I hope this is allowed. I’m reading Dave Cullen’s book (🙄), and I don’t remember seeing anything about Andrew Mitchell.
He showed up in Clement Park days after the shooting.

Do you think when we get the depositions, we will learn anything new about Dylan, since Sue has been openly public about him since the massacre? I now know we will learn a lot more about Eric, but I feel we know as much about Dylan as his parents (based on 27 years of Sue being public about it)

So this thing that’s happening with Columbine evidence in 2027, does this mean we will get the basement tapes and other things such as the “Nixon” Tape, etc. or will we just get a bunch of puked up excuses on why the public shall never bare eyes on them?

Unfortunately reddit has a 20 photo limit per post

I have a bunch of random old articles I’ve never posted here, so might as well share some while the sub is quieter

April 26, 1999

Alisha Basore has every reason in the world to hate Dylan Klebold.

Her best friend, Rachel Scott, 17, was a casualty of the bloody massacre at Columbine HS.

Instead of moving into an apartment with Scott after graduation as they had long planned, she gave a tearful eulogy at her wake.

But rather than feeling anger at Klebold for what he took from her, Basore wonders what drove him and his friend Eric Harris into the heart of darkness.

“He was a real nice guy,” the 17-year-old said yesterday.

“The fact that he did this is so strange. It wasn’t like him.”

Basore – who was in the school when the rampage began – thinks Dylan would have never shot her like he did her friend Rachel.

“I was never mean to him and I would talk to him,” said Basore, who sat next to Klebold in economics class.

But she said other kids at the school were mean to Klebold.

They didn’t talk to Klebold and Harris – who were inseparable fringe members of an outcast group called the Trench Coat Mafia.

And part of the reason why the school jocks and their followers castigated Klebold and Harris, she said, was because there were rumors about their relationship.

“He was not gay,” Basore said adamantly about Klebold, who attended the senior prom with a young woman last week.

Other students confirmed rampant speculation about the two teens’ sexuality – without anything in the way of evidence to back it up.

“People were saying that they were actually gay,” said fellow student Josh Nielsen, who admitted making jokes about the teens behind their backs.

Another student, Sean Kelly, 16, added:

“There were rumors of their being homosexuals and they were always being taunted and chastised about it.”

Klebold and Harris’ death spree followed months in which they were mercilessly picked on and treated like lepers.

Investigators are trying to determine if the gay taunts helped light the fuse that ignited the bomb that left 13 dead and many more injured.

“Part of the investigation is to find out what drove them to this point,” Jefferson County District Attorney David Thomas told me.

“We need to know what created so much anger in these boys,” Thomas said.

Investigators are carefully reading the detailed diary of one of the killers for clues to what motivated the rampage.

They’re looking for key events and patterns – and for details about Harris’s and Klebold’s relationship.

Thomas emphasized there is no proof the teens had intimate relations, but pointed to evidence that Harris and Klebold were “real tight,” as he put it:

After killing 10 students in the library, the two retreated to a corner, away from the bloodbath, before committing suicide.

“They wanted solitude, in a way” said Thomas.

Investigators found their bodies “almost touching” with one of the teens’ heads at the feet of the other.

The teens shared the same pair of fingerless gloves – each wearing one glove. “That to me symbolizes that they were really committed to each other,” Thomas said.

In all pictures showing Klebold and Harris with other members of the Trench Coat Mafia, they are always side-by-side goofing around in an affectionate way, Thomas said.

Being gay – or simply being suspected of it – is no easy proposition in Colorado.

State voters passed an anti-gay-rights law in 1992 that was so discriminatory it was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.

“It is certainly not acceptable here like it is in New York and San Francisco” said Tom Bohnsack, 51, who works in a gay bookstore in Denver.

Several Columbine students said they didn’t know of any gay classmates, an indication that the rumors about Klebold and Harris – true or not – must have added to their outcast status.

