Unscheduled Downtime10.15.7Seems my webhost decided to evaporate without prior notice. Sorry about the downtime... As this is the second full day they've been unreachable by any means (email, support phone, AIM, etc.), I've switched services. I'm in the process of uploading everything to the new host so if things appear broken or missing for the next day, that's why. I'll post again when things are all up and going again. EDIT: Five hours later, I think I have everything moved to the new host. If you find any broken images, missing pages, etc. please email me and let me know the URL of the broken item and I'll get it fixed. Cleveland high school shooting10.10.7Cleveland, Ohio, USA A 14-year-old boy opened fire on his school, SuccessTech Academy, today. He injured two teachers and three students. Police have said that the shooter is dead, an apparent suicide. No other solid details are known at this time. Read the story Wisconsin Shooting10.8.7Not exactly a school shooting, though some students were involved. Still, this headline caught my attention and my sympathies. You've probably already heard something about it but if you haven't, here's the skinny: 20-year-old sheriff's deputy Tyler Peterson, rumored to be in a jealous rage, stormed a pizza party and fired off 30 rounds from a rifle, killing six people and critically injuring another. Among the dead were the shooter's ex-girlfriend. His youngest victim was only 14 years old. The shooter was later shot, though police have not confirmed that it was officers who shot him. Tyler's family is left bewildered - "This is not the Tyler we know" - and the families of the victims are trying to understand how something like this could happen. Developing story Basement Tapes Pages Updated9.12.7After thoroughly reviewing documents, articles, and the Columbine Report, I've gotten the Basement Tapes transcripts organized at last. Due to the way that the information was made public it's been a huge effort to put them into order and taken a great deal of cross-referencing information. I'd like to thank Dave Cullen for exchanging information as well. Please be aware that the information has been compiled based on the reports of what others who viewed the videos said. I have not personally seen the tapes though someday I hope to. I'm sure there's bound to be stuff that still isn't quite in the order it should be and there's dialogue that's surely missing. But till they're released, this is all that we have to go off of. Columbine Memorial Dedication Ceremony9.2.7This past week I received an invitation to the dedication that will be taking place in Clement Park this month. I wish I could go but with 3 kids and not living in Colorado, it's just not possible. To those that are going who've offered to take pictures or send me a description of events, thank you kindly. I look forward to seeing what you have to share. For those that didn't get an invite, here is the information (scanned from my card). Click the image below to see the full-sized copy.  Columbine Memorial to be Dedicated7.29.7Thanks to the generous contributions of many people, the Columbine Memorial has moved from vision to reality. It is currently 85% completed and the Columbine Memorial Committee plans to dedicate the memorial in a ceremony to be held September 21 in Clement Park (across the street from Columbine High School). More info: Rocky Mountain News article (thanks Steve!) Columbine Memorial site Oops7.13.7In the course of my updating, I miscoded the "Popular" links bar. Sorry about that! I've fixed it now. I'm continuing to proliferate the tidier look about the site. It's taking some time as I don't have a lot of free right now with the family home for summer. Please bear with me. It's slow going but it is going. I work on it a little every day. More Updating6.27.7If you've come here before in recent weeks you'll undoubtedly notice the site's changed a bit again. This is all part of the master plan mentioned before, to make this place easier to navigate and whatnot. Over the next few weeks I'll be changing the layout on the sub-pages, removing the top navbars and replacing them with a sidebar that will contain a static set of links to most-used sections as well as page-specific links. This will hopefully cut down on the random nature of the top links and give you immediate access to more links in general without having to search for them. There are more changes coming in the near future as well, mostly having to do with site navigation, so if you've recently received CD-ROMs of the site, don't worry about missing out on new stuff. Video Fixed6.12.7The original Evidence Exhibit footage disappeared from the web but I've uploaded a copy so you can view it. You can find this footage here. In other video-related news I've also linked a couple of new Columbine-related videos to my YouTube account, including one with footage of Dylan Klebold working on film production that I hadn't seen before. Check my playlists for them. More Videos5.21.7Edited to add (see earlier update below this one): I was viewing my archived videos tonight while listening to KMFDM and by coincidence 'Anarchy' came on just as I was reviewing the full-length surveillance footage. I was surprised by the eerie way the music matched up to the unaltered footage. I restarted both and recorded them together so you can see it the way I did at that moment. It's not the full song; it only runs as long as the footage and, again by strange coincidence, the footage ends at the same time as the chorus. See it below. On an unrelated note.. Some of the most frequenly asked questions I've been seeing lately has to do with the photos of Eric and Dylan dead in the library. Let me answer them here, for those of you who've wondered but haven't yet emailed me about them: Videos5.17.7I was organizing my YouTube account and, since I had a little time, I peeked around for anything new that might've been uploaded since the last time I looked. I found a 2-part copy of the Fire Department Video uploaded there and added both sections to my account's list but for ease of viewing, I've collected the direct links to post here. Part 1 shows the damages to the school after the bodies have been removed. This section shows the cafeteria, music room offices, etc. Part 2 is filmed solely in the library. Though the quality of the videos is poor, this still isn't a video for the faint-of-heart; you can see several unmistakable large puddles of drying blood in the damaged room. Don't click if you can't stomach it. Also: There's a copy of the surveillance video that's got different angles from the one linked to this site (and loads faster too). It's not as clear as the one linked here but it shows some things you may not have seen before. Whoever posted it also dubbed about a minute of the 911 call Patti Nielson made from the library. The copy of the call posted to this website (see previous link) is just over 5 minutes long. As I don't care for the truncated copy on the surveillance footage, I've made a copy of it that has the sound removed but will probably just stick it on this site's archive CD to save bandwidth. Remembering the Dead5.16.7"I can be your hero baby. I can kiss away the pain." I was half-watching Dancing with the Stars last night while I was finishing up the page dedicated to the victims who were killed during the Columbine shootings and I was reading an article about Dave Sanders entitled: The Big Hero of Littleton when I heard Enrique Iglesias singing that chorus. An oddly haunting coincidence. Anyway, yeah. That page is finally updated. I'm often asked: How can you work on this website and not get emotionally involved? The answer, simply, is: