Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold

Eric David Harris and Dylan Bennet Klebold were American high school seniors who committed the Columbine High School massacre. They killed 15 people—including themselves—and injured 24 others, three of whom were injured as they escaped the attack. The two then committed suicide in the library, where they had killed 10 of their victims.

Columbine Massacre
At 11:10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold arrived at Columbine High School in separate cars. Harris parked in the Junior student parking lot and Klebold in the Senior student parking lot at spaces not assigned to them. From these spots, both of them had excellent views of the cafeteria's side entrance, and each shooter was covering a main exit of the school. Shortly before arriving at Columbine, Harris and Klebold had set up a small fire bomb in a field half a mile (800 m) away from the school. The bomb was set to explode at 11:14 a.m., and is thought to have been placed there as a diversion for emergency personnel. The bomb did partially detonate, and caused a small fire that was extinguished by the fire department.

At Columbine, the pair met near Harris's car and armed two 20 pound (9 kg) propane bombs before entering the cafeteria a few minutes before the A lunch shift began, and placed the duffel bags carrying the bombs inside. Each bomb was set to explode at approximately 11:17 a.m. Coincidentally, a custodian removed the security camera video tape, rewound it, and placed a new tape in the slot at the same time they entered the cafeteria. Although the act of placing the bombs was not recorded, once the new tape was started the bags could be clearly seen. Each shooter returned to his car to wait until the bombs exploded. They intended to open fire on students fleeing the school through the main entrances once the cafeteria bombs detonated. As they returned to their cars, Harris encountered Brooks Brown, a classmate with whom he had recently patched up a longstanding series of disagreements. Brown was surprised to see Harris getting out of a car with a gym bag. Harris had been absent from a class test that morning. Brown told him, but Harris seemed unconcerned. Harris then warned him, "Brooks, I like you now. Get out of here. Go home." Brown, feeling uneasy, walked away. Several minutes later, students departing Columbine for lunch noticed Brooks Brown heading down South Pierce Street away from the school. Meanwhile, Harris and Klebold armed themselves by their cars and waited for the bombs to explode.

When the cafeteria bombs failed, Harris and Klebold armed themselves with their weapons, met, and walked toward the building. They went to the top of the West Entrance steps, which was the highest point on campus. From this vantage point, the cafeteria's side entrance was at the bottom of the staircase, the school's main West Entrance was to their left, and the athletic fields were to their right (see the lead photograph at the top of this page for an image of the staircase).

At 11:19 a.m., a witness heard Eric Harris yell "Go! Go!" At that moment, the gunmen pulled out their guns and Harris began shooting at Rachel Scott and Richard Castaldo with his 9 mm semi-automatic carbine rifle, who were sitting on a grassy knoll to their left (next to the West Entrance of the school), eating lunch. Scott, hit four times, was killed instantly; Castaldo, hit eight times, was critically wounded. It is unclear who shot first and who killed Scott. Many rumors swirled regarding the causes of the rampage, including the possible targeting of Christians. One such rumor was that the shooters first asked Scott if she believed in God, then killed her after she answered affirmatively. The FBI later concluded that this interaction did not take place.

Harris removed his trench coat and took out his 9 mm rifle again, aiming it down the West Staircase. Daniel Rohrbough and two friends, Sean Graves and Lance Kirklin, were walking up the staircase directly below the shooters. Kirklin reported seeing them standing at the top, when suddenly Harris began shooting at him. All three fell, wounded. Harris then turned and began shooting south (away from the school) at students sitting on the grassy knoll adjacent to the steps, opposite the West Entrance of the school. Michael Johnson was hit, but kept running and escaped. Mark Taylor fell to the ground, crippled, and played dead. The other three escaped uninjured. As the shooting continued, Sean Graves stood up and limped down the staircase into the cafeteria's side entrance, where he collapsed in front of the door. Klebold walked down the steps heading toward the cafeteria. As he descended, he shot Lance Kirklin once more in the face, critically wounding him. As Daniel Rohrbough struggled down the steps towards the bottom of the staircase, Klebold walked up to him and shot him in the back at close range, killing him. He then continued down the staircase and entered the cafeteria, walking over the injured Sean Graves, who lay at the cafeteria entrance. It is speculated that Klebold did this because he was checking to see why the propane bombs had failed to explode. As Klebold stepped into the cafeteria, Harris began to shoot down the steps at several students sitting near the cafeteria's entrance, wounding Anne-Marie Hochhalter as she attempted to flee. After a few seconds, Klebold returned up the staircase to meet with Harris at the top.

