
Although we will never know for sure what his personal motives were
for his part in the attack, or if he was the leader or a helpless
follower, people have always assumed that it would be one or the
other. I personally think that there wasn't a leader to the entire
thing, they both planned it, and brought their fantasy to reality,
they both died at the end of the attack which makes it harder to know
what they truly wanted to archive and what their motives were, maybe
one day the Basement Tapes would be released to the public so that
the questions people have can be answered.
Hit-men for Hire
Both Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold made a series of video's called
Hit-men for Hire, the video's show them wearing the outfits they wore
the day of the massacre, with pretend weapons, the videos also show
them using bombs and other explosives of different things including a
push bike. There were also both of them saying several things to what
appeared to be bullies of the person they were hired by. It is
unknown if they based the victim of bullying off of their own
experiences but it was likely this was the case. Both of them
appeared to be showing a lot of rage and pent up anger when it showed
then sending a message to the person who was the bully.
Eric Levels and
Who the Media Blamed
As most you know from research the media blamed several different
things for what happened. They blamed Rock band Marilyn Mansion
although it is unclear why as it is known that neither one of the
boys were a fan of his music, when asked what he (Marilyn Manson)
would say to the students of Columbine he replied with “Nothing, I
wouldn't say a word, I would listen to what they had to say, which no
one did” it was clear from this statement that he believed that
both Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were ignored and their way of
getting people to listen to them was to commit a crime that they
wouldn't be able to ignore hence the massacre.
On the video game Doom which was also blamed for the massacre as it
was thought to have inspired the duo to commit the crime they did.
The believed the violence of the game was what inspired the pair to
use guns and other violence against the pupils and teachers of the
school. Eric also created several levels on the game which have been
called Eric Levels, you can see them in the video below. It was
speculated that some of the levels were based on Columbine High
School, which if this is true should have been a sign of what was to
come, no one can be sure if that is true or not.
Did Eric Harris
shoot Dylan Klebold before committing suicide?
This is a frequently asked question as is, the one about Dylan being
a helpless follower or the leader/mastermind of the entire thing. And
again it is a question we are unlikely to know the answer to.
Pictures from the scene don't really answer it and incording to
reports they both committed suicide at the same time, autopsy report
also say a wound consistent with self inflicted gun shot, but how
trusting is the autopsy report when it has clear mistakes in there.
It is certainly possible that Eric Harris could have shot Dylan
Klebold before turning his shot gun on himself, as the wound to Dylan
didn't kill him straight away, as it was reported that he was
coughing and struggling to breath after he was shot, although the
shot to the head didn't kill him but it would have caused agonising
pain, leaving him to think about what was going to happen and if he
was going to survive, he actually died from drowning in his own blood
rather than the gun shot to the head.
It is also suspected that Dylan was having second thoughts about
committing the school massacre, so it could be possible that Eric
shot Dylan at the end of the massacre as a way of staying in control,
as it was known Eric liked being in control. This may explain why
Dylan's head shot didn't kill him straight away. But as I have stated
before, it is a question that is unlikely to be answered as no one
can say for sure.
 |
| Picture 1 crime scene photo. Eric and Dylan after being checked over |
 |
| Crime Scene Photo 2, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold |
My Overall Theory
Although people out there believe Columbine could have been
prevented, I however do not. Most people say that if the police had
done their job properly and gone through with the search warrant for
Eric Harris's home then they would have found what was equal to a
small arms factory and he would have been arrested and jailed. That
may have been true but I believe Columbine still would have happened,
this only would have taken Eric Harris from the equation it wouldn't
have taken the other shooter Dylan Klebold out of it.
It was clear from Dylan Klebold's journal that he was depressed and
that he felt angry and abounded when a friend left him, and spent
more time with his girlfriend rather than him, it was also clear he
was in love with someone but incording to the journal she never
noticed him which may have further driven him to be one of the
shooters. We can also find out from Dylan's journal that he was
suicidal and wish to end his life, but like Eric's it doesn't give
his actual reason for committing the massacre. Dylan also mentions on
several occasions he wanted to blow up the school, but mentions with
other people besides Eric Harris, at least one of them is speculated
to have been a girl as he mentioned wanting it to be like Bonnie and
Clyde. The other was thought to be his childhood best friend Brooks
Brown who had previously been at odds with the chosen partner Eric
Harris.
I believe that this would have happened, with or without police
intervening before the attack. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold's
partnerships was unique in a way that hasn't been repeated, in a
perfect storm, everyone was fooled by Eric Harris as he could be
manipulative and act like nothing was wrong, where as Dylan Klebold
appeared to have been one of the last people others thought would
commit such an act. They were describe as hard working intelligent
bright young people, yet they were able to commit one of the deadest
high school shootings without anyone suspecting a thing.