I can't. Working on sections such as that one always, always hurts. Researching and reading statements from the families who lost loved ones is very difficult and often quite depressing. There are, occasionally, stories I come across that offer hope and inspiration but at the root of it all is the same dull ache, the same tragic loss that's relived every time I update something that's not statistics or code. No, it's not an easy job working on this site but it's worthwhile enough that I'll keep on with it. In other news, I've also edited the transcript of Eric Harris's journal pages, as it was pointed out to me that there were some errors in there that did not appear in the original scanned pages. I've fixed those errors; now the only ones that appear are directly copied from Eric's own spelling errors and such. Sorry about that. After having read through the documents (and several other pages of the released Columbine Documents I hadn't yet had a chance to look at), it's become clear to me where the stories of the shooters 'worshipping' Hitler came from: Eric wrote a few things about Hitler and the Nazis in class assignments and a couple of journal pages that praised their ideas (while at the same time stating emphatically that they would've failed no matter what; Eric's writing is full of blatant contradictions such as these). I have not seen anything that would suggest Dylan shared his admiration of the Nazi party. Details and Summaries5.11.7Now that the Injured section is finished, I've started overhaul work on the Deceased page. I'm doing for it what I did for the Injured page: Fleshing out details, adding links, etc. This is something I've wanted to do for a while so it's nice to squeeze the time in to finally get it done. In other news, I've added a summary version of the events of 4-20-99, in the Events section. This is a narrative look at what happened that day, told from a speculative point of view. What this means is that it's a broad look at the shootings, with emphasis placed on what the shooters were actually trying to do that day contrasted with what actually happened. Though this is a speculative view, the ideas presented come from piecing together what the shooters wrote and recorded on tape, events prior to the shootings, and what they said and did that day. Also: I've added a 3rd CDROM choice to the list found on the Support page. And a note on the lag the front page seems to have at times... I've tracked this down to the news feed on the left-hand side. This is not a site-wide problem or a problem with my host. If it continues to be a problem I will probably do away with the feed entirely. I've temporarily disabled it as it seems to be loading particularly slowly today. RE: Victims5.6.7I've finally finished updating the Injured Victims page. Eventually I'll sprinkle in some more links to make referencing easier and probably some more pictures as well though these will be photos that you can already see in the photo gallery sections of the Victims's main page for the most part. All of the text that's included in the Injured section is either pulled directly from the Columbine Report or from press interviews with the victims, FYI. I've also added a few more bits-n-pieces here and there around the site. Don't remember exactly where all as I've been working on things as they've been in front of me. I did get around to adding a new newsfeed (see left) - one that should show more site-specific news. The old one changed its sourcecode or something and hadn't been showing anything terribly relevant of late. Victims4.30.7I've started overhauling the content of the Injured victims's page. It's needed it for a while. In addition to fact-checking, I'm also adding information from interviews with the victims detailing their personal experiences during the tragedy. I'm also adding the latest available info on them where it's been made available. This is a time-consuming process so please be patient while I get it done. Fixed4.29.7I've gone through and fixed a lot of things that broke during the transition. If you stumble across anything that's not working, please let me know. Please include the web address of the page where the broken item is when you write. A New Look, cont.4.28.7Six days later and I'm nearly done with thoroughly reworking the site. On most pages you'll now notice a navigation trail that tells you where on the site you are, and how deep into that category you've gone. I'm keeping the top nav links as well... hopefully this dual system of links will help you locate what you're looking for and find things you may have missed, easier than ever. As I've been working on the pages I've been adding new things - a few new pictures here, some documents there. Nothing major but lots of little minor changes so if you've been here before, look around. You may find something you haven't seen here in the past. A New Look4.22.7After eight years I've finally gotten around to giving the site a new look. I've been meaning to for a while now and after the third email in a week offering to update it, I got the message that you guys think it's overdue as well (not that I don't appreciate the offers to do it but it's my site - I've got a strong idea for what it needs, color-scheme and navigationally speaking). I hope you like the new look. Most of the site is already mostly-converted but you may run into certain pages that may look weird. Please bear with me as I've got a LOT of work to do getting everything in order. I've also changed the navigation to the left around a bit and will continue to change it as I develop new top-level section header pages. Hopefully this will (eventually) improve your ability to find things on the site. For now, though, your best bet for safe surfing is to use the sitemap. April 20, 2007It's been eight years since the shootings at Columbine High School. Every year around this time I've wondered: Will there be a copycat shooting this year? Up till now the answer was thankfully 'no'.The shootings at Virginia Tech this week... It's still sinking in though I've been over the facts dozens of times and discussed them with people I know and strangers I don't. I've come up with speculations on why Cho did what he did and done verbal compare-and-contrast of him to the shooters at Columbine. By focusing solely on facts and theories, I've managed - for the most part - to avoid thinking too deeply about the emotional side of things; it's just a bit too much to digest at once, so close to this already-tragic day. So many people were harmed in this latest shooting, those who were shot and those who love them. The parade of funerals hasn't even begun yet. There will be several more grim weeks to come for the Hokies. Columbine High School is closed today. I've always thought of this day as a memorial day of sorts myself, ever since 1999. I have things I need to do, appointments needing to be made, but I find myself coming back to the inevitable thought: "Not today". Today, I just want to slow down and reflect a bit. I know I'm not the only one who'll be saying "Not today" this day.  