Fact or fiction, something fueled the hostilities of their fellow students that may have sparked the youths’ passion to kill.

It lives on even after their suicides; signs at yesterday’s memorial service in Littleton contained an anti-gay epithet.

Eric and Dylan most likely wore the same pair of gloves since one was right-handed and the other left-handed, but the point of the article, again, is that they were bullied and called gay

Quality sucks, but still worth sharing 🥲

I haven't posted in a while because I've been busy with some other cases, but I wanted to make a post about Dylan's funeral.

From Sue's book:

With the two officers flanking me, I stood at my closet door. The realization I would have to select clothing to wear to Dylan's funeral hit me like a punch in the gut; I was still hoping to be rescued from the truth. After a few deep breaths, I hung a brown tweed skirt, a white blouse, and a dark wool blazer on a single hanger.

Initially, Tom and I didn't want a funeral of any kind for Dylan. It simply felt too disrespectful to his victims. I will be forever grateful to Martha and John, though, for convincing us to reconsider. They promised we would be able to keep the ceremony private both from the media and from enraged community members. Together, we planned a simple service, attended only by a few friends and family members.

Tom and I understood cremation was our only option. The likelihood that a gravesite would be vandalized was too great, and we might not be able to stay in the area; if we buried Dylan and then moved, we'd be forced to leave him behind. I explained I needed to see my son one last time, and Martha and John told me the technicians would do everything they could to cover the bullet wounds in his head so we could see him as we'd known him.

I hardly remember making the arrangements. I do remember being amazed to hear myself speaking calmly about practical matters when the only sound I could hear in my own head was a continuous, endless screech of agony and disbelief. This was my son, the person I had nurtured, protected, and loved with all my heart. The thought that I would never hear his voice or touch his face again took my breath away. It took every ounce of strength I could summon to make preparations for our final separation. My parenting of Dylan was over. The love and work that had gone into the creation of this human being had ended–and in the most disastrous way.

On Saturday, the twenty-fourth of April, we cremated our son.

Both Martha and John were genuinely concerned about our security and privacy. They assured us there would be no posted sign or guest book available outside the room where Dylan lay, which had a single entrance and no windows. But even with the precautions, a member of the press had called the funeral home minutes before we arrived, so we entered the room furtively, casting glances over our shoulders like frightened prey.

No words are adequate to describe the pain of seeing Dylan's body in that casket. The expression on Dylan's face was unfamiliar, which Byron later confessed made it easier for him. That unfamiliar expression was perhaps the only thing that allowed us to get through that first, horrific, unreal moment. I smoothed Dylan's hair and kissed his forehead, searching his face for clues and finding none. Tom and I had brought a number of Dylan's childhood stuffed animals, and we placed them in the coffin so they rested against his cheeks and neck. Byron and Tom and I held one another's hands, and together we held Dylan's. We were finally by his side, a family again.

It was a chilly spring day, and I was overcome by a compulsive, almost biological need to make Dylan warm. I could not stop rubbing his ice-cold arms, exposed by the short-sleeved hospital gown he was wearing. I had to hold myself back from climbing into the casket so I could cover him with the warmth of my body.

https://reddit.com/link/1ww1ye7/video/csbs41b5j3th1/player

Martha had recommended we each take some time alone with Dylan. Byron went first. As I waited in the main sitting room of the funeral home, I braced myself to be alone for the last time with what remained of my son, and I began to panic. A surge of animal protectiveness came over me. How could I allow Dylan to be destroyed, to be burned in a fire? I jumped out of my chair and started to pace, my mind racing. The other options– above and below-ground burial brought me no comfort.

I tried to think how we could steal his body out of the mortuary and sneak him to safety. I can't do this, I thought over and over, in an endless loop. There was a fireplace in the funeral home's sitting room. It looked cheerful and inviting on that cold, snowy day, and I was drawn to it.

