Copycat Crimes - There have been many many copycat crimes in the years following Columbine. Many have been school shootings but there have been other attacks and mass killings by people inspired by Eric and Dylan. It kind of makes sense when you think about it. Eric and Dylan, in their writings and videos, are very relatable and often speak directly to the reader/viewers. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as the Columbine Effect. I know Eric really thought he was going to kill 500 plus people on 4.20.99 and it didn't exactly go as he planned. But when you think about it, with all of the follow up occurrences and attacks that have been directly inspired by Eric, Columbine may have had an even larger impact than he ever could have imagined.
4/19/99 - I am not sure what this refers to. Dylan wrote this on the morning of 4.19.99 "It’s interesting, when im in my human form, knowing im going to die. Everything has a touch of triviality to it. like how none of this calculus shit matters the way it shouldn’t. the truth. In 26.4 hours i’ll be dead, & in happiness. Oh little zombie human fags will know their errors, & be forever suffering & mournful. HAHAHA, of course I will miss things. not really." AT night time on 4.19.99 another student named Andrew Beard called Dylan at home and tried to negotiate a trade in their fantasy baseball league. Beard said that Dylan didn't give an answer and said he would think about it and let him know tomorrow. Sort of an odd response considering his plans for the next day. I don't understand why he wouldn't just say no... or better yet.... just say yes. Who cares if you won a fantasy trade when you're dead. Two students named Nicholas Romanyshyn and Ryan Selchert were filming a video on 4.19.99 when they came across Eric sitting near the computer lab writing in a notebook. Eric asked them if he was in the way for their shots and they said no. Ryan asked him what he was working on and Eric responded that he was working on his plans for tomorrow. It seems very in character for Eric to actually care if he needs to move to help those two kids (who he easily could have killed the next day) get the shot they needed. Eric was no stranger to filming and trying to get the right shots. I think it also speaks a little bit to Erics comments in his diary about how his life seemed like a movie. SImple comments that nobody would think twice about have significant meaning for Eric and a dripping with irony. It is also the date that was on a suicide note that was received by police after 4.20.99 that they later determined to be a fake. I know I said I don't know what 4.19.99 is about and now have rambled forever.
13 Tears - This refers to a drawing done by victim Rachel Scott. In her last diary entry she drew a set of eyes crying onto a rose and there are 13 individual tears falling onto the flower. People see this as significant because there were 13 (15 if you include R+V) victims of the Columbine attack. I see it as just a coincidence. I don't know... I don't see any conspiracy here. Maybe the idea is she had some sort of super super vague premonition that 13 people would die but didn't say anything and just drew a picture in her diary.
Luvox - Luvox, or Fluvoxamine, is a prescription antidepressant that Eric was prescribed by his doctor. He did have low levels of Luvox in his system during his autopsy. Trace amounts can stay in someone system for up to 14 days so it is tough to say when he last took it. Some people have questioned whether his use of Luvox may have contributed to him attacking Columbine High School. Anyone who is familiar with Erics writings will know that he had his abnormal thoughts long before he was prescribed any medication. I highly doubt the use of Luvox had any effect on the sequence of events leading up to 4.20.99
Third Shooter - Ever since the day of the attack there have been rumors and claims of a third shooter. There are many many witness testimonies in the 11k that describe a shooter that does not match Eric or Dylan's description. Lots of conflicting reports about shooters wearing trench coats and shooters wearing other items. There was also a man on the roof which police though could have been a third shooter. In my opinion this is all a result of the confusion and anxiety of the events of that day. The security camera footage, combined with their personal writings and videos, in my opinion, prove that there was no third shooter that day. That means nothing for the idea that someone else may have been involved in a non shooting role.
Journals - Both Eric and Dylan left journals detailing the lead up to the events of 4.20.99. You can view Eric's on this site here. They offer great insights into the minds of the two boys and I recommend people read both of them, especially Erics. It is quite evident that Eric understood that people would be reading what he wrote at some point in the future and his journals are compelling and usually well written. Again I am unsure about what the issue/conspiracy here is. I have heard rumors that there were additional pages from Eric's journal that were somehow lost. Could have been Jeff Co who only recorded what they wanted to or even Eric's father who removed pages before the police got to the house. Not sure I really believe it though. I do think there are probably other writings by Eric that got missed or even destroyed that we may never see.