My internet connection has been down the past two days. In that time I've received a huge amount of email. I'm working to get caught up again so please be patient. Thanks for taking the time to write me. VA Tech Update: It's come out that shooter Cho Seung-Hui mentioned becoming a martyr "like Eric and Dylan" on his self-made videos. Even before I learned this I found his presentation eerily similar to that of the Columbine shooters in their own videos, right down to the backward baseball cap and posturing with weapons in front of a blank, white brick wall. I'd guessed before but am now positive this similarity was not coincidence. See CNN's article: here. Lone VA Gunman Identified4.17.7The person responsible for yesterday's horrific shooting at Virginia Tech has been identified as Cho Seung-hui, a 23-year-old English male from South Korea. He is described as a 'loner', a student who lived on campus in one of the dormitories. Officials described his method of shooting as 'brutal' and 'thorough' - nearly everyone he injured or killed took at least three shots. In one classroom he attacked only 4 of 25 students was able to walk out on their own after the killing spree ended. Official word has it that the shooter committed suicide. You can read more about the developing story here. In other news, I've managed to get some detail work done around the site - fixing broken links, thumbnailing images for faster load-time (click for bigger images), etc. I also finally got around to adding Eric Harris's mental health self-evaluation forms to the Official Reports page. It's a 3-document set of forms, two filled out by Eric and one by his mother describing his mental state at the time it was filled out (3-25-1998). Deadliest Shooting in US History4.16.7Blacksburg, Virginia, USA Four days before Columbine's 8th 'anniversary', a single gunman went on a rampage at Virginia Tech, killing at least 21 people (some sources are reporting as many as 32 dead) before he died. At the time of this posting it is not yet known whether the gunman took his own life or if he was shot by police on scene. Virginia rep. Randy Forbes told the press that he was informed the shooter was a student at the school but so far no motive has been offered. There aren't a lot of details available about this latest tragedy yet but you can see CNN's coverage on the shooting here. I can't find the words to properly express the way I feel about this incident. Part of it hinges on the fact that I'm too stunned by the numbers to adequately respond. Part of it is that I haven't seen enough details yet to make it fully real. A large part of me doesn't want to. I've been through this sort of grief before and even 8 years after I'm not ready to go through it again. I never wanted to see something of this magnitude happen and the fact that it did so close to the day that the shootings occurred at Columbine really hits hard. This is truly a sad, sad day. Parents' Statements Sealed for 20 Years4.9.7I'm all caught up with email. If you've written me and not received a reply by now and believe you should have, please resend your email as it must've gotten eaten by the overflow on my account. In other news, a judge has recently ordered that the statements made by the Klebolds and Harrises to the police after the shootings are going to be sealed for 20 years. I (as well as Brian Rohrbough, parent of victim Danny Rohrbough) think that's ridiculous but it's par for the course where the documents and tapes are concerned. 20 years. What does the judge hope to accomplish by this? That in 20 years there'll be no interest in what happened? If so, he's wrong. If anything there'll only be more interest, in my opinion. And I say that as someone who's been running a website on the event from the day after the shootings happened. I get enough email to know that interest in this event hasn't died and likely won't. For the full story, see the Rocky Mountain News article. I'm still about 3 weeks behind in my emails but I'm slowly catching up. If you haven't gotten a response from me yet, please be patient -- I am going to answer, honest. The baby's a clingy sort that doesn't like to be put down for more than a minute or two, which makes typing very difficult. Thanks for all the well-wishes and your patience. Shooter in Trenchcoat Kills 52.13.7Salt Lake City, Utah, USA Sulejmen Talovic, an 18 year old Bosnian refugee who lived in Salt Lake City went to Trolley Square shopping mall with a shotgun and a handgun, along with several rounds of ammunition. Once there he gunned down victims seemingly randomly, without emotion. Read more about it at the following links: Trolley Square shooter had 2 weapons Victims and shooter identified Shooter killed randomly Footage and Games11.7.6I've had several folks write me over the past months asking me why I don't have this "footage" posted on the site. The answer: It's not footage from Columbine's surveillance cameras. It's an excerpt from the Columbine-inspired movie 'Zero Day'. If you look at the bottom of the clip, you'll see the date on it reads May 2001 -- the year the movie was made. It is not footage from Columbine High; it's a staged scene from a film, made to resemble the actual footage from the cameras at Columbine. Check out the movie if you have doubts. You can find it on eBay and through Amazon.com.  In other news, Rockstar Games (the company behind Grand Theft Auto) has come out with a new video game: Bully. They say it's not a Columbine simulation, pointing to the fact that you can't kill anyone and there are no guns (though there are weapons to use, such as stink bombs and slingshots). Still, it's bound to be a game that sets off controversy in the gaming industry. Check out the product's website and decide for yourself how far this game pushes the proverbial envelope. Teen Girl Charged for School Shooting Pranks11.4.6Camden, New Jersey, USA A 14-year-old girl has been charged for allegedly leaving a "hit list" in the bathroom of her high school, one of several apparent pranks that set off criminal investigations into school threats in New Jersey this week. One prank included a note threatening a massacre similar to the recent shooting rampage at an Amish school. Read the rest of CNN's story here. In related news... Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA Schools in the area are on heightened security following the receipt of a threatening letter from extortionists promising "bodies will fall on school yards" if city officials don't pay the extortionists the money they've demanded. Read more about it here. Update10.30.6Finally an update that isn't about yet another school shooting. The Music page has been updated and reformatted. Eventually there'll be links to samples of the songs listed (those that are available legally), along with info on how to buy copies of the albums the songs appear on. For now there's just the songs, references, and - where available - lyrics. |
Father Charged with Illegal Firearms in Joplin Shooting
10.12.6Joplin, Missouri, USA
Gregory Lynn White of Joplin, Mo., was charged with possession of firearms in a federal criminal complaint filed under seal in U.S. District Court in Springfield on Oct. 11, 2006. White has a 1988 criminal felony conviction for possession of methamphetamine in California and a 1980 criminal felony conviction for burglary in Florida. Under federal law it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. The complaint filed against White said he was in possession of three Norinco rifles, a .22-caliber Daisy rifle, a Mossberg shotgun, a Companhia shotgun, an Armscor rifle, and an Intratec pistol at the time his son took an assault rifle to school.
Read the full story here.
In other related news, the shooter himself now faces a new charge of attempted escape while in custody. Read about that development here.
13 year old Fires Assault Rifle in School
10.9.6Joplin, Missouri, USA
A 13-year-old student wearing a mask and a long, black trenchcoat fired a Mac-90, similar to an AK-47, into the ceiling at his school Monday morning after confronting a pair of students and administrators, telling them "please don't make me do this," officials said. No one was injured, and the boy, who police said was following a well-thought out plan, was taken into custody.