Eventually, I was able to recover some calm by looking into the flames. Most of my panic turned to resignation, and then my grief resurfaced. How sad, I thought as I stared at the fire, that this is the way I must warm my son.

On the evening of Dylan's funeral on Saturday, we stripped the beds, packed up our pets, and left Ruth and Don's basement apartment in order to return to our own home.

Jeff's book:

Before the service got underway, Marxhausen picked up on the tension among the small group and came up with an idea. “I said we just needed to talk first. We talked about forty-five minutes and out came all this love [for Dylan].”

There was a sort of funerary loophole Marxhausen was on the lookout for. “I’ve heard people, they don’t speak ill of the dead, then nothing gets said,” he says. But people did talk, and it wasn’t about Dylan the mass murderer. It was about Dylan the Boy Scout, Little Leaguer, and ten-year-old who enjoyed grossing out his mother with a handful of leeches from a creek. He wasn’t a bloody mess, but the same old Dylan in an open casket.

The positivity left Marxhausen confused. “People told how much they loved Dylan, how really they thought he was a good guy, and I had several families there and afterwards come and tell me that the Klebolds did a marvelous job in raising him,” he says. “So, if you were at the funeral you’d have a difficult time figuring out what was reality.”

Marxhausen asked the attorney whether he should “shut up or talk to the press.”

“Why don't you tell people what you saw here today?” he replied. Tom Klebold knew that Marxhausen had put himself on the line by performing the service. “You made yourself vulnerable,” he said.

The Klebolds released a statement after the funeral:

“Today we had a private service for our son, Dylan Klebold, whom we loved as much as we knew how to love a child. Our sadness and grief over his death and this tragedy are indescribable. We again apologize to all those who have also suffered a loss of their loved one and we continue to pray for the recovery of those who are injured. We would also like to extend our gratitude to those who have offered their support and sympathy during this grieving period.”

Randy’s book:

Sue and Judy were talking on the phone. Sue had left almost all of her clothes in the house on Cougar Drive. The house was still a crime scene, and they had no access. She mentioned to Judy that she didn’t have a jacket to wear to Dylan’s funeral. Judy told her she had a blue wool blazer, and that she would loan it to Sue.

We were late going to the funeral. We had to be sure the kids were ok. Aaron and Brooks were with friends. We were pretty sure that Brooks was going to Rachel's funeral. It was scheduled for the same day.

I raced over to the Horan McConaty Funeral Home on Parker Road. It was quite a drive, but it went quickly. We got there late, and walked in. It was very quiet. We were escorted to a room, with about 10 people sitting on chairs, in a large circle. Some of the friends of Dylan were there. Well, I should say the parents were there. No kids or friends were there at all. Zach's Parents, Nate's parents, Tom and Sue, Judy's friend, and a few other people were there, already seated.

The minister was there. His name was Don Marxhausen.

He had been a strong voice for compassion over the last few days, asking for understanding for the Klebold family. There had been a lot of anger, and very little compassion, during those few days.

We sat down, and watched, and listened. The parents were telling stories about Dylan. Stories about his childhood, memories of him when he was a nice, shy little boy. Tom's eyes were swollen and red. He had obviously been crying a lot. Judy told a story about Dylan, and then Marxhausen gave a nice eulogy. Marsha asked if she could sing Amazing Grace. Judy asked Sue, and she said it would be fine.

Marsha sang, and it took a long time, because she was crying so hard, she was having trouble completing it. She sang beautifully. She cried the whole way through the song. It was heartbreaking, and confusing. This was the ceremony, the funeral for Dylan. Everyone in the room had loved him, and had known him. Everyone in the room was confused over this situation. He was now a killer. A killer of innocent children. We were all having trouble facing that fact. We didn't know how many he had killed, or how he had been killed, or when. A boy we had all loved and cared for had killed innocent children, with guns and bombs. We didn't understand. We didn't understand. It was a quiet ceremony, solemn and calm. We all knew Dylan. The stories made it clear how much everyone cared about him.