John Savage - John was a student at Columbine who was in the library during the attack. He knew Dylan from theatre class. Initially Eric put his shotgun under the table John was hiding under and told him to identify himself. He said "It's John" and Dylan recognized him. John asked what he was doing and Dylan responded "oh, killing people". John asked if he was going to kill him and Dylan said no and told John to leave the library. Some people have said that he may have been involved in some way for the boys to let him go but I don't think that's true. I think Dylan saw someone that he recognized, someone who was not on his shit list, and just let him go. I wonder what Eric's reaction to this would have been... or why Eric even hesitated and didn't just shoot him. John did say that he moved out of the way of the barrel of Erics shotgun twice before he was asked to identify himself. I know that Eric had a very military frame of mind sometimes and this may have been that coming out. John Savage is now a registered sex offender if anyone cares.
Dylan didn't commit Suicide - This is a very popular one. Some believe that Eric killed Dylan and then killed himself. This is due to a variety of pieces of misinformation that have come out over the years. I totally believe that Eric was capable of killing Dylan and would have done it if he wanted to.... but I do not think he did. Eric was about to die and he knew it so I am sure his thoughts were on himself, as they should have been. Then there is the the physical evidence. There was blood residue from Dylan found on the inside of his Tec-9. I suppose this could be explained away with the idea that Eric used Dylan's gun to shoot him in the head. Some point to the positions of the bodies in the photos to show that Dylan had fallen onto Erics leg. I don't think that these photos can be relied on for anything. Dylan or Eric could have been convulsing and moving and who knows how they were jostled by the bomb squads before the pictures were taken.
Sue Klebold - Sue is Dylan's mother and has been very public in her thoughts and experience with Columbine. She wrote a book called "A Mother's Reckoning" that has been commercially successful. In some ways I feel for her because I truly believe she was just a normal person trying to live a normal life. On the other hand there are some things she has said that are disparaging towards Eric in an attempt to deflect blame from her own son. She often will blame Eric for some of Dylan's behavior when in reality Dylan was in control of his own life and was making his own decisions. She has also done a variety of conferences and talks that are somewhat popular. I wish that anyone in Erics family would come forward and talk about their experiences or give us more information about him. I think they would be surprised by some of the positive feedback they would receive.
Police Moved Bodies - The police definitively moved the bodies in the school before any photographs were taken. Jeff Co was extremely worried about bombs and traps that day and the bomb squad secured the building before others were allowed in. Specifically Eric and Dylan's bodies had been moved by the bomb squad to ensure they were safe. It's unfortunate that they didn't have body cams or something. There are some rumors that all of the bodies in the libraries were moved and positioned where the official report says that they ended up. I am not sure I really believe this. The physical evidence usually supports where the bodies were and I can't see why the police would reposition the bodies beyond small movements. When the bodies were initially found around 3:23pm by the first SWAT team moving through the library, the officer described Eric and Dylan as facing each other and there being a variety of explosive devices littered around them. In the pictures we have this is not the case.
Gunman on Roof - On 4.20.99 there was a repairman who was on the roof during the attack and there are some controversies surrounding it. His name is Chris Clarke and there are some discrepancies in his story. Initially he told police that he was in the school and proceeded to the roof only after hearing gunshots, then later he said that he was already on the roof. There are also conflicting reports as to what he was actually at the school to fix with some reports saying a locker room fan and others saying a cooling unit for the photography room. Clarke remained on the roof until a police officer pulled a van beside the building and got him down. Clarke said it was a police van but records show it was actually his own van which officer Wayne DePew had commandeered..... kind of odd to mistake your own van for a police van. There has also been pictures from Columbine which show larger caliber shell casings on the roof, probably .223. Some good insights can be found here. Idk, with the witness testimonies and the story inaccuracies this seems possible to me.