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At least no one was hurt this time. Read the full story about the latest incident here.
PA Shooting Leaves 6 Dead, 5 More Injured
10.4.6Quarryville, Pennsylvania, USA
When the deputy coroner reached the Amish schoolhouse, she found blood on every desk, every window broken and the body of a young girl slumped beneath the chalkboard. Ten children had been shot, five fatally, and the gunman was dead.
The gunman, a 32-year-old milk truck driver and father of three, was wearing jeans, a T-shirt and a button-down shirt. He had stationed weapons around the schoolhouse. Authorities say Charles Carl Roberts IV had started buying supplies for a long siege six days before he stormed the tiny schoolhouse.
He made a checklist of what to bring and wrote out four suicide notes, one talking about how he was "filled with so much hate" and "unimaginable emptiness."
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Inspired by the Bailey shooter? Who knows. I sure hope this isn't the beginning of a new, grim trend. It was bad enough when parents just had to worry about students going berserk at school. Now we're having to deal with adult rapist gunmen with no apparent motives??
You can read the full story on Roberts here.
WI Principal Shot by Student Dies
9.29.6Cazenovia, Wisconsin, USA
A student walked into Weston Schools with a gun and shot principal John Klang several times Friday morning before being taken into custody, authorities said. All the children were reported safe, but hospital officials said the principal had died.
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WTF is going on out there?? Jeez... More about the latest shooting here.
School Shooter in Bailey had Prior Arrest in Littleton
9.29.6Bailey, Colorado, USA
The killer was identified as 53-year-old Duane Morrison, a petty criminal who had a Denver address but had apparently been living in his battered yellow Jeep when he walked inside the school Wednesday with two handguns and a backpack that he claimed contained a bomb. Investigators did not immediately say what was in the backpack.
During the siege, he took several girls hostage in a second-floor classroom. Morrison selected six girls as hostages and sexually assaulted at least some of them, authorities and witnesses said Thursday. Wegener said the assaults went beyond touching or fondling. Morrison eventually released four of the girls. While still holding two of the girls hostage, he soon cut off contact and warned that "something would happen at 4 o'clock," authorities said.
About a half-hour before the deadline, a SWAT team used explosives to blow a hole in a classroom wall in hopes of getting a clear shot at him, but they couldn't see him through the gap, and they blew the door off the hinges to get inside, said Lance Clem, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety.
Morrison fired at the SWAT officers, shot Keyes as she tried to run away, and then killed himself, authorities said. During the lightning-fast gunbattle, police said, they shot Morrison several times.
Morrison was arrested in July in the Denver suburb of Lakewood after he failed to appear on a 2004 harassment charge in Littleton, another suburb. "He's a weird dude. It was a telephone harassment. He left some messages at a business in the city," Littleton police Sgt. Sean Dugan said.
Excerpted from Associated Press article by Catherine Tsai
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16 year old Platte Canyon High School student Emily Keyes was fatally shot by Morrison, who then shot and killed himself. You can read about the shooter's pre-emptive letter of apology for events to come here.
Tragedy at Dawson College in Montreal
9.14.6Montreal, Québec, Canada
20 people were injured during a shooting that occurred at Dawson College on Wednesday, six critically. One of the victims, 18 year old Anastasia DeSousa, died from injuries sustained during the shooting. The shooter, 25 year old Kimveer Gill, died roughly 30 minutes after the attack began; conflicting reports suggest that his death was caused either by officials on scene or from a self-inflicted head shot. An autopsy is expected to be done today to determine what his actual cause of death was. Kimveer Gill was not a student at the college at the time, and evidence suggests he never was.
Relevant links:
* Kimveer Gill's webpage (cached)
* Remembering Dawson - Canada.com's hub site for information
* CTV.com's coverage
School shooting suspect charged with killing father
8.31.6Orange County, North Carolina, USA
After shooting his father, 19 year old Alvara Castillo opened fire on students at Orange High School, injuring two students and causing the high school and a nearby middle school to go into lockdown status.
Linda Miller, mother of one student at the high school, said her daughter called her during the shootings. "She said, 'Mommy, mommy, please come get me,'" Miller told reporters. "She said, 'The shooters are in our school.'"
One student was grazed by a bullet and another was injured by glass shards from a window Castillo shot through.
Police took Castillo into custody. As he was being loaded into the squad car, Castillo could be heard shouting: "Remember Columbine!".
Read CNN's full story. Contains a link to video footage of Castillo's arrest.
Eric Harris Journal Entries
8.16.6Inside the recently-released Columbine Documents (scroll down to see update) are journal entries from Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold that weren't previously posted on this site. For your ease of reading, I've posted transcripts of Eric's journal entries (thanks, Sean!) and hopefully will have Dylan's up soon as well. Other info will be forthcoming as I get the time to seperate it from the Documents and formatted. First I have to update the sitemap and other relevant pages with this new addition.
Yearbook Pics Fixed
8.2.6Sorry about the broken/weird pics. Don't know what happened but erasing the directory and reuploading the images seems to have fixed the problem. View the images here.
Columbine Memorial
7.21.6Thanks to donating readers, the bandwidth and service charges for this site have been paid for this month with enough left over to send to the Columbine Memorial fund. I know I keep plugging the site but I really think it's a good cause for many reasons. They're not too far from reaching their goal in donations either, so every little bit counts.
Update: Fixed a bunch of pesky broken links. If you find any new ones, feel free to email me with the page the broken link occurs on.
Columbine Documents Released
7.7.6You can read JeffCo's original release statement here. You can read CBS4Denver's article about the pending release here. But save your money... you can read all of the material for free on CBS4Denver here and at CNN's site here. This is a *.pdf file that weighs in at 32.8 Megs -- it's not small. I haven't had a chance to read it through yet but I've been getting emails in from readers who have that a lot of it is redundant to what's already been released.
