+ About This Columbine Site +

This site is written and maintained by Cyn Shepard. It was founded April 21, 1999 and is updated regularly. Check the blog on the main page for the most recent update.

You won't find out much about me on this website -- this site isn't about me. It's about Columbine, what happened before, during and after the shootings, and the people it affected. Honestly, I only added this page because I've had so many emails asking about how I got started running this behemoth of an information resource. Having a handful of kids to tend and being self-employed keeps me very busy so rather than skip those emails due to lack of time to write this each time, I decided to put it here and refer folks to it when they ask. Some of the most Frequently Asked Questions I see in my email have to do with why I run this website. What motivates me? Why did I start it in the first place?

There are a number of reasons. First, in the days following the shootings I was irritated at the news coverage. Rumors and speculation were presented as fact and the mainstream media seemed more interested in sensationalizing things than they were in what actually happened. What's more, the only non-corporate websites I found about the subject immediately following the massacre were either hate-mongering sites that worshipped the shooters (complete with drippy bloodbars and flame-text logos) or were sugar-coated tributes to the victims (complete with angel-bunnies and.. no content really).

What the hell had happened? What little came out only led to dozens of questions that no one was asking, much less answering.

I knew the real story was lurking out there somewhere so I started digging - online and off. As days stretched into weeks, I dug as deep as I could to get a hold of the real story that the media just couldn't seem to pull together. I snooped around in the directories of Eric's websites until the webhosts pulled them down. I looked at what people who actually knew the shooters were saying about them. I hit forums and hackers' sites and hoax sites and newsgroups and made contacts with people who lived in Littleton at the time. From the day after the shootings I spent hours and hours - the equivalent of a full time job - compiling and piecing information together so I could understand.

The initial website was put together simply to give an overview of Who, What, Where, When, and Why (though that's not a question I've been able to fully answer). I'd collected a huge amount of material in my search and it quickly occurred to me that other people would want to see it as well so I've been adding it to the site ever since. What's really amazing is it's been a decade and I still haven't managed to get it all posted yet. I still work on the site regularly. Though I don't have nearly as much time as I used to admittedly, I still make sure that steady progress of some sort is being made.

I suppose what continues to hold my interest the most, apart from having a digital horde of information left to analyze and present, is that I'm waiting to see whether Jefferson County will ever release the infamous Basement Tapes to the public. That, I think, represents the final chapter in this tragic book of history. The last episode left to be seen. It won't offer much closure but it'll provide insight and understanding. I'm not too concerned about it inspiring copycatters. Those who would choose to do what Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold aren't going to let the lack of the tapes stop them. At least they haven't so far, unfortunately.

As for the author, from a reference perspective you can quote C Shepard if you have need. I'm an artist, a writer, a musician, a parent, and a geek, amongst many other things. I never went to Columbine High School. I don't live in Colorado and never have. I didn't know the shooters or the victims. I went to a school very much like what I've learned Columbine was like and came from a town very similar to Littleton. I knew people just like the victims. I was friends with ones eerily similar to the shooters and their friends.

I do have my opinions about what happened but I try to censor my personal feelings out of the site for the sake of historical reference. As they used to say on tv: "Just the facts, ma'am." If you have questions or want to know what I think about this or that aspect of the shootings, feel free to email me. While I may be slow to respond due to my busy schedule, I do try to get back to everyone who writes me -- with trolls, spammers and phishers being the exception, of course.