E+D and Nazism - Eric definitely had a fascination with Nazis and national socialism. He references Nazism and Hitler multiple times in his personal and academic writings. many of Eric's friends also testified that he had an interest in these topics and talked about them often. Was Eric an actual Nazi? No, of course not. Dylan actually wore a Soviet hammer and Sickle pin on his boot on 4.20.99. While there is a lot made of Eric's Nazi fascination I don't think that it actually played any role in the attack.
Car Bombs - Both Erics 1986 Honda Prelude and Dylans 1982 BMW 320i were rigged with explosives on 4.20.99. Both cars had propane tanks and 20 gallon fuel canisters according to police designed to go off and disrupt first responders at the scene. Some reports say that the clocks attached to the car devices were purposefully positioned so they couldn't be seen and nobody could tell when they were scheduled to detonate. None of them worked properly and there is more info on that here.
Video Games - Eric was heavily involved with the video game Doom. He played it often and prided himself on his ability to make wads, or custom level designs. His levels can be found here. Eric also had a Quake group and had websites for both. Eric went as far as to write a letter to the creators of Doom, ID Software. He also spoke in his personal writings about needing to believe that those he was killing were just characters from Doom and he named his shotgun "Arlene" after a character in the game. I don't really buy the idea that video games had anything to do with the events of 4.20.99. I know it is a common refrain that many mass shooters are into video games but I think that can be explained away by the fact that they are usually young men who would be into video games anyway.
Kevin Harris - Kevin Harris is Eric older brother. By all accounts Eric and Kevin were close even though they were very different people. Some people have said that Kevin must have known what Eric was planning but I don't think he did. He was appropriately devastated after the events of 4.20.99 and was reported to have asked people who were there that day if it actually was his brother. I think that if Kevin knew anything Eric would have mentioned it somewhere. He got married a while back and the family had a site that hosted some pictures that people saved before they had to shut it down because of the harassment. There are also some rumored college videos of Kevin doing various medical things for his sports medicine classes. I haven't been able to find them but I saw a screenshot a while back. I wish he would come forward and talk about his brother. He was in the military.
Byron Klebold - Byron is Dylan's older brother. Similarly to Eric and Kevin, it doesn't seem like Byron had any direct knowledge of what the boys were planning for their school. However, unlike Eric and Kevin, Dylan and Byron didn't seem to have the best relationship. In the basement tapes Dylan specifically mentions how the anger has built up inside of him and it was added to by his athletic brother and friends ripping on him. I feel bad for him because Dylan mentioned him specifically as a reason for what he did. I hope he didn't blame himself too much because I feel like siblings not getting along is very common. On Dylan's diversion program paperwork he gives us some insights into their relationship by naming his brother as his least supportive family member and that his brother was not involved in his life. He also mentions that the first time he was introduced to drugs and alcohol was via his brother. He used to work at a car dealership.
Automatic Gunfire - Some of the witnesses reported hearing automatic gunfire during the events of 4.20.99. It is most probable that they were just mistaken and either didn't understand the difference between semi- and full- automatic weapons or were confused by multiple gunshots from different sources in rapid succession. It is very clear that none of the weapons that Eric and Dylan had on them were automatic.
REBDOOMER - REBDOOMER was a profile name used by Eric in a variety of his online activities. The remaining directory files for his website can be found here and his AOL profile for this name can be found here. It's just a combination of his nickname with his favorite game.