More on the Basement Tapes
7.5.6I finally added all of Officer Zimmerman's report about the Basement Tapes to the transcriptions I have posted. It was a long and surprisingly frustrating task compiling that detailed report with the one Time magazine gave back in 1999 but it is done. There's a LOT of dialog there that I didn't have posted before, but that has been available via the Columbine Report since its release. Since JeffCo isn't releasing the actual tapes I thought I'd make the written version a little easier for you researchers to find.
I know not everybody has time to comb through the thousands of pages of reports to find where the material is contained but if you want to look at it, I've linked the official report pages that deal with the Basement Tapes within the transcripts I've posted, as well as the evidence item numbers of each tape the transcripts are from. I also linked the original Time magazine article there, for reference.
Videos
6.30.6Not an update about the Basement Tapes (which are not going to be released at this time - see earlier post below) but a link to some videos other folks have uploaded to YouTube, including the Rampart Range and Hitmen for Hire videos made by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. You can view these videos (and more Columbine-related ones) via my YouTube playlist. If you want a more permanent copy, you can get full-length copies on the CD I send to folks who donate to the site.
In related news, I'm converting a bunch of VHS format videos from the days that followed the Columbine shootings to DVD. This includes news footage taken from 4-20-1999 up to present-day coverage, memorials, and the official crime scene video. Even now, seven years after the event, it's still very difficult to watch. I don't think it will ever get any easier, really. Still pictures and written words really only outline the true magnitude of this tragedy, and the confusion that followed. So very sad.
Columbine Memorial
6.24.6I happened to catch a half-hour special regarding Columbine on PBS tonight, tuning in 8 minutes late. I managed to get a video tape in and recorded it. It was a fund-raiser for the Columbine Memorial, in which Dawn Anna Beck (mother of victim Lauren Townsend and former president Bill Clinton gave very nice speeches supporting the cause. Mr Clinton is going to match the contribution a Denver-based organization is donating to the cause and was encouraging Colorado residents and businesses to do the same. If you want to help get the memorial built you can find info at their website.
Basement Tapes Will NOT be Released
6.21.6Ted Mink has made his decision: the Tapes will not be released, out of fear that suicidal/homicidal youths out there will see it as a "call to arms" and use the tapes as video instruction manuals to carry out "similar or potentially more deadly" attacks of their own.
Mink did say that he will be releasing the documents and diaries JeffCo has been sitting on -- pending appeals from the Klebolds and Harrises. But don't get too excited... the documents have all been carefully edited to remove the names of people they talk about, information about the bombs they made, song lyrics (and other copyrighted materials), along with pretty much anything else that might actually be informative. If the documents survive the appeals process and do get released, chances are there won't be much to see that you weren't already aware of.
Quite honestly I can't help but see this as a smokescreen attempt to make the general public *think* JeffCo's releasing all the info they've been sitting on these past years without actually doing so. I understand the reasoning behind the decisions and even can agree that leaving out addresses and phone numbers from the documents would be prudent. I don't think they should chop out the names of the folks Dylan and Eric spoke about -- understanding who they had grudges against would go a long way to explaining why they shot some of the people they did; removing the names puts a random air on a crime that, if you look at the details we DO have, isn't so random.
As for the Basement Tapes... well. I can understand their reservations about providing the world with a 'how to' video but I will always feel there is information there that will shed a LOT of light on the 'why's of the shootings, answering questions that have for too long been without answers.
Denver Post announces JeffCo to Release Columbine pages (read the full story - thanks for the link, Danielle).
Picture Problems
6.11.6For some reason a few of the pictures aren't showing up here like they should. They are there, the HTML code is sound; there's just some weird issue with the host that's preventing their showing. Re-uploading the images fixed most of them but there's still a couple that are being stubborn. I'm working with tech support to to get this problem fixed.
In other news... updated the Sitemap and the Aftermath sections.
Edit: A little file renaming seems to have fixed the image problem. If you're still seeing red X's, trying hitting the Refresh (Reload, whatever) button on your browser. That should clear things up.
About the Search feature: Getting too many results that aren't what you're looking for? Try narrowing your search terms to 1 or 2 key words. If you're looking for a person, try searching by their last name only (or, in the case of victims, first name only). Looking for the shooters' clothing and gear? Try typing just the word 'clothes' or 'clothing' or 'guns'. Avoid using words like 'the', 'they', 'school', and other words that may appear frequently throughout the site. The search engine isn't the brightest code - it doesn't understand full-length sentences and will spit out irrelevant results if you get too wordy.
Update
6.10.6Reader Trish says you can go to YouTube to find Rampart Range, Hitmen for Hire and the other videos by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold by typing in their names in the search bar. Thanks for the info!
In other news, my family has learned we're going to have a 3rd baby sometime around the new year. Things will be very busy here for the next few dozen months so site updates will once again be slowing but I will be checking email regularly and yes, the CDs will still be available and as soon as I hear something more about the Basement Tapes I'll post it and email the list.
Update
5.26.6More link cleanup. I guess TheRebelDomain is down but you can find the video clips from Rampart Range and Hitmen for Hire on this site's CD-ROM. They're too big a bandwidth drain to host here (they're pretty big files) but if I find another place that hosts them, I'll post it.
FAQ 1: Where can I find pictures of the damages to the school?
Most of the photos about this topic can be found in the Damages section.
FAQ 2: Are there diagrams of where each victim died?
You can find links to event maps dealing with this subject worked into the Event page and, if you're patient, by digging through CNN's study of the Columbine Report.
Dylan's Car
According to Buy Dylan's Car (the site that auctioned it), Dylan Klebold's car was to a couple movie producers for use in an upcoming film. No word on what that film might be.Sheriff Will Decide On Release Of Columbine Tapes
5.9.6(AP) GOLDEN, Colo. The Jefferson County sheriff will consult with professionals before deciding whether to release videotapes made by two teens before their shooting rampage at Columbine High School in 1999, a spokesman said Monday.
Sheriff Ted Mink, who took office after the shootings, has already consulted with Columbine families, spokesman Jim Shires said.
The files include writings and tapes made by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold and a diary kept by Harris' father, Wayne Harris.