The two then shot toward students standing near the soccer field a few yards away, but did not hit anyone. They threw pipe bombs as they made their way towards the West Entrance, some of which detonated. Inside the campus, teacher Patti Nielson, seeing the commotion, walked towards the West Entrance with student Brian Anderson. She wanted to walk outside and tell the two students to "Knock it off", as she thought they were shooting a video or pulling a prank. As Anderson opened the first set of double doors, Harris shot out the windows. Anderson was injured by flying glass and Nielson was hit in the shoulder by shrapnel. Reacting in fear, she quickly stood up and ran down the hall into the library, where she alerted the students inside, demanding they duck beneath desks and remain silent. She then dialed 9-1-1 and concealed herself beneath the library's administrative counter. Brian Anderson remained behind, caught between the exterior and interior doors.

Soon thereafter, at approximately 11:24 a.m., a Jefferson County deputy sheriff arrived at the scene and began shooting at Harris and Klebold, distracting them from the injured Brian Anderson. Anderson staggered out of the area and made it into the library, where he ran into an open staff break room. He remained there until the ordeal ended. Harris fired ten shots at the officer, who then radioed in a Code 33 (officer in need of emergency assistance). When his gun jammed, he cleared it then a fired a few more shots. Then Harris ran inside the school with Klebold. The pair then proceeded down the main North Hallway, shooting at anyone they saw and throwing pipe bombs. While doing so, Klebold shot student Stephanie Munson in the ankle. She was able to walk out of the school and made it to a house across the street. The pair then shot out the windows to the East Entrance of the school. After going through the hall several more times, shooting at any students they saw (but not injuring any), they headed back towards the West Entrance and turned to the Library Hallway.

Moments earlier, Coach Dave Sanders had evacuated the cafeteria through a staircase leading up to the second floor. The staircase was around the corner from the Library Hallway in the main South Hallway. He and a student turned the corner and were walking down the Library Hallway when they saw the shooters coming around the corner from the North Hallway. The two quickly turned around and ran the other way (it is believed, but not confirmed, that Sanders was heading for the library to help evacuate the students there). The shooters came around the corner and they shot at both of them, hitting Dave Sanders in the chest as he reached the South Hallway, but missing the student. The student ran into science classroom SCI-1 and alerted the teacher inside. Meanwhile, the shooters returned back up the North Hallway. Sanders struggled over to the science area, where the teacher took him into his science classroom SCI-3, where around 30 students were taking an exam. A sign was placed in the window that read "1 bleeding to death," in order to alert police of their location. Two students administered first aid, and attempted to control bleeding with shirts from the male students in the room. A teacher and several students remained in contact with police outside of the school using a phone in the classroom. All the students in the room were evacuated safely, but Sanders was not evacuated, and died at approximately 3:00 p.m. He was the only teacher killed in the ordeal.

As the shooting unfolded, Patti Nielson was on the phone with emergency services, recounting her experience, and trying to get students to take cover under desks. According to transcripts, her call was received by the 9-1-1 operator at 11:25:05 a.m. The time period between the call being answered and the shooters entering the library was four minutes and ten seconds. Before entering, the shooters threw two bombs into the cafeteria from the staircase in the South Hallway, both of which exploded. One can be seen on the security tapes. They then threw another in the Library Hallway, which also exploded, damaging some lockers. At 11:29 a.m., Harris and Klebold entered the library, where 52 students, two teachers, and two librarians were hiding.

As he entered, Harris shot at a display case at the opposite end of the administrative counter, injuring student Evan Todd, who was hiding under a copier table adjacent to the display case. Harris then yelled for everyone to "Get up!" so loudly that he can be heard on the 9-1-1 recording at 11:29:18. Staff and students hiding in the library exterior rooms said they heard the gunmen utter things such as "Everyone with white hats, stand up! This is for all the shit you've given us for the past four years!" and "All jocks stand up! We'll get the guys in white hats!" Wearing a white baseball cap at Columbine was a tradition amongst sports team members. When no one stood up, Eric was heard to say: "Fine, I'll start shooting anyway!" He fired his shotgun at a desk, not knowing Evan Todd was under it. Todd was hit by wood splinters, but not seriously hurt. The shooters made their way down to the opposite side of the library, to two rows of computers. Evan Todd used the time to conceal himself behind the administrative counter. Kyle Velasquez was sitting at the north—or upper—row of computers; police said that he had not hidden under the desk, but that he was curled up under the computer table. Klebold shot at him first, hitting him in the head and back, killing him. The shooters set down their duffel bags, filled with ammunition, at the south—or lower—row of computers and reloaded their weapons. They walked to the windows facing the outside staircase, where they had just been a moment ago. Noticing police evacuating students, Harris said "Let's go kill some cops," and they began to shoot out the windows; police returned fire.

After a few seconds, Klebold turned away from the windows and fired his shotgun at a nearby table, injuring Patrick Ireland, Daniel Steepleton, and Makai Hall. He immediately removed his trench coat. Harris grabbed his shotgun and walked over to the lower row of computer desks, firing his gun underneath the first desk in the row without looking to see who was under it. The shot killed Steven Curnow, who was hiding underneath. He then shot under the next computer desk, injuring Kacey Ruegsegger.