Boy in the Window - The boy in the window is Patrick Ireland. Ireland was in the library during the events of 4.20.99 and was hiding near table 15 with Daniel Steepleton and Makai Hall. Dylan was firing out the windows at police and running students, he then took off his coat and fired at table 15, injuring all three students there. Ireland was hit in the right foot but it wasn't a life threatening injury. Ireland was attempting to crawl towards Makai Hall to put pressure on his leg to stop the bleeding when Dylan shot him again. This shot hit him in the left forehead and was far more serious than the initial injury. He blacked out immediately and would fade in and out of consciousness until he was rescued. He remembered hearing the fire alarm activate and also hearing a coughing sound coming from a male in the direction that Eric and Dylan's bodies were found. Some have speculated that he heard Dylan's last moments after he shot himself in the head. At approximately 2:30p Ireland began crawling towards the windows but could only use his left arm and leg and blacked out multiple times before he was seen hanging out at 2:38p. News helicopters and police recognized that he was attempting to get out and SWAT pulled up in an armored vehicle and helped him out of the 2nd story window. One interesting thing is that Ireland described both Dylan and Eric as wearing masks. He also said that when he woke up for the first time after being shot he was not in the same spot that he was when he lost consciousness. Whether he was moved by someone else or moved himself without knowing it may never be known. He also noted that he heard Eric and Dylan laughing prior to being shot. I know this is a long one but Ireland's case is so interesting. He was literally laying feet away from Eric when he killed himself.
Brooks Brown - Ooo Boy. Brooks Brown was a friend of both Eric and Dylan. He has known Dylan since grade school and had been friends with Eric from the start of high school. He wrote a book called "No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind Death at Columbine" and has sold many copies. I do recommend that you read the book but just remember that Brooks is a known liar and has a financial incentive to make the book provocative. Well after the events of 4.20.99 Brooks said that he saw Eric on that morning and that Eric told him to get out of there because he likes him now. Eric and Brooks got into a fight about something and Eric wrote extensively about him in his journal and online. Eric talks about how Brooks is a serial liar and makes crazy claims that are not true. We all know people like this and Eric mentions that Brooks claims to have a 215 IQ, multiple homes in multiple states and rich and powerful family members everywhere. Prior to 4.20.99 Eric had made threats to Brooks online using his websites and had even posted Brooks home address. The Brown family contacted the police but without enough evidence for a search warrant there was not much they could do. These files later became public in the Guerrera File Dump. There was even a small blerb in the local police blotter. Brooks has had a variety of jobs and has sad some pretty odd things in the years since 1999. He was accused of being an accomplice because of his affiliation with both shooters. He did a reddit AMA with some interesting info in it. I certainly do not think that Brooks or any of his family should feel like they could have prevented Columbine because they couldn't have. Not to mention his dad Randy is an absolute crazy person. There is so much information out there about Brooks and I think people should just read all of it, combined with Eric's information on him, and form their own opinion. I could honestly write 10 pages on this but I'm really trying not to be biased.
Diversion Bombs - Eric and Dylan placed explosive devices to act as a diversion for law enforcement and first responders. The devices were placed in a field on the east side of Wadsworth Boulevard between Ken Caryl and Chatfield Avenues. They consisted of a timing device, two backpacks with pipe bombs and aerosol canisters, and a small propane tank. Only the pipe bombs and a single aerosol can exploded but it light a fire in the surrounding grass and was loud enough for citizens to call the police at 11:19am. While the bombs didn't exactly work as intended (not a shocker with the failures of so many of their bombs), It did get the attention of the police and fire dept to draw them away from the real action. The devices were placed strategically at the south most point of the fire depts range as to increase their distance to the high school. My guess is that either Eric alone, or with Dylan, placed the devices there on the morning of 4.20.99. One odd thing is that there was a survey team in that area that morning and they actually moved the two backpacks a short distance and carried on with their work. If they had worked as intended they may have caused a larger response which, if the other bombs worked as intended, may have delayed emergency services arriving at the school.
Frankenstein Roast - Dylan, Brooks, and Zach Heckler recorded a video while sitting in the auditorium where they roast the cast and crew of the schools production of "Frankenstein". The date was October 30th 1998, or at least that's what the camera recorded it as. To my knowledge the full video has never been released but there are some clips available that have come from a variety of sources. There is also this image of Dylan and Brooks blowing a kiss at the camera. Not sure what the context of that was but its existence makes me think the whole video is floating around out there somewhere. Dylan mentions how Brooks is ugly and how the main actress barely needed a microphone because she is so loud. If you find the whole vid send it to me plz.
