- Dylan Klebold, one of the Columbine
High School gunmen, took his own life with a single gunshot to
the head, an autopsy summary released Friday confirmed.
Either entire autopsy reports or summaries have now been
made public for all who died in the April 20, 1999, shootings
- 13 victims and the two gunmen, Klebold and Eric Harris.
"This gunshot wound is consistent with self-infliction,"
Ben Galloway, a forensic pathologist, wrote in the summary.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office report on the
Columbine shootings, released last year, had concluded that
both Klebold and Harris had committed suicide after the
rampage.
The summary stated that Klebold was shot in the left
temple.
Frank Patterson, an attorney for the Klebold family,
confirmed Friday that Klebold was left-handed.
"The (Klebold) parents have seen the autopsy report and
understand that Dylan committed suicide," said Patterson.
Autopsy reports of victim Isaiah Shoels and Harris were
both released in 1999 as public documents without objection
from their families.
Last month, Jefferson District Judge Brooke Jackson ordered
the autopsy released on victim Daniel Rohrbough, along with
autopsy summaries of 11 victims and Klebold.
Jackson released Rohrbough's full autopsy report because of
"public interest" regarding a federal suit, filed by the
Rohrbough family against the sheriff's office, claiming Daniel
was killed by "friendly fire." Release of Klebold's autopsy
summary was delayed until Friday because of an appeal of
Jackson's ruling, filed on behalf of the Rocky Mountain News.
The News, through attorney Marc Flink, sought to amend
Jackson's ruling, asking the court to release portions of the
autopsy beyond the summary.
"The court, to my knowledge, has not yet ruled on the
motion to provide a more complete disclosure of information
contained in the full autopsy report," Flink said.
Jackson did, however, rule to release Klebold's autopsy
summary while he considers the motion that seeks the rest of
the autopsy.
Motions filed by attorneys on behalf of The Denver Post to
unseal the autopsies, citing the documents as public record,
had been fought by victims' families.