Harris walked over to the table across from the lower computer row, slapped the top twice with his hand, knelt down, and said "peek-a-boo" before shooting Cassie Bernall in the head. The recoil from the weapon hit his face, breaking his nose. Although one witness reported that Bernall was the individual who was asked "Do you believe in God?", the exchange actually happened with Klebold and surviving student Valeen Schnurr. Three students who witnessed Bernall's death, including the person who was hiding under the table with her, have testified that Klebold and Bernall did not exchange words. Although some students who were in the library asserted the exchange occurred, none of them physically witnessed it. They may instead have heard the exchange between Klebold and Schnurr, and been misled by news reports attributing the words to Bernall.

Harris turned to the next table; student Bree Pasquale sat next to the table rather than beneath it. She had not hidden underneath, as there was not enough room. Harris asked her if she wanted to die, and Pasquale responded with a plea for her life. Witnesses report that Harris seemed disoriented, possibly from the wound to his face, which was bleeding heavily. As Harris taunted Pasquale, Patrick Ireland tried to aid Makai Hall, who had suffered a wound to his knee. While doing so, his head came above the table. Klebold shot him, hitting him twice in the head and once in the foot. He was knocked unconscious, but survived.

Next, Klebold proceeded toward another set of tables, discovering Isaiah Shoels, Matthew Kechter, and Craig Scott, Rachel Scott's brother, hiding under one. All were popular athletes at the school. He attempted to pull Isaiah out from underneath the table, but was unsuccessful. He then called to Harris, who left Bree Pasquale and joined him. Klebold and Harris taunted Shoels for a few seconds and made derogatory racial comments towards him. Harris knelt down and shot him in the chest at close range, killing him. Klebold also knelt down and opened fire, hitting and killing Matthew Kechter. Craig Scott remained uninjured; he lay in the blood of his friends, pretending to be dead. Harris turned and threw a COsub>2 bomb at the table where Hall, Steepleton, and Ireland were located. The COsub>2 bomb landed on Daniel Steepleton's thigh. Makai Hall grabbed the bomb and threw it south (away from the shooters). It exploded in mid-air.

Harris walked to the bookcases between the west and center section of tables in the library. He jumped on one of the bookcases and shook it, then shot at something in that general area. It is not known what he shot at, since no one could see him at the time. Klebold walked through the main area, past the first set of bookcases, the central desk area, and a second set of bookcases, into the east area. Harris walked past the central area and met up with him there. Klebold shot out a display case next to the door, turned, and shot at the closest table to him, injuring Mark Kintgen. He turned to the table to his left—east—and shot at it, injuring Lisa Kreutz and Val Schnurr with the same bullet. He approached the table and fired again, killing Lauren Townsend.

Meanwhile, Harris went over to another table where two girls were hiding, bent down to look at them, and dismissed them as pathetic. The shooters went over to an empty table and reloaded their weapons. Schnurr, who had been hurt badly, began to cry out at that point, "Oh, God help me!" Klebold went back to her and asked her if she believed in God. She floundered in her answer, saying no and then yes, trying to get the answer "right". He asked her why; she said it was because it was what her family believed. He taunted her, reloaded his shotgun, then walked away. The slightly injured Evan Todd reported that Klebold said "God is gay". This incident eventually led to the Cassie Bernall controversy; Schnurr's exchange with Klebold was incorrectly attributed to Bernall.

Harris moved to another table and shot twice underneath it, injuring Nicole Nowlen and John Tomlin. When Tomlin tried to crawl out, Klebold came around the corner and kicked him. Harris taunted his attempt at escape, and Klebold shot him repeatedly, killing him. Harris walked back over to the other side of the table where Lauren Townsend lay. Behind it, Kelly Fleming, like Bree Pasquale, sat next to the table rather than beneath it. Harris shot her with his shotgun, hitting her in the back, killing her instantly. He continued to shoot at the table behind her, hitting Townsend and Kreutz again, and wounding Jeanna Park. An autopsy later revealed that Townsend had been killed by the first shot.

At 11:37 a.m., the shooters moved to the center of the library, where they continued to reload their weapons at a table midway across the room. Harris noticed a student nearby, and asked him to identify himself. The student was John Savage, an acquaintance of Klebold's. Savage asked Klebold what they were doing, to which Klebold replied, "Oh, just killing people." Savage asked if Klebold were going to kill him. Klebold said "What?" because the fire alarms were going off. Savage asked again if he were going to kill him. Klebold hesitated, and then told him to leave the library. Savage fled immediately, and escaped via the library's main entrance.