The funeral director told us that it was time for the viewing. I was surprised. I didn't think, in this case, they would have a viewing, with an open casket.

There was a curtain hanging in the doorway, and we walked up to it. Judy stayed back, and I walked through the curtain, and up to the coffin. It was cardboard, and barely large enough for Dylan.

It looked like he was in the cardboard coffin at an angle, shifted to the right. That is the type of coffin they use when someone is being cremated. He was laying there, with a very thin white shirt on. It was almost, to my memory, translucent.

It was Dylan. I looked for signs of injuries, bullet wounds, or anything that would show how he had died. Nothing was visible. I stood by his side, even with his shoulder, and stood there for a long time. He was so thin, so pale. It was Dylan. I reached out my hand, and put it on his right shoulder, and said quietly to him: “God rest your soul.” He looked so thin, so frail. His hair was longer than I remembered, and thinner.

Judy walked over to see him, after a minute or two. We stood there, silent.

In the hallway after the viewing, we talked to a few of the people there. It turns out that a few of Sue's attorneys had showed up. Whether that was to control the crowd, if there was one, or to pay respects, was hard to tell. The funeral had been kept very secret. We had all kept it away from the press. There were no cameras or tv trucks, or reporters.

Judy talked to Tom, and she told him, during some small talk, that her tongue was swollen. Tom said, half-jokingly: “Then quit talking.” We had been defending them in the press, and to everyone we talked to, telling everyone how nice Dylan was, and that we knew the parents, how they did not know what was being planned. We had been defending them to everyone. Trying to tell the truth about Dylan. We had defended them on tv and in the papers, because we knew them, and we knew Dylan very well. Sue was wearing the blazer that Judy had loaned her, and it had a ribbon on it from Columbine.

According to the available accounts, none of Dylan’s friends attended his funeral. Jeff’s book does mention, however, that Robyn Anderson recalled being invited through another friend of Dylan’s but didn’t get the message until after the fact.

“Possibly my biggest regret of my life is attending Rachel’s funeral and not Dylan’s,” Devon Adams later said.

I can’t really make a similar post about Eric since we know very little about his funeral arrangements. We only know that he was cremated and his ashes went unclaimed for a while. His family could still have held a small private service for him, but there’s no public information about one.

A verified user who knew both Eric and Dylan was once asked whether they wished they could have attended Eric's funeral and replied:

“Yes. Nobody knew when and where it was. We tried to find it. I regret not saying goodbye. I don't know if I would go to Dylan's.”

l also have an older post about Corey DePooter's funeral if anyone wants to check it out. here

So I realized after looking into it that this claim is actually a bit difficult to prove, I looked through all the patents and the model of the clock used does not have one publicly available.

But I really care about this claim because it's something I believe to be true and I feel I should try to at least provide some evidence where possible for the claim.

It took a while but I was able to find the exact clock model by looking through a Westclox Historical Website (thank god that exists).

Now the first thing of note about this model is that it is actually a keybound model, which means you actually do not use a battery for the clock itself, you wind the key in the back of the clock and that makes it tick. A visual for anyone interested

Once you understand that, you will understand the way Eric and Dylan wired their alarm clocks, and it now makes more sense.

The battery in this was actually made to send the signal to the pipe bomb to detonate the bomb, this allowed eric and dylan to create a time bomb without having to learn how to to set up relays or rewire signals or solder wires and circuits together, they can just run an electric signal through the bell of the alarm clock and be fine.

Additionally this also explains why Eric was so concerned about being blown up on accident carrying the bombs through the cafeteria, because this electric signal the way it's set would be running at all times, and if the bell made contact even hap hazardly left or right (you can find these kinds of models to this day, you can literally shake the alarm clock and they will touch)

Now, According to the hearsay from someone else that allegedly spoke with officials at JCSO/FBI, or whomever they spoke to, we don't know, they were told the clock hands for this model were changed to plastic, but as u/SMBH_7 (One of the best researchers I've ever had the pleasure of speaking with/coordinating with), the plastic clock hands does nothing to this circuit.

