1999 — April 20, Columbine High School Shooting, Columbine, CO[1] –13-15
–13-15 CO Columbine Review Com. The Report of Governor Bill Owens’ Columbine. 2001.[2]
— 13 Minshew, Charles. “The worst mass shootings in U.S. history.” Denver Post, 7-20-2012.
–13-15 USFA. Wanton Violence at Columbine High School, Littleton, Colorado. 1999, p. 1-2.[3]
–13-15 Wikipedia. “Columbine High School massacre.” 7-21-2012 modification.
Narrative Information
CO Columbine Review Commission: “On April 20, 1999, two students at Columbine High School southwest of Denver murdered 12 fellow students and one teacher in the worst school shooting in U.S. history….” (Governor Bill Owens letter to transmittal to the public.)
“The Columbine High School tragedy was the work of two disgruntled seniors at the school, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, who determined to kill as many teachers and fellow students as possible, first, by planting and detonating two 20-pound propane bombs in the school cafeteria and then by shooting survivors fleeing the inferno they hoped to create. When their explosive devices failed to ignite, the two approached the school and killed one student and seriously wounded a second as they ate their lunches on the grass. They then entered the school building and began firing at students leaving the school cafeteria, wounding five students and deliberately executing one of them.
“Klebold entered the school cafeteria briefly but did not fire his weapon inside; he returned outside the building and fired at students near the school parking lot, wounding one of them seriously. Meanwhile, a number of students, two school custodians, and at least one teacher fled to the cafeteria from which, in turn, many either fled from the building or climbed stairs to the second-story library; one teacher and a student were wounded when Harris fired a rifle at them through the school’s double glass doors. Emergency calls were made to the 911 number, and teachers urged students in the library to take cover under the tables. Klebold and Harris reentered
the building and fired at students in the main hallway and hallway outside the library, wounding one. They also detonated or left for later detonation a number of pipe bombs . Encountering a teacher, Dave Sanders, they seriously wounded him with a shotgun blast. Sanders bled to death from his wounds before medical assistance was provided more than three hours afterwards.
“About 15 minutes into their onslaught, the two entered the library where 56 students, two teachers and two library employees had sought concealment. Within seven-and-a-half minutes, Klebold and Harris killed 10 students and seriously wounded a number of other persons by rifle and shotgun fire; they detonated pipe bombs, although without inflicting severe wounds. Several students were deliberately killed execution-style.
“Klebold and Harris fired at police from library windows and received return fire. They left the library and moved to the science wing, where they shot at fleeing students. After returning briefly to the cafeteria, the two perpetrators tried again to explode by gunfire the two propane bombs they had carried earlier into the cafeteria, without success, but managed to detonate smaller bombs, one of which was attached to a container of flammable liquid. The resulting firebomb activated the cafeteria sprinkler system, and soon thereafter the sprinkler and fire alarm
systems were activated throughout the school building.
“The final moments of the perpetrators’ lives have not been clearly tracked. Apparently they moved into the office area on the second floor, and then returned to the cafeteria. A surveillance video camera captured their movements there: they seemed to survey the damage to the cafeteria and police activities in the school parking area. From there they went back to the library and exchanged gunfire from the library windows with police who were protecting paramedics rescuing students wounded outside the school building. At about 12:08 p.m., or 47 minutes after the two had commenced their assault, the two turned their weapons on themselves and committed suicide, having left behind them a trail of 13 dead (12 students and one teacher) and many wounded persons. Because the response teams outside the school building were unaware of their deaths, it required several more hours before officers could secure the building, obtain medical attention for the wounded, and collect the dead.” (Columbine Review Commission. The Report of Governor Bill Owens’ Columbine Review Commission. May 2001, pp. i-iii.)
USFA: “Background….Near midday on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, the staff and students of Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, became targets of yet another U.S. episode of wanton violence. The events of that day shocked the nation as two juvenile offenders carried out a premeditated assault and victimized occupants of the school. Thirteen defenseless individuals were slain, and over 160 students and faculty were triaged – 24 with serious injuries. The two offenders, both Columbine High School students, maniacally unleashed an unprecedented terrorist-style assault using numerous semiautomatic weapons and nearly 100 improvised incendiary and explosive devices. The latter were designed as antipersonnel devices intended to inflict casualties, including harm to responding emergency personnel.