After Savage was gone, Harris turned and fired his carbine at the table directly north of where they'd been, hitting Daniel Mauser in the face at close range, killing him. Both shooters moved south from there and fired randomly under another table, critically injuring Jennifer Doyle and Austin Eubanks, and fatally wounding Corey DePooter. DePooter, the last victim of the massacre, was credited with keeping his friends calm during the ordeal.

At this point, several witnesses heard Harris and Klebold comment on how they no longer found a thrill in shooting their victims. Klebold was quoted as having said, "Maybe we should start knifing people, that might be more fun." They had each brought two knives in case it came down to hand-to-hand combat or to do what Klebold suggested. Both shooters moved away from the table and headed toward the library's main counter. Harris threw a Molotov cocktail toward the southwestern end of the library as he went, but it failed to explode. He came around the east side of the counter and Klebold joined him from the west; they converged near where Evan Todd had moved after the copier incident. The shooters made fun of Todd, who was wearing a hat which meant that he was a jock. When the shooters wanted to see his face, he lifted the hat up partway, so they couldn't see it. Klebold asked Todd to give him one reason why he should not kill him, and Todd replied: "I don't want trouble". The shooters continued taunting him and debated killing him, but they eventually walked away. At this point, Harris's nose was bleeding heavily, which may have caused him to decide to leave the library. Klebold turned and fired a shot into an open library staff break room, hitting a small television. He slammed a chair down on top of the computer terminal that was on the library counter, directly above the bureau where Patti Nielson hid.

The two walked out of the library at 11:42 a.m., ending the massacre.

Almost immediately, 34 uninjured and 10 injured students evacuated the room through the north door, which led out to the sidewalk adjacent to the west entrance, where the rampage had begun. Patrick Ireland, who had been knocked unconscious, and Lisa Kreutz, who was unable to move, remained in the building. Patti Nielson joined Brian Anderson and the three library staff in the exterior break room, into which Klebold had earlier fired shots. They locked themselves in and remained there until they were freed, at approximately 3:30 p.m.

After leaving the library, the pair went into the science area and threw a small fire bomb into an empty storage closet. When the bomb exploded, they ran off while a teacher in the adjacent room put out the fire. They proceeded toward the south hallway, stopped, and shot into an empty science room (SCI-8) at the end of the hall. At approximately 11:44 a.m. they went down the staircase into the cafeteria, where they were recorded by the security cameras. The recording shows Harris kneeling on the landing and firing a shot toward a propane bomb, unsuccessfully attempting to detonate it. He took a sip from one of the drinks left behind by fleeing students, as Klebold approached the propane bomb and examined it. The recording shows Klebold lighting a Molotov cocktail and throwing it at the propane bomb. As the two left the cafeteria, it exploded, partially detonating one of the propane bombs at 11:46 a.m. A gallon of fuel ignited in the same vicinity at 11:48 a.m., causing a fire that was extinguished by the fire sprinklers. They left the cafeteria and headed back upstairs. Once back on the upper level, they wandered around the main north and south hallways of the school, shooting aimlessly. They walked through the south hallway, past the social studies section, and into the main office before returning to the north hallway. Several times they looked through windows on the classroom doors, and even made eye contact with students, but never attempted to enter the rooms. After leaving the main office, the pair went up to a bathroom entrance and began taunting students inside, saying such things as "we know you're in there" and "let's kill anyone we find in here", but they never actually entered the bathroom. At 11:55 a.m., the two returned to the cafeteria and entered the kitchen briefly, only to return back up the staircase and into the south hallway, at 11:58 a.m.

At 12:02 p.m., the shooters re-entered the library, which was empty of all living students except for the unconscious Patrick Ireland and Lisa Kreutz. Once inside, they shot at police through the west windows again, to no avail. At approximately 12:08 p.m, they moved over to the bookshelves near the table where Patrick Ireland lay; there, they shot themselves, committing suicide.

Modus Operandi
Harris used a 9mm Hi-Point 995 Carbine rifle and a Savage 67H pump action sawed off shotgun. Klebold used a Interac TEC-DC9 and a Stevens 311D double barreled sawed off shotgun. They placed two propane bombs in the cafeteria which failed to detonate. One propane diversionary bomb partially detonated. Klebold and Harris also used carbon dioxide (COsub>2 ) and pipe bombs.

Profile
Psychologists posthumously diagnosed Harris as a psychopath and Klebold a manic depressive.

Victims
13:
 * Rachel Scott
 * Daniel Rohrbough
 * Dave Sanders
 * Kyle Valasquez
 * Cassie Bernall
 * Isaiah Shoels
 * Matthew Kechter
 * Lauren Townsend
 * John Tomlin
 * Kelly Fleming
 * Daniel Mauser
 * Corey DePooter
 * 21 injured others

In Criminal Minds

 * The Perfect Storm
 * Hanley Waters
 * Jump Cut