Columbine Crosses - Initially after the shooting a carpenter from Chicago canmed Greg Zanis constructed and erected 15 wooden crosses bearing the names of the victims, including Eric and Dylan. They were placed on a hill in nearby Clement Park and became a sort of memorial to the vents of 4.20.99. There was some controversy as many believed that there shouldn't be crosses for Eric and Dylan, or at the very least, they should be located somewhere else. Brian Rohrbough, father of victim Daniel, tore down Eric and Dylan's crosses shortly after they were erected. I do not think it was appropriate to tear them down. These crosses were a precursor to the current Columbine Memorial.
Fire Drill - Because of the smoke and fire caused by the bombs, the fire alarm and sprinkler systems activated inside the school. The alarm continued to sound through most of the day and the sprinklers had standing water in the cafeteria that SWAT had to walk through. There was a conspiracy theory that someone working with Eric and Dylan pulled, or was going to pull, the fire alarm to get students to leave the building where they would then be shot at. This doesn't make much sense to me in the context of their overall plan and the schools alarm system monitoring shows that there was never a manual trigger that day. Now we have to bear in mind that this is the information as it was released to the public and after it got washed through Jeff Co and other agencies. It doesn't really make sense that they would want anyone to be exiting the building because of a pulled fire alarm. They wanted as many people as they could to be inside the building when the bombs detonated and then they would attack people exiting the building. The school changed the sound of the alarm for the next school year so students wouldn't be forced to hear the same sound. Here is the sound of the alarm from 4.20.99, the steady tone was the default sound for that system.
Witness Testimonials - There is a huge amount of witness testimony from the events at Columbine. The easiest way to access the info, in my opinion, is using this site. The accounts vary widely from person to person and contain many inaccuracies and misrememberings. I really do recommend reading all of it, even though its thousands of pages long. There is so much good information and personal accounts that its almost a must for anyone who takes Columbine seriously. By using the witness testimonials, combined with ballistics information and crime scene reports, you usually put together a pretty good picture of what was happening at any given time.
The 11k - The 11k refers to the the collection of eleven thousand documents relating to the events at Columbine. They can be found here. It includes a variety of information including first hand witness testimonies, law enforcement interviews, school documents, investigation reports, maps, diagrams, and a bunch of other stuff. It is a treasure trove of information. While it is called the 11k, it actually is comprised of approx 27k pages. It does not include any of the CBI reports, the FBI files or the El Paso report, Arvada, Arapahoe, or Guerra files. Plenty of conspiracies, or just actual facts, about documents being purposefully excluded from the 11k.
Van Break In - On the evening of January 30th 1998 Eric and Dylan were hanging out in the parking lot of the Lutheran Church after an event there. They were supposed to hang out with Zack Heckler but he left with his girlfriend. Instead they drove to corner of Wadsworth and Deer Canyon road and parked. They listened to music for a while and then noticed a white electrical van parked near them. They waited until two other vehicles left and then decided to break into the van and steal things from it. Here is how Eric drew the layout. Dylan said it was both of their ideas but it was pretty clearly Dylan's idea to break in and steal some of the equipment. Dylan broke out the vans window with a rock while Eric sat in the driver's seat of his car. Dylan grabbed a bunch of items from the van and placed them into the back seat of Eric's car. They then drove to this parking lot in Deer Creek Canyon Park and began to go through the items they had taken. After only 5 minutes Jefferson County Sheriffs Deputy Tim Walsh approached and confronted the boys. It was after dark and the park is closed after sunset so a parked car with the linterior lights on was an odd occurance. Walsh didn't make himself known immedatley and overhead the boys going through various items and commenting on them. Eventually Eric said they should put the stuff in the trunk and that is when Deputy Walsh revealed himself. They initially said that they had "found" all of the items but eventually the truth came out. The boys were taken to the police station and Eric's car was impounded. Their parents had to come pick them up. This eventually led to the boys participation in the diversion program which I am sure I will cover in a different entry. This whole event gave us a ton of documents and information. There is a great write up here. I truly believe that Eric would never have done something like this without Dylan. Not because he was some saint but because he knew it was reckless and could get them caught.
