Columbine victims | Dead | Greg Barnes Born October 26, 1982
17 years old

Greg Barnes was a sophomore at Columbine during the shootings. At 6'4 and 175 pounds, he was an exceptional basketball player - one of the top players on Columbine's team. He had a bright future as a basketball player, averaging 26 points a game. Even rival coaches agreed he was probably the best player in Colorado. Colleges all over the country were interested in him.

Greg was friends with Matt Kechter, who was killed in the library during the shootings. He and Matt used to study together frequently, and Barnes would drive Kechter home from school. Greg also saw Coach Dave Sanders get shot right outside of his classroom.

Before the shootings, Greg had been in a Creative Writing class with Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. In that class, Harris wrote a story about being a shotgun. Two weeks after the tragedy, he told the Denver Post: "Maybe it was a warning sign."

May 4, 2000, Greg hanged himself with an electrical cord. When his parents, Mark and Judy, found his body "Adam's Song" was on replay where he died. No one who knew him had any indication that he was suicidal. He left no note.

His teammate Dave Mitchell spoke to him the night before his death. "It didn't seem like anything was wrong," he said. "We talked about the usual stuff: Girls."

Even his coach, Rudy Martin, saw no sign of despondancy or depression.

Sheriff John Stone understood. His son died 12 years prior from suicide. His son Brian was 15 years old and top swimmer at Chatfield High School at the time. He was listening to a tape with a similar message when his body was found.

"I didn't have a clue," Stone said. "You look for answers, and sometimes they're not there."

Adam's Song by Blink 182

I never thought I'd die alone
I laughed the loudest, who'd have known?
I trace the cord back to the wall
No wonder it was never plugged in at all
I took my time, I hurried up
The choice was mine, I didn't think enough
I'm too depressed to go on
You'll be sorry when I'm gone

See the full song here.

---

Photos of Greg Barnes:
- Greg Barnes (Denver Post file photo)
- Greg Barnes playing basketball
- Greg's tombstone

Related Documents:
- The 14th Columbine Victim Greg's uncle Tim Barnes blogs about his nephew's death (May 21, 2000)

Offsite Links:
- Hoops star's death stuns Columbine Denver Post article
- Washington Post article
- Columbine coach quits After 14 years, Rudy Martin decided to step down after Barnes' suicide