The gunmen's parents contend the material is private. Families of some of the victims say it should be public record.
Columbine Principal Frank DeAngelis has said the material could be used to study how to prevent attacks but that he worries the tapes could end up in the wrong hands.
The Denver Post had sued to make the material public, and a Colorado Supreme Court ruling in November gave Mink discretion on whether to release it.
Courtesy of cbs4denver.com and Danielle E
Fixed
5.4.6I -think- everything's put back to rights now. I'll be checking things over as I get time this weekend but things should be working again, for the most part. If you run into any weirdnesses, broken links, images, etc. feel free to email. Just be sure to include the URL (web address) where the problem is as this site has well over 100 pages, making it difficult for me to know where the problem might be without being told. Thanks!
Bah
4.29.6The new host didn't work out -- primarily, I think, because none of the people working at the company speaks English very well. After 7 times writing them to try and fix things, they screwed up and deleted the account. Please bear with while I get things set up with my new, improved host. Not only do they speak English but they also have more bandwidth and storage space. I owe a big 'thank you' to those of you who've donated to the site -- without you, this quick move wouldn't be possible.
Again, please bear with me while the dust settles. I know there'll be broken links and misdirected pages. Hopefully this will all be cleared up by Monday at the latest.
4 Towns, 4 Plots
4.25.6Kids, please don't try this at home...
Associated Press Article published 4-25-6
NORTH POLE, Alaska - The arrests of six boys accused of planning an assault on their school has gripped this small Alaska town with an unsettling epiphany: If it can happen here, it can happen anywhere.
As the nation remembered the 13 victims of the Columbine High School massacre last week, authorities say similar plots were being discussed in four small towns in four states - Alaska, Kansas, Mississippi and Washington.
The North Pole seventh-graders, all around 13 years old, had the attack planned down to the smallest detail, authorities said. The boys would first knock out the school's power and telephone systems, giving them time to stab and shoot teachers they didn't like and students who picked on them and then escape from the town of 1,600 just outside Fairbanks.
In all four alleged plots, authorities were tipped off by other young people and students were arrested.
The six in North Pole, arrested Saturday, could face charges of first-degree conspiracy to commit murder. Authorities found weapons in their homes, said Mayor Jeff Jacobson, who also teaches sixth-grade math and language arts at the 500-pupil school.
"I was shocked and then heartbroken," Jacobson said during a lunch break in his classroom Monday. "I saw one of them led away in handcuffs, this little boy."
Parents waiting to pick up their children after school said they were deeply shaken.
"We thought we were in a bubble," said Cindy Slingerland as she waited outside the school with her husband, Mark, for their 13-year-old daughter, Jenny. "Nothing ever happens here. This is by far the biggest scare for my children."
In Kansas, Washington and Mississippi, residents were feeling the same gut-wrenching blow.
Five boys in Riverton, Kan., were charged Monday with threatening to carry out a shooting spree at their high school last Thursday, the seventh anniversary of the Columbine massacre.
In Mississippi, two Pearl Junior High School students were arrested Sunday night and charged with making threatening statements about classmates on the popular teen Web site Xanga and warning students not to go to school on May 1. Pearl Police Chief Bill Slade said the students used the name of Luke Woodham, who is serving a life sentence for a 1997 shooting rampage that killed his mother and two people at Pearl High School.
In Puyallup, Wash., a 16-year-old was charged Monday in an alleged plot to shoot people at his school. In an instant message to a fellow student, the teen wrote about an attack and suicide "to finally go out in a blaze of hatred and fury," sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said.
Authorities found caches of weapons and ammunition in suspects' homes in at least three of the plots.
In Washington, the search of Brian Michael Evans' home also turned up a homemade bomb and a CD with instructions for making explosives, Troyer said. The teenager apparently wanted people to "feel his pain, and he wanted to be hated, not having earned respect in the past," Troyer said.
For Alaskans, the arrests in North Pole - a town dubbed Santa Claus headquarters, with a main road called Santa Claus Lane where the light poles are curved and striped like candy canes - jogged memories of another school plot in their state that succeeded.
In 1997, Evan Ramsey opened fire with a 12-gauge shotgun as students assembled in a high school lobby, killing a principal and 16-year-old classmate in Bethel, a southwestern Alaska town of 6,000. Ramsey, then 16, is now serving a 198-year prison term.
In the North Pole case, authorities have said another child told a parent that rumors were circulating about a plot, and that parent went to police.
Nine other students at the school, including at least one girl, were suspended for withholding information and will not be allowed to return to school until authorities have completed the investigation.
School officials, meanwhile, tried to assure parents that their children were safe Monday. They stressed that no weapons were ever found on campus or in the nearby woods. A police officer patrolled the halls, and extra counselors were brought in to help students.
"It has been surprisingly calm," said Wayne Gerke, an assistant superintendent with the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District.
Adults, perhaps, are having a tougher time shaking the anxiety than their children. The students initially reacted with fear, but by Monday streamed out of the school entrance, giggling and elbowing each other.
"I feel fine, I feel safe," 14-year-old Cabe Harris said as he climbed into the front seat next to his mother Jo Harris. "This is a nice place."
Death, Revisited
4.19.6It's been a rough week. Two days after my uncle's death, my only living grandparent also passed away. I was only able to attend one funeral as they were both held Easter weekend, in two different and very distant states. Thank you, all those who've sent well-wishes during this difficult time.
For those of you waiting for CDs: I've shipped them out. You should see them in the next 2-7 days, depending on your location. I haven't had a chance to catch up on email yet but I should be caught up by the end of this weekend. Thanks for being patient.
Death
4.12.6Yesterday my uncle lost his battle with cancer. He died peacefully. The funeral is set for this weekend. I will be offline till after Tuesday the 18th to be with my family while we take care of arrangements. Email and CD requests will be handled when I return. Thank you for your understanding.
Brokelink Mountain
4.10.6I hooked up with a database to track broken links and just spent the last 2 days fixing all the ones the script reported so if you've come across my 404 (file not found) page while trying to click on a link or view an image in the past, try again.