Columbiners - This term describes people who obsessed with Columbine and/or Eric and Dylan in what wider society would consider an inappropriate way. This includes people who support what happened on ideological grounds and people who are attracted to Eric or Dylan. These communities have persisted over the years and have active groups on many social media platforms. People like this have existed right from the start. It makes sense when you look at the overall picture. Many people identify with rebels and outcasts and can see part of themselves in Eric or Dylan. This, along with the compelling writings of both of the boys, have led some to idolize them. I think this is part of teh reason that the government has been so cagey about case information, especially tey boys video tapes. I think they believe they are compelling enough that they would inspire others to support what happened at Columbine. It's an interesting topic and I don't personally know where the line is drawn between someone who has a legitimate interest in the case/the killers and when it becomes inappropriate. I mean, I have made this entire site dedicated to information about Eric Harris and I am sure many would see that as obsessive or not normal so I try not to judge when it comes to things like this. Within the Columbine community there is a need for people to clearly state how bad it was and how they do not condone any of the actions of the killers before asking tough or interesting questions and it is just so silly. You have to make sure everyone knows you are politically correct before you try to advance any understanding.
CCTV Tape Change - The security cameras in the cafeteria at Columbine High School were primarily installed to help catch students who didn't pick up after themselves when they left lunch. On the morning of 4.20.99, at 11:14am, a school janitor/maintenance worker either changed the tapes out for new ones, or, more likely, rewound the existing tapes to begin recording again. The tapes resume at 11:22am and two large bags are visible that were not there before. It is about this time that people start to realize that there is shooting happening outside. Because of this change over Eric and Dylan placing those specific duffle bags, which contained bombs, was not recorded. The security camera system only had operational cameras in the cafeteria and no other areas which Eric and Dylan went to that day.
"Bye"! - I am assuming this refers to Dyland interaction with his mom on the morning of 4.20.99. Sue Klebold has said that Dylan left the house early (probably around 5) for his 6am bowling class. She heard him walking past her room and she said "Dyl..?" and he responded with a curt "Bye". Kind of makes sense that he wouldn't want to say anything else with what he was off to do that morning.
Jeff Kass - Kass was a reporter with the Denver Rocky Mountain News who was one of the first press members on scene on 4.20.99. He is also the author of the book "Columbine: A True Crime Story: a victim, the killers and the nation's search for answers". He did a lot of independent research on Columbine including the societal impacts. He did a reddit AMA if you are interested in that. I would recommend his book to people who are interested in the case. I am actually not sure why its not more popular. He says that he has never seen the Basement Tapes but he hasn't revealed his sources for some of his information and there has been some talk that perhaps he is involved with the government in some way. I did not appreciate the way that he characterizes Wayne and Kathy in his book.
The Nixon Tape - I find this tape to be very interesting. Hours before the attack was scheduled to begin Eric recorded a brief audio message on a microcassette and then left the tape on his kitchen table before he left for the day. In his recording from 4.20.99 he goes over the reasons for his upcoming actions and states that "it will happen less than 9 hours from now" which would put the time of recording in the very early morning of 4.20.99 sometime around 2:15am. The audio from the tape has never been released and it was cataloged, along with the recorder, as evidence #233 for Jefferson County. In a report they do share two two quotes from the tape "people will die because of me" and "it will be a day that will be remembered forever". I guess he was right on both counts. There was other, older, audio on the microcassette as well. It was an interview that Eric had done with an asian man named Nixon, or Nickson, fora school paper he was writing. Some of the things they discuss are the legality of gum chewing in Singapore, Nixon's marital status, and his job at the Gates Rubber Company. Jeff Co later found a copy of that paper at his house. I am not sure why the audio from this tape has never been released and I think it would contain good info if it came out. It contains his thoughts and reasonings just before the events of 4.20.99 and was clearly placed in a spot to be found right away.
TCM - When I see TCM I think Turner Classic Movies, but this probably refers to the Trench Coat Mafia. It was already higher on the iceberg so I don't know why it is here again.