Do I think Police could have done more. Yes. They could have entered
the school sooner, and saved some of the students that were killed,
they could have kept a closer eye on the two that were involved, and
should have informed the families of the victims rather than telling
them there was one last bus and letting one family find out through a
picture in the newspaper. So yes the police could have done more than
they did, but they chose to stand outside the building while the
killings took place.
Do I think the police could have prevented it. No. something like
Columbine was going to happen, at that time bullying was ignored by
teachers, but thanks to the act people sat up and took notice of the
effects it has and what it could drive people to do. It also showed
just how easy it was for two minors to get hold of weapons and find
step by step instructions to building bombs. I agree some of the
school shooting wouldn't have happened if Columbine itself didn't
happen but I also think that some like Virginia Tech Shooting would
have still happen with or without Columbine taking place, so although
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold inspired so many to do as they did, and
technically become modern day revolutionaries, I don't believe they
were necessarily what inspired other school shootings.
Although I disagree with what the pair did, I can understand that
they did it to get people to listen to them, and to show them just
how bad the effects of bullying can impact someone and the people
around them. I believe they targeted the school for a reason, as it
was most likely to them it was the place where they suffered from the
bullying that went unnoticed by both students and teachers. In my
opinion they aimed at the school because they saw it as the source of
their pain, if they wanted to cause chaos to the community I would
have guest they would have targeted the police station or a local
shopping centre, but they specifically targeted and planned an attack
against their school. As for aiming at random students and teachers,
rather than the ones bullying them, I think they blamed the student
body and teachers as a whole.
The teachers for not doing anything to prevent what was happening and
the student for bullying them and for not speaking out against it, or
doing something to alert other staff members. As I said when
explaining what happened, they did call out the Jocks or Athletes in
the library when they asked the ones in the white hats to stand up.
So I would say that was their attempt at confronting they ones who
was the cause of their pain.
Questions about
the date?
Everyone who has done research on Columbine would know that it took
place on 20th April 1999, but there has been much converse
on whether that was the actual date they intended. It has been
suspected through the Basement Tapes that the original date was 2nd
April 1999, which was a full 18 days before the date that it
happened on, which would also mean that for some reason or another
the date was pushed back once or twice.
The other suspected date was 19th April 1999, which was
the date Police where more weary because it was the date the Oklahoma
bombings took place several years before. However the 20th
April 1999 also had some meaning to it in history, as it was Adolph
Hitler's birthday. Although it there have been disagreements when the
date was, like most of the things when it comes to Columbine, nobody
will actually know for sure when their intended date for the attack
was.
Their Original
Plan
I don't think the events that happened at Columbine on 20th
April 1999 were actually what the duo intended them to be, I actually
believe what happened was improvised. The pair had two twenty pound
propane bombs set in the canteen intended to go off at 11:17am, as
well as various others around Littleton. If the bombs had have gone
off then the ones around Littleton would have distracted emergency
services. Where as the bombs in the cafeteria would have been
powerful enough to either kill or critically wound all 488 students
and teachers who would have been in there, as well as bring part of
the library down into the cafeteria.
They would have most likely then picked off students as the fled from
the school through the cafeteria exit and the west entrance, from
their position on the stairs they would have been able to shoot
anyone who came through the doors. It is also know that they pair had
a bomb in each of their cars, which were intended to keep the fire
men busy while they continued to attack the school with their pipe
bombs and their guns.
Although the event that took place was devastating and continues to
be the deadest school shooting in American history. But if their
original plan happened instead of their improvised plan then the
results would have been much more devastating than what happened. As
at least 500+ people who have been killed in the attack, making it
more like a terrorist attack rather than the school shooting attack
that resulted in.
My Questions To
You?
So now you have read what happened at Columbine and my general theory
about it, I propose a few questions to you.
1. Do you think that Dunblane School Massacre that occurred on
Wednesday 13 March 1996 could have inspired Dylan Klebold and Eric
Harris?
2. Who do you think was the leader of the duo, Eric Harris or Dylan
Klebold?
3. Do you think Columbine could have prevented?
4. A common question now, do you think that Eric Harris shot Dylan
Klebold and then himself?
5. Do you think that Columbine could happen again?
6. In your opinion do you think that the Basement Tapes should be
released to the general public?
7. Do you think that Dylan Klebold intended to return home after the
massacre?
8. Did you find the blog helpful?
9. Is there any other blogs you would like me to do?
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