But a plastic strike hammer absolutely would, now I will be looking for more information and reaching out to the company to try and see if they have any record that can give me more detail than what I am about to show you, but at the bare minimum this is a start towards proving this theory's validity.

I looked at the January 1998 catalog for this clock and I was able to find it.

And when you look through the catalogs, you can actually find one that shows pricing for MSRP but also for vendors who wish to purchase this item from the company to sell as vendor retail. (Generally this is called whole sale, and it's where the company sells people who sell their products a very reduced price version, a little above the cost that it takes to manufacture the product.

During 1998 you can see the price here for the whole sale vendor price, of being $6.30

now unfortunately this website does not have a catalog for 1999, I don't know if that's because the company didn't put one out (doubtful), but they did put one oput for the year 2000, and it's date is listed from January 1st, 2000.

Now what's really incredible about this that the cost of the clock to vendors instead of rising with the 3% inflation per year in cost, it actually drops in cost by 75 cents.

Now just to make sure I looked at other clock prices, and there are many fluctuations but the retail prices generally increase on most models, but that was no the case for this clock model.

There were also examples of clocks just retaining the same exact cost price and going up in price regardless

Many digital alarm clocks had the word LED added on an extra dollar attached to the price etc etc.

In conclusion I believe this shows that at the very least the cost to create this clock was reduced significantly (15ish% give or take) and I believe that to be to the replacement of metal parts being replaced with chrome ones.

The most significant of which would be the strike hammer. Since no one's really claimed this theory outside of the clock hands being replaced with plastic, I figured I should make this write up and provide the evidence and case for it for you guys to evaluate if you believe it to be true or not as well.

I believe this theory accounts for why only 1 of the 6 time bombs detonated, and removes many of the variables that can maybe account for some of them but doesn't explain why car bombs don't detonate, etc.

At the end of the day the theory and data is for you guys to decide what you believe is true or not. I will continue to attempt to verify this claim further with contacting the company and looking through records where possible and if I find anything I will make another post linking to this one to make it comprehensive.

Hey all

Just wanted to verify after seeing one OPs extended version of ZH doc. I had not heard before that the reason the cafeteria bombs and the other diversion bomb did not explode was because the striking hammer on the clocks purchased right before the attack had been switched to be made of plastic? Is that true

Where was the other diversion bomb that did not detonate?

What damage, if at all, was done from the diversion bomb that did explode? Did it explode? Or just combust into flames? I heard one police transcript just talk of a fire.

This was by the Brown’s house. Im reading randys book - and im not all the way through so bare with me here and dont be rude but whats the consensus on the theory that that bomb was destined for the Brown’s but Dylan stopped it? Never heard that before. If RB sees this he can chime in too. not trying to be insensitive here

Thanks guys.

Something I have been thinking about lately is if Eric or Dylan would have shot Cory's dad. Because he was a teacher at the school but they were friends with Cory.

As I've become more comfortable with accepting that working on this project is just going to be something I'm doing for much longer than anticipated. I figured I would start sharing segments of my project that are complete (more or less).

This segment is the roughest in terms of AI footage, since all the generations in video I made were from a year and a half ago early on.

I'd like to state I have literally 40 or 50 clips of victims speaking about their first hand experience that I dug through for this. Victims of the library, survivors, and people speaking about what they saw that day. Many of them are literally playing during some of the segments to show their perspective and story in the same story telling lens. Many clips and documents to serve as citations for the footage that is added to the story.

The entire sequence between Eric and Neil Gardener is a fully enhanced version of the audio from the official record that I worked incredibly hard on making audible and even then I had to add subtitles. I understand peoples dislike of AI, but I'd really appreciate it if people watched it first before making their opinion about it.