“Entering the school building that morning after killing two classmates on the sidewalk, the two students fired their weapons into high-occupancy areas and killed some victims at close range, firing at will, regardless of the victims’ cooperation, the ensuing level of police response, or the risk to themselves. During the assault, the two assailants successfully detonated over 30 improvised incendiary and explosive devices, designed to cause numerous casualties. The incendiary devices included glass containers containing homemade “napalm” and various types and sizes of containers holding flammable liquids (gasoline, kerosene, and white gas). The juvenile offenders also deployed variously sized pressurized, flammable gas (propane) cylinders. The explosive devices consisted of pipe bombs of different sizes that were augmented with nails or pellets, or both, duct-taped to the outside so as to increase the shrapnel yield and the number of casualties. Investigators later located over 60 additional undetonated devices in and around the school.
“The offenders also outfitted their own vehicles with incendiary and explosive materials that were deployed as car bombs. These vehicles were discovered in the parking lots adjacent to the school, and were intended as secondary devices to harm people fleeing from the building or to compromise first responders. The perpetrators concluded their rampage by committing suicide.
“The Nation has suffered other acts of wanton violence, including previous school shootings. However, this incident was notable because the perpetrators intended the attack to be an act of terror that would devastate their school and the community, thereby earning them personal infamy.
“The assault at Columbine High School placed enormous demands on fire, EMS, and law enforcement personnel and placed many of them at mortal risk. Within a short period of time, the incident drew a major response from many agencies to an event that, although relatively short-lived, was extremely complex. The potential for collateral injury or death to emergency responders during the incident was substantial….” (USFA. Wanton Violence at Columbine High School, Littleton, Colorado (USFA-TR-128). USFA, FEMA, U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, 1999, pp. 1-2.)
Sources
State of Colorado Columbine Review Commission. The Report of Governor Bill Owens’ Columbine Review Commission (Honorable William H. Erickson, Chairman). May 2001, 188 pages. Accessed 12-11-2015 at: https://schoolshooters.info/sites/default/files/Columbine%20-%20Governor’s%20Commission%20Report.pdf
United States Fire Administration. Wanton Violence at Columbine High School, Littleton, Colorado (USFA-TR-128). Emmitsburg, MD: USFA, FEMA, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 1999. Accessed 12-11-2015 at: https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/tr-128.pdf
Additional Reading
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “School-Associated Student Homicides – United States, 1992-2006.” MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), Vol. 57, No. 2, 1-18-2008, pp. 33-36. Accessed 12-11-2015 at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5702a1.htm
FBI Critical Incident Response Group (Mary Ellen O’Toole). The School Shooter: A Threat Assessment Perspective. Quantico, VA: CIRG, National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC), FBI Academy, U.S. Department of Justice. Accessed 12-11-2015 at: https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/school-shooter
Lindsey, Daryl. “A reader’s guide to the Columbine report.” Salon. 5-17-2000. Accessed 12-11-2015 at: Reader’s Guide to the Columbine Report
Moore, Mark H., Carol V. Petrie, Anthony A. Braga, and Brenda L. McLaughlin (Editors). Deadly Lessons: Understanding Lethal School Violence. Washington, DC: National Research Council, National Academies Press, 2003. Accessed 11-14-2015 at: http://www.nap.edu/read/10370/chapter/1
United States Secret Service and United States Department of Education. The Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative: Implications for the Prevention of School Attacks in the United States. Washington, DC, July 2004, 39 pages. Accessed 12-11-2015 at: https://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/preventingattacksreport.pdf
[1] Two seniors killed 13 people before killing themselves (thus thirteen victims and fifteen total dead).
[2] Twelve students and one teacher killed before two perpetrators committed suicide.
[3] Thirteen victims and two perpetrator suicides.