Code Words
3.30.6I've finally gotten around to implementing a code key for the various links throughout the site. I always wanted to designate what links led to where so I've devised a series of little tooltip buttons to do just that. It'll be a while before they spread through the whole site but you can see what I'm talking about on the Events of the Day page.
Kindergarten student brings gun to school
3.29.6Saw this in the headlines today and thought it was worth sharing...
Associated Press
FIRCREST, Wash. - A kindergarten student was expelled for 10 days after he brought a .22-caliber gun to school, officials said.
The 5-year-old boy climbed from a chair onto a washer-dryer and got an unloaded pistol out of a cupboard at home, police said. He showed a friend the gun on the Whittier Elementary School playground, then put it into a friend's backpack, Police Chief John Cheesman said.
The boy never made any threat and told the principal what he had done Monday but was expelled immediately, said Patti Holmgren, a spokeswoman for the Tacoma school system. Police confiscated the gun.
School officials were investigating, classmates have been reminded not to bring guns to school and a letter on the incident has been sent to parents of Whittier students, Holmgren said.
The boy's parents tried to keep the gun out of his reach and did not store ammunition with it, so no criminal charges are likely, the police chief said.
"The boy now realizes he should not have brought the pistol to school," Cheesman added. "There was an understanding there that he shouldn't have done it and that what he did was wrong."
New URL
3.25.6This website now has a new URL: http://www.acolumbinesite.com/. Update your bookmarks to keep in touch with the most current version of the site.
Basement Tapes Update (more or less)
3.20.6JeffCo's asking the families of the deceased for their opinions regarding whether the tapes should be released to the public or not. A spokesperson for Sheriff Mink said that he was likely going to wait till after April 20th this year to announce his plans for the tapes, one way or the other. Read (a little) more.
Spring Cleaning
3.16.6Went through all the major 'W' sections (Who, What, etc.) and removed broken links, added new ones, cross-linked others, spread some photos about and in general tidied things up a shred. Also did the same for the law enforcement section.
Buy Dylan's Car
3.13.6Yes, it's true. For a limited time you can Buy Klebold's BMW. It's all legit; the VIN checks out and everything. The seller plans to donate some of the proceeds to the charity fund going to the Columbine Memorial. I don't know the seller nor do I vouch for him/her. Just spreading the news as I find it. The auction will be going on until April 20th, 2006. Thanks, everyone who's written about it and thanks to Adam, who found a link.
Still No News About Basement Tapes
3.1.6With April 20th looming just around the corner, JeffCo is promising that they will keep the pending "anniversary" (I still hate calling it that - anniversaries are, in my mind, a celebration of an event, not a memorial.) in mind when deciding whether to release the tapes to the public. See CBS4Denver's story and video
Fixed broken links on the Links page. Added some to Dylan's page. Paid to remove the annoying ads on the site-search page so there shouldn't be anymore irrelevant search results. The upgrade also enables me to list 500 pages, meaning that I can finally index ALL of the site's pages. Soon things will be even easier to find here.
Legacy
2.6.6Upstairs I have a box. It's about 48 inches long and 20 inches high. In this box I've stowed miscellaneous stuff I've picked up over the years having to do with the shootings at Columbine and school shootings in general. There are video tapes and CD-ROMs, news clippings, magazines, hand-written notes and more. It's a sad box, really, full of broken dreams and dead people. I don't open it often.
I opened it a few days ago though. I finally got around to stowing the article I cut from a local paper, one about Jeff Weise when he went on his kamikaze run. As I put it away and shut the lid of the box it felt a bit like sealing a grave. What a legacy to end such a short life on: a dead school shooter, now a piece of old newsprint stowed in my closet. --
I'm currently behind on email so please bear with me while I catch up. Please refer to the FAQ page for info about credits, files, videos and more. Students and teachers: please see the FAQ page about resources, author, and permissions.
Police Reports Update
1.22.6Still spreading the translator code through the site and fixing what I notice as I go. Finally proofing some pages that haven't had it before. I did find a couple of broken links in the Police Reports section that I fixed so if you hit them before, try again.
Oh. Eric Harris' drivers license scan is posted there too. I know I've been asked about that by a couple of folks and I couldn't remember where I put it. It's there. I'll try to spread a few more links to it around the site so it's easier to find for folks seeking reference material. Or me, when I'm answering email.
My counter died too - the service I had it through did some sort of overhaul and wants me to sign up all over again. I don't have time to jump through their advertising loops (they require signing up with some sort of free dating service, which I so don't need) so I've just decided to ditch it and move to another service since the numbers are resetting no matter what. I think the count was somewhere just past 200,000 this time. Fourth couter the site's been through.
More About the Basement Tapes
1.14.6In a decision handed down last month, the Colorado Supreme Court decided that Jefferson County Sheriff Ted Mink should be able to decide whether to release evidence seized after the 1999 Columbine High School shootings — now, that decision has been delayed.
Wayne Harris, father of Columbine killer Eric Harris, petitioned the high court for a rehearing within the allowed 15-day period to make such a request.
The petition allows for further arguments about the court’s decision that seized items after the shootings, including the so-called "basement tapes" made by the killers before the massacre, and other items taken from the killers’ homes, are part of criminal justice records and are subject to release unless proven to be detrimental to the public interest.
The court had ruled that Mink, in his official capacity as sheriff, should be able to review the records and decide whether to release them instead of a judge making that determination.
Wayne Harris is challenging the ruling that the records are criminal justice records. He has repeatedly argued that the items are personal property and should be returned to him and not made public. Michael Montgomery, Harris’ attorney, did not return several phone calls.
The Denver Post, which is seeking the release of the records, also used last week’s hearing to voice its concern over the decision to let Mink be the deciding factor.
Steve Zansberg, an attorney for The Denver Post, said Mink should not be allowed to make the decision about the seized items because he has previously said he does not want them released.
"(Mink) took the position that if (the records) are subject to the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act, they should not be disclosed," Zansberg said. "Now, we’re asking the court if his denial was proper."