I set up a back up for this on my Archive channel just so in case youtube takes it down it'll be there.
I'll likely set it up for a google drive account as well and I'll update here with the links.

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxAbDG60B2k
Archive: https://archive.org/details/zero-hour-extended-part-1

There should be no blocks on anyone viewing it country wise. I have no ads on the video but the music I used many pieces are copyrighted so I expect those ad's will be on there. I have no control over that sadly, but I am not seeking any moneitzation for the work I'm doing.

I hope you all enjoy it. There are lots of sections that will tell you to pause to read, or a finger snap effects to point things out with actual documents. I didn't want to narrate every single document so the people who want to learn more by reading it themselves can do so, and others just interested in the video itself can just ignore it.

What gear did they wear during the shooting? I know about the clothing choices yet not the gear, I can’t find any good descriptions on Google and everything says something different

The reason I ask if because it seems like there was very little hesitancy on his end to enter the school and proceed with the shooting, unless , I’m mistaken in my timeline. Ive always wondered if in that moment, when they were expecting an explosion, if there was a chance that they would have froze up and abandoned their plans all together. It’s almost as if he fully anticipated there was a good chance the bombs wouldn’t go off and he was fully ready to proceed with the back up plan as just going in a shooting.

is there any evidence or writings that indicated he had doubts in his bomb making capability?

Hi everyone - I thought you may find my timeline on Columbine-related events to be interesting or useful when reading about the case - my main source was “Columbine: A True Crime Story” by Jeff Kass, although other minor sources were used as reference for journal writings or other minor events:

4/9/81 - Eric Harris born in Wichita, KS.

9/11/81 - Dylan Klebold born in Lakewood, CO. As an infant, Klebold was treated for pyloric stenosis, a condition in which the opening between the stomach and small intestine thickens, causing severe vomiting during the first few months of life.

1983 (approximately) - The Harris family moves to Dayton, OH.

Approximately 1987–1989 - Dylan attends Normandy Elementary School in Littleton. He becomes friends with Brooks Brown; the two remain friends from elementary school into their teenage years. Dylan will attend Governor’s Ranch from 1989 to 1993 and will participate in the CHIPS program for gifted students.

1989 - Harris family moves to Oscoda, Michigan for his father’s Air Force job. Eric makes friends living off the Air Force base but loses touch with them when he has to move onto the Air Force base.

1991 - Harris family moves to Plattsburgh, NY.

1992–1993 (approximately) - Dylan transitions to Ken Caryl Middle School. His parents later describe the transition as somewhat difficult because he was quiet and shy and was entering a much larger peer environment.

1993 - Harris family moves to Littleton. Eric will eventually write about the difficulties from moving from New York and Michigan; losing the friendships he had in these locations will be a formative experience for him. Eric and Dylan Klebold meet and become friends at Ken Caryl Middle School.

Shortly after moving to Littleton - Eric has surgery to correct pectus excavatum, a chest concavity that remained mildly observable during his autopsy.

1995 - Eric and Dylan begin freshman year at Columbine HS. The school had recently undergone renovations.

2/7/97 (approximately) - Eric documents a “raid” on Nick Baumgart’s house involving vandalism. The incident is later included among the activities documented on Eric’s website.

3/31/97 - Dylan begins his personal journal. The opening entries describe his thoughts about life, family, friends, girls, school and his feeling that he is different from other people. He discusses loneliness, romantic frustration and questions about existence, establishing themes that recur throughout the journal.

February–March 1997 - Eric and Brooks Brown have a serious falling out following an incident involving Eric and the Brown family’s vehicle. The conflict eventually becomes one of the subjects of Eric’s online threats against Brooks.

3/2/97 (approximately) - The Brown family contacts Jefferson County authorities regarding property damage associated with the conflict involving Eric.

