+ 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 updates.

You won't find much about me on this website; this site isn't about me. It's about the Columbine High School massacre: What happened before, during and after the shootings, and the people affected. I only added this page because I've had so many emails over the years asking about how I got started on this behemoth of an information resource. Having a handful of kids to tend and being self-employed keeps me very busy so, to save time and repetition, I decided to post my explanation here and refer folks to it when they ask. Many of the 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 immediately following the shootings I was irritated with the way the news agencies were covering the event. 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). There was nowhere to look where the actual story could be read; where answers could be found.

I knew the real story was lurking out there somewhere so I started digging - online and off. I put up a small site on a free web host, a small site with little more than the names of the dead (when they were made available) and where the event had happened. 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, copying and reviewing files, until the webhosts pulled them down. I listened to what people who knew the shooters were saying about them. I visited forums and hackers' sites, hoax sites and newsgroups. I made contact with people who lived in Littleton at the time of the tragic event.

The first "full" version of this website was an overview of Who, What, Where, When, and Why (though that's not a question I've ever 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. Beginning April 21st, 1999, I spent hours and hours - the equivalent of a full time job - compiling and piecing information together so I could understand. What's really amazing is it's been over a decade and I still haven't managed to get it all posted yet. I still work on the site, though I don't have nearly as much time as I used to. Still, I make sure that 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.

So who am I? 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. As a kid I did attend a school very much like what I've learned Columbine was like and I came from a town very similar to Littleton. I knew people just like the victims. I was friends with people who, in retrospect, were eerily similar to the shooters and their friends. It's all too easy for me to see something like the Columbine shooting happening where I lived. I have a strong interest in seeing this sort of thing avoided in the future. I devote time, energy and money to intervention and awareness programs to help educate kids and adults alike about what they can do to achieve this goal in their own areas.

I do have my opinions about the events of and leading up to the shootings at Columbine but I try to censor my personal feelings out of the site for the sake of presenting unbiased historical reference. As they used to say on tv: "Just the facts, ma'am." If you have questions, 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 (spammers and the like not included).