Columbine

16 Minutes of Terror

Much of the massacre was captured on the high school's security cameras.

The boys fired their first shots at about 11:19, in the parking lot after running to there from the soccer field. By 11:25, the boys, who had already shot Rachel Scott dead, ran into the cafeteria shooting children and shooting at the bomb that didn't detonate, in an attempt to detonate it, but to no avail. Had the two cafeteria bombs that Harris and Klebold planted exploded, then all of the four hundred and forty-eight students in the cafeteria would probably have perished. It would also have been devastating if the other bombs had exploded. Students hid in closets, bathrooms, offices, and under heavy desks and chairs. Some of the students, hidden behind a heavy door, called for help on cell phones. Some students fled the building, some to the Robert F. Clement Park.

The first 911 call relating to the incident was made at 11:25. A custodian reported hearing gunfire and explosions at the school. The custodian had also reported seeing a shooter on the roof, but he was later revealed to be an innocent repairman who was hiding from the gunmen.

The SWAT teams started checking every room in the high school in great detail by 12:30. Even desks and backpacks were examined. Authorities reported pipe bombs being found by 13:00.

SWAT teams started to free hidden students by 14:30. The students and teachers were taken away and were questioned and offered medical care in small holding areas. Officers found bodies in the library by 15:30. Both of the dead suspects were boobytrapped with bombs.

By 16:00, the Sheriff made an initial estimate of 25 dead students and teachers; his estimate was 10 over the true count. Police officers were searching the bodies of Harris and Klebold in the library. At 16:30, the school was declared safe, yet at 17:30, additional officers were called in as more explosives were found in the parking lot. At 18:15, officials found a bomb in a car in the parking lot, so the Sheriff marked the entire school with yards of yellow tape as a crime scene. All of the dead were still inside the school at the time. At 22:45, one of the homemade bombs detonated while police tried to defuse it.

By 14:30, a press conference was held by Jefferson County District Attorney David Thomas and Sheriff John Stone, saying that they suspected that other children helped plan the shooting. Formal identifications of the dead had not taken place yet, but families of the children thought have to been killed were notified that such probably happened. Throughout the late afternoon and early evening, the rest of the bodies were gradually removed out of the school and taken to the Jefferson County Coroner's Office to be identified and autopsied. By 17:00, the identities of those dead started to be known.

In the aftermath of the shootings, there was a great deal of debate about what "provoked" the killers and whether anything could have been done to prevent the crime. The reality of social cliques in high schools was a frequent topic of discussion. Many argued that the boys' isolation from the rest of their classmates prompted feelings of helplessness, insecurity and depression, as well as a strong desire for attention.

It's been publicly revealed that Harris had been prescribed and was taking Luvox^® (Fluvoxamine maleate), a powerful antidepressant, at the time of the shooting spree. Although Klebold's medical records have been sealed, there is strong reason to believe that he too had been prescribed one of several popular drugs for depression. Throughout the 1990s these drugs arguably became the standard response to a wide variety of behavioral problems in schools, especially for boys. An alleged side-effect of these drugs is a loss of empathy for other human beings. Of the various USA "school shooters" whose medical history has been made public, all were either currently taking or had recently gone off one of these powerful mind-altering prescription drugs given to them to treat various serious behavioral problems.

Other analysts argued that part of the killers' problem may have been a result of their constant exposure to violent imagery in video games, music, and movies, theorizing that their obsession with these forms of media may have led them to have trouble telling the difference between reality and fantasy.

• Eric Harris, 18
• Dylan Klebold, 17

Victims

Deceased

• Cassie Bernall, 17 - Considered to be a "Columbine martyr" by some people
• Steven Curnow, 14
• Corey DePooter, 17
• Kelly Fleming, 16
• Matthew Kechter, 16
• Daniel Mauser, 15
• Daniel Rohrbough, 15
• Dave Sanders, 47 (Teacher)
• Rachel Scott, 17 - Considered to be a "Columbine martyr" by some people
• Isaiah Shoels, 18
• John Tomlin, 16
• Lauren Townsend, 18
• Kyle Velasquez, 16

Injured

• Brian Anderson, 17
• Richard Castaldo, 17
• Jennifer Doyle, 17
• Stephen Eubanks, 17
• Nicholas Foss, 18
• Sean Graves, 15
• Makai Hall, 19
• Anne Hochhalter, 17
• Patrick Ireland, 17
• Joyce Jankowski, 45
• Michael Johnson, 15
• Mark Kintgen, 17
• Lance Kirklin, 16
• Lisa Kreutz, 18
• Adam Kryler, 16
• Stephanie Munson, 17
• Patricia Nielsen, 35
• Nicole Nowlen, 16
• Jeanna Park, 18
• Kasey Ruegsegger, 17
• Valeen Schnurr, 18. Schnurr was asked by the killers "Do you believe in God". Scnurr was heard to reply "yes". This short exchange was reported to have occurred with other victims too (see Rachel Scott, Cassie Bernall). Later investigations suggested these reports were false
• Danny Steepleton, 17
• Mark Taylor, 16

Cultural Impact

The massacre was one of the subjects of the 2001 Michael Moore documentary film Bowling for Columbine, about the culture of violence in the US.

The Columbine shooting spree also served as the inspiration for the fictional 2003 Gus Van Sant film, Elephant.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 17.5 km² (6.8 mi²). 17.2 km² (6.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.92% water.

There are 8,656 households out of which 38.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.7% are married couples living together, 7.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 19.9% are non-families. 15.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 3.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.77 and the average family size is 3.11.

In the town the population is spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 29.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 39 years. For every 100 females there are 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 96.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town is $71,319, and the median income for a family is $77,866. Males have a median income of $51,300 versus $35,713 for females. The per capita income for the town is $28,471. 2.0% of the population and 1.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 2.7% are under the age of 18 and 2.2% are 65 or older.