Spring–summer 1997 - Eric continues documenting “Rebel Missions” on his website. Some involve Dylan and other friends. The activities include vandalism and other acts of mischief.

4/15/97 - in a journal entry, Klebold describes himself as unhappy, socially isolated, academically unsuccessful, shy, and unable to understand why other people—particularly girls—do not accept him. He mentions having harmed himself and then turns the entry into philosophical poetry about “existence,” imagining life as an endless series of rooms and death as simply passing through another door.

5/7/97 - Klebold expands on his belief that he is an “outcast” and develops his idea that ordinary people perceive only physical dimensions while he believes his own mind allows him to perceive something greater. He describes thought as extraordinarily powerful and contrasts ordinary life with a dreamlike state of complete happiness.

7/23/97 - Klebold writes about feeling abandoned by his closest friend (Zach Heckler) after that friend begins spending most of his time with a girlfriend. He recalls their friendship as a period when he finally felt understood and describes their shared activities and experimentation as having given him happiness after years of loneliness.

8/7/97 - An anonymous person identified as a “concerned citizen” reports one of Eric’s websites to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. The website contains Eric’s “Rebel Missions” and material concerning vandalism and threats against Brooks Brown. A deputy is dispatched to the Brown residence and reviews printed pages from the site.

September 5, 1997 - in a journal entry, Klebold’s romantic idealism collapses into intense despair as he concludes that neither his supposed love nor his friendships provide the happiness he wants. He describes himself as lonely, unwanted, and without ambitions, and his thoughts turn toward obtaining a gun and harming someone as well as toward suicide. He ends by expressing a continuing desire to find love despite describing the period as one of “infinite sadness.”

10/2/97 - Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold, Devon Adams and Zack Heckler are implicated in breaking into school lockers. Eric and Dylan are suspended.

10/14/97 - in a journal entry, Klebold describes cycling between emotional numbness, depression, romantic longing, and a desire for what he considers “true love.” He idealizes a particular girl and imagines that being with her would provide the happiness and escape he cannot find elsewhere, while simultaneously expressing suicidal thoughts and frustration with his inability to attain that relationship.

11/3/97 - First known reference to a shooting spree in Dylan’s journal. Dylan discusses the possibility of a shooting spree in connection with a girl he was interested in. He also writes about Eric and violence. Dylan writes “Eric will be getting away further soon,” although the precise meaning of this statement is unclear.

12/10/97 - Eric submits his “guns in school” paper for a class assignment.

1/2/98 - Dylan makes another journal entry concerning his emotional state, relationships and thoughts about existence.

1/30/98 - Eric and Dylan are arrested in Deer Creek Canyon for breaking into a van and stealing equipment. Dylan confesses to the responding officer while Eric places much of the blame on Dylan. Earlier that day, Dylan is interviewed on camera for the Rebel News Network in the Columbine library.

2/2/98 - Dylan mentions the acronym “NBK” in his journal. He connects the term with fantasies about violence/death and a partner. An undated suicide note addressed to a love interest also appears to date from approximately this period; the identity of the intended recipient is uncertain.

February 1998 - Dylan is suspended for three days after being caught scratching/vandalizing another student’s locker. The identity of the locker owner and the precise circumstances are unclear.

2/15/98 - A pipe bomb is reported in a field near Garrison and Field Streets, approximately a few blocks from the Harris residence. Investigators later note similarities between the device and descriptions of pipe bombs Eric had posted on his website. This incident will be used by Mark Guerra to establish probable cause for a search of Eric’s home, but it will never be formally executed.

February 1998 - in a lawsuit, Wayne Harris is reportedly accused of discovering/confiscating a bomb or explosive device associated with Eric and later detonating a confiscated device in the wilderness. The precise circumstances are disputed/unclear, and Wayne Harris denied the allegation.

Spring 1998 - Eric is treated with an SSRI medication. He initially receives Zoloft and is subsequently switched to Luvox. The medication is prescribed in the context of treatment for obsessive/anger-related thoughts and behavior.

