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View Full Version : Columbine: 10th Anniversary.


Lennon
04-20-09, 02:52 PM
As you all may well remember, today 10 years ago students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold walked into Columbine High School and shot up the place. In total 15 people were dead (including the shooters) and 24 were injured.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b5/Evacuating_Columbine.jpg/250px-Evacuating_Columbine.jpg


http://bw3086.k12.sd.us/Event/dylan%20klebold.jpghttp://www.newprophecy.net/Eric_Harris_18.jpg

It all started on April 20th, 1999. Shortly before arriving to school Eric and Dylan had planted a small fire bomb in a field half a mile away, set to go off at 11:14 PM, it was used as a diversion (even though it only went partway off and was put out fairly quickly.)Then, they took seperate cars to school. Eric parked in the Junior parking lot, Klebold in the Senior (both spots not assigned to them) they both had excellent views of the cafeteria's side entrance, and each one covering a main exit of the school.

The pair then met near Harris' car and armed two 20 pound propane bombs. They put the bombs in duffelbags and set them in the cafeteria during a busy lunch shift. The bombs had enough power to blow the cafeteria and bring the library above it crumbeling down. They then went back to their cars, geared up and waited for the bombs to go off. Luckily the bombs never went off.

Probably pretty mad their bombs didn't go off, Harris & Klebold took their weapons and entered the school. They went to the top of the west entrance, the highest point of the school. At 11:19 am a person heard Harris yell "GO! GO!" At that moment they pulled out their shotguns and started firing on Rachael Scott and Richard Castaldo who were on a grassy knoll eating lunch. Scott was shot four times (head, torso, and leg, something was shot twice) and killed instantly. Castaldo was shot eight times (arm, chest, back, and abs) and critically injured. And that whole thing about "Do you believe in God?" the FBI doesn't think actually took place.

Harris then took off his trenchcoat and pulled out two 9mm Carbines aimed it down the West staircase where Dan Rohrbough Sean Graves and Lance Kirklin were walking straight below. They suddenly began shooting at them all three fell wounded. Harris and Klebold then turned south and shot at people sitting on the grassy knoll adjacent to the steps, opposite the West Entrance of the school. Michael Johnson was hit but kept running and escaped. Mark Taylor fell to the ground, crippled, and played dead. The other three escaped uninjured. Then an injured Sean Graves got up, limped and tried to escape. He passed out by the side entrance to the cafeteria. Then Klebold decided to go check why the propane bombs didn't go off. As Dan tried to struggle down the steps, Dylan shot him in the back and walked over passed out Sean Graves. While Dylan was in the cafeteria, Harris decided to shoot down the steps to several students sitting by the cafeteria entrance, Anne-Marie Hochhalter as she attempted to run. After a few seconds, Klebold returned.

http://www.erichufschmid.net/Columbine/Eric_Harris_Dylan_Klebold.JPG

After that, they shot two kids sitting on the soccer field a few yards away, but missed. As they made their way to the west entrance they threw pipe bombs but none of which went off (they were pretty sh!tty bombmakers if you ask me.) Then teacher Patti Nielson with student Brian Anderson saw the commotion, thinking they were pulling a prank or something (not a shooting) she told them to "KNOCK IT OFF!" As Anderson opened the doors, Harris and Klebold shot out the windows. Nielson was hit in the shoulder by shrapnel, and Anderson was struck with flying glass. Naturally freaking out, Nielson ran into the library and warned everyone, calling 9-1-1. Anderson stayed where he laid, stuck between interior and exterior doors.

Later at 11:24 AM a Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff showed up. He shot at Harris and Klebold, distracting them so Anderson could get away. He staggered to an open break room where he stayed for the whole ordeal. Harris fired ten shots at him, when his gun ran out he ran inside to the school. The officer called for assistance. The pair then walked down the Main North Hallway, shooting anyone and throwing non-exploding pipe bombs. In the process they shot student Stephanie Munson in the ankle. She was however able to escape to a house across the street. The pair then shot out the windows of the East Entrance. After walking through the halls many times shooting at students (not hitting anyone) they turned to the Library Hallway.

Coach William David Sanders, already having evacuated the cafeteria, turned the corner into the Library Hallway with a student and saw the shooters turning the corner at the other end. They turned and ran, the pair shot Sanders but missed the student. The student ran into a nearby classroom and told the teacher. Meanwhile, the shooters went down the North Hallway again. Sanders then struggled to get into a different classroom where they put the sign "1 Bleeding to Death" to get the attention of the police, ambulance etc. Two students tried to administer first aid, as one teacher stayed in contact with the police, they didn't evacuate Sanders (but got the students) and he died at 3:00 pm.