Zansberg said the state Supreme Court must now decide whether to reverse its earlier ruling or not. If it does not, Mink has said he will solicit input from a variety of interested people about whether the release of the records is in the public interest.
A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said Mink will wait for the court’s directive before commenting.
(Reprinted from Evergreen Newspapers Inc.)
Update
1.12.6Still proliferating the translator box throughout the website. There's a lot of pages and my online time is limited so it's taking a little bit of time to put it everywhere. I keep running across little things that need fixing in the process so that's slowing things as well but it means there'll be less broken links and such. For example, I discovered I hadn't uploaded the article covering Eric's threatening website, aimed at Brooks Brown. A few other little oopses like that have been repaired. I'm also stuffing more text in where it's wanting, drawing it from various notes I've compiled over the years so hopefully the site will provide a little more insight into specifics of certain events.
Happy New Year
1.1.6Still no new news on the Basement Tapes. In other news, for your reading convenience (and after many requests) I have installed a BabelFish translator. On pages coded for translation look for the BabelFish box (like the one on this page). Just click the flag on the console to translate the page to French, Spanish, Japanese, German and other languages. I'm still in the process of putting the code on all the pages but I imagine by the end of the week I should be done.
NOTE! This translator may not translate some of the ideas on these pages perfectly. My apologies in advance for any weird translations. BabelFish has been pretty reliable in the past though so it should be fairly decent.
Basement Tapes - One step closer to released!
12.12.5Jefferson County Sheriff Ted Mink gets to decide whether to release the infamous 'basement tapes' the shooters made in the basement of the Harris home before they went and shot up their school, so the Colorado Supreme Court ruled in November 2005. The parents of both shooters have contended for years that the tapes are private property and should be returned to them.
Families of the victims have appealed to the courts over the years as well, wanting the tapes released to them. Other parties (reporters, interested citizens) insist that the tapes should be made available to the general public for reasons of understanding what happened. Attorneys of the Harrises and Klebolds fear that if the tapes were made public that they would glorify what happened and prompt more copycat killings.
What will happen now? We're stuck waiting a few more days as certain due process runs its course and Mink decides what to do. I'll post more as I learn about it. In the meantime, here's the Rocky Mountain News version of the story.
Also: Thanks to Darkstar {NAD} for sending me the Realdoom and Hellfire files found here.
Campbell County High School Shooting
11.10.5On Tuesday the 8th, Kenneth Bartley (15) entered the principal's office of his school and opened fire with a small-caliber handgun, killing the principal and injuring 2 other faculty. You can see the initial story that ran on WBIR.com here (they've since changed the photos and the ironically inappropriate random ad). Updates can be found here.
What a downer to start the workday with.
Addendum: This update page finally got too big. I've archived previous updates past August. If you really want to know what I said, you'll find it on the site's archive CD.
...
11.7.5Family crisis and Halloween behind me, I've made a few minor corrections and touch-ups. Thanks to you folks who spotted them and wrote.
I've had a few folks write me about this so I thought I'd post the most recent FAQ answers:
* Yes, I DO have copies of the pictures of Eric and Dylan dead in the library so no, you don't need to send me them. But thank you for trying to help! I do appreciate it.
* If you're looking on the website for them (or Mentor.zip or thebook.doc), you won't find them because they're not posted here. It would violate the TOS of the place where I'm hosted so I only include them on this site's CDROM. You can also find them easily by searching the web for 'Eric and Dylan in the library'.
Also: I've discovered that Windows XP doesn't like older versions of Word (97, 6.0) -- which is what the *.doc files were mostly saved in because they were written back when those were the peak technology. I'm in the process of converting all of the docs to Word 2000. I plan to keep the originals and zip them up for distribution on my Archived Files CD for those of you who are purists and want the original format of the info. I'll be replacing all the hosted ones here with the new formats as I get them changed over.
Wads Up
9.4.5Yes, I got them up. I never was able to get my screenshot program to work on XP so I'll have to find a new way to make screenshots of the levels. I did post the files, however, and you can find them tucked at the bottom of the Doom foo on the page I have all the other Doom wads Eric made on - along with screenshots and graphics that Eric himself made. And thanks, Chris, for sharing the wads with us!
Storms, Wads, and Hiccups
9.1.5I'm fortunate enough not to have relatives down in the southeast right now, but I know lots of people who do. I know some of you guys who're regulars here have moms and dads and friends who lived in New Orleans and towns in the area that was hit hard by Katrina... I'm thinking about you guys and sending positive energy to you and the rescue efforts going on. I don't really pray often - I'm a spiritual but not a religious person. But I'll pray, for you and your missing kin.
On a less grim but not quite positive note: my computer has caught a case of the hiccups. It's one of those peculiar glitches that no one else seems to have - undoubtedly something caused by something I did.. if my computer ever crashed because of a virus or hacker it'll be a wonder. I'm more likely to damage the worm with my flakey system.
I'll be troubleshooting my system tonight. Tomorrow I'll upload the wads... I got 2 more from another kind reader and I plan to test them out as well before posting what I know about 'em, with credit to the senders. Thanks, guys. And thanks to everyone who's ever sent in a news clipping, photos, videos, typo catches, link fixes and all the other stuff. Without you, this site wouldn't be near as accurate.
Realdoom.wad
8.25.5I've gotten my hands on a couple of files that may have been Eric's - including one named 'realdoom.wad'. I haven't had a chance to test them yet but I'll be putting both files here for download (in the wads section) as soon as I do. A big thanks goes to the fellow who sent 'em -- I'll credit him proper when he lets me know what name to credit the find to.
Link n Stuff
8.6.5I've been doing some innerwork, linking even more bits of relevant info in a redundant fashion throughout the site so things are easier and quicker to find no matter where you're at. It's taking forever (6 years and counting) but slowly it's coming together. In about 2 weeks (after school starts) I'll have some new stuff (new as in new-from-my-archives-new) to share.
On the subject of sharing, a fellow wrote me to share his animated short film with me and he asked me to pass it on so here: Autumn Tree. It's about a school shooting so there is violence, though it's not what I'd describe as gory.