[To be continued....]

spudracer
04-20-09, 02:56 PM
I remember this day quite clearly. I was a Junior in High School at the time. Tragic story all around. Great job on posting this Lennon!

n3wt
04-20-09, 04:32 PM
I remember seeing this on the news and I have watched some programmes about this horrific act many times on tv. It is horrifiying to think that you could be in a "Safe" enviroment and then some messed up douche bags come in and slaughter your friends and teachers, as I am a parent and my son has last year started school it would be devastating for anything to happen in school that could harm him or anyone else physically or mentally.

In the UK there isnt a big gun crime problem but stabbings are so frequent it is scary.

The people who have been affected and still sufforing from this are in my thought's :yup:

Sexy Celebrity
04-20-09, 05:12 PM
Ten years sure does go by fast. I was a freshman in high school when Columbine happened ~ not a good thing to witness during your first year of high school.

As horrible as this sounds, I remember feeling a little sympathetic to the shooters since they were picked on in school (I was teased terribly a lot in middle school, especially the year before in 8th grade). But at the same time, I figured if they had been loose at my high school, I'd probably be one of their victims.

At my school - and probably at others across the country - rumors of copycats started circulating right after this and a girl I knew got expelled (or maybe suspended?) because she was apparently involved with some kind of hit list of students at my high school. There was even one day where a lot of kids stayed home because of some rumor that Columbine was gonna happen at our school - I was one of those kids that stayed home, I probably relaxed with my Golden Girls tapes or something.

A sad day.

spudracer
04-20-09, 05:17 PM
Same thing happened at my school. Talks of copycats and something similar happening. Nothing ever did, thankfully, but anything like that is enough to put you on edge.

TheDOMINATOR
04-20-09, 05:24 PM
This story still continues to blow my mind. It's unreal. A very sad day.

One thing I didn't know: the FBI thinks that the "Do you believe in God?" thing never actually happened, Lennon? Where did you read this, and how do they know that?

Lennon
04-20-09, 05:31 PM
This story still continues to blow my mind. It's unreal. A very sad day.

One thing I didn't know: the FBI thinks that the "Do you believe in God?" thing never actually happened, Lennon? Where did you read this, and how do they know that?
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-04-13-columbine-myths_N.htm

About the third paragraph at the end.

Lennon
04-20-09, 05:32 PM
Last year a kid talked about putting pipe bombs in our gym. To go off during my sisters game. The cops caught on and got the kid, and found bomb making supplies. Scary stuff.

Sexy Celebrity
04-20-09, 05:40 PM
Same thing happened at my school. Talks of copycats and something similar happening. Nothing ever did, thankfully, but anything like that is enough to put you on edge.

Yeah, I think the "in" thing at high schools across the nation this week ten years ago was to be in danger of being shot to death by someone who hated you.

If you were not on somebody's hit list, you were not on the VIP list at all of the best parties in town. Twas a sucky week for me - nobody wants to kill freshmen.

rufnek
04-20-09, 08:25 PM
Yeah, I think the "in" thing at high schools across the nation this week ten years ago was to be in danger of being shot to death by someone who hated you.

If you were not on somebody's hit list, you were not on the VIP list at all of the best parties in town. Twas a sucky week for me - nobody wants to kill freshmen.

Everyone knows freshmen aren't worth killing--:)

This is not an anniversary I remember, and in my brief scan of part of the original post, I read more detail of the crime than I ever have before. I long got past any interest in crimes like that. It's enough to remember Charles Starkweather and Charles Whitman back before random violence became so common.

I don't want to know the names of the two Columbine losers--none of these killers deserve to be remembered.

TheUsualSuspect
04-20-09, 08:28 PM
10 years ago? Has it really been that long? Wow.

I still remember this like it was yesterday.

n3wt
04-20-09, 09:15 PM
Last year a kid talked about putting pipe bombs in our gym. To go off during my sisters game. The cops caught on and got the kid, and found bomb making supplies. Scary stuff.
That is unbelievable Lennon thank god nothing did happen, what happened to the kid?

Lennon
04-20-09, 10:15 PM
That is unbelievable Lennon thank god nothing did happen, what happened to the kid?
I'm unsure really. I mean I didn't go to the school then so it's not like I knew the kid or anything, I mean I think he went to jail. Probably for a very long time.

Caitlyn
04-20-09, 11:42 PM
I was a rookie when this happened... and it seemed like all we did was make the rounds to the schools chasing one rumor after another... don't think I ever will understand why something like this happens...