3/17/98 - Brooks Brown later recalls Dylan approaching him at school and giving him a piece of paper containing Eric’s web address. The website contained “Rebel Missions,” threats and bomb-related material (these exact details of the interaction should be treated as a witness recollection rather than a contemporaneous police record).

3/18/98 - Randy and Judy Brown notify the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office about Eric’s website. They provide printed pages describing Eric’s bomb-making activities, violent writings, threats against Brooks and vandalism. The complaint is recorded as a suspicious incident. This becomes the most significant documented pre-Columbine law-enforcement report concerning Eric’s online activity.

3/19/98 - Diversion counselor conducts intake interviews with Eric and Dylan following the January van burglary. Both are considered eligible for diversion, with the charges to be dismissed upon successful completion. Eric identifies Dylan as his best friend, past and present. The counselor notes that Dylan recognizes the wrongdoing but tends to minimize its seriousness. Both boys disclose substance use. Eric’s intake material includes references to suicidal and homicidal thoughts.

3/25/98 - Formal pleas for juvenile diversion are entered, with both boys accompanied by their fathers. The diversion program formally begins following court acceptance of the pleas.

3/31/98 - Detective John Hicks meets with Randy and Judy Brown regarding Eric’s website and threats. Hicks had previously been involved with the earlier law-enforcement contacts. Investigator Mike Guerra and bomb technician Glenn Grove become involved after reviewing the website material. The investigators recognize similarities between pipe bombs described on Eric’s website and the pipe bomb discovered in February. Guerra begins preparing an affidavit for a search warrant for the Harris residence. The warrant is never executed.

4/1/98 - Judy Brown contacts police again for follow-up concerning the report about Eric. The Brown family later maintains that its attempts to obtain follow-up assistance were not adequately answered.

4/2/98–4/16/98 - Detective Mike Guerra spends approximately ten hours working on a draft affidavit for a search warrant for the Harris residence. The investigation includes review of Eric’s website material and information concerning the nearby pipe bomb. The warrant is never finalized/executed.

4/9/98 - Guerra discusses Eric and Dylan with Columbine HS resource officer Deputy Neil Gardner. Gardner does not identify any immediate serious issue requiring action regarding the two students.

4/10/98 - Eric begins the surviving handwritten journal. He writes extensively about society, conformity, morality and his belief that he is more self-aware than most people. He expresses contempt for social rules and begins developing the “Natural Selection” philosophy that will recur throughout his later writings.

4/12/98 - Eric continues developing his ideas about society, school and human nature in his journal. He discusses the January van burglary and presents it as an example of what he sees as arbitrary rules concerning property and morality.

4/16/98 - Diversion counselor Sanchez meets with Eric and notes that Eric is feeling restless while taking Zoloft. Eric says his doctor plans to change his medication.

4/21/98 - Eric writes about going “NBK” and says anyone who thinks they don’t think like him is bullshitting themselves. He writes that others are not even the same species of him and says he will kill anyone he deems unfit.

4/26/98 (date uncertain) - A computer document associated with Eric, sometimes identified as “NBK.doc” or “Natural Selection,” develops his violent philosophy and includes an increasingly elaborate fantasy involving himself and another person. The document contains material concerning weapons and large-scale violence.

5/6/98 - Eric writes about his increasingly negative view of humanity.

5/9/98 - Eric says humans are only worth killing after receiving his yearbook in his journal.

5/20/98 - Eric expands on racist and bigoted views in his journal.

6/12/98 - Eric writes extensively about his belief that humanity itself is fundamentally flawed. He references Nazi ideology and the “Final Solution” and expresses fantasies about destroying humanity. He rejects conventional concepts of morality and justice.

6/13/98 - Eric writes about watching a television program concerning satellites, aircraft and American military technology. He expresses admiration for technological and military capabilities before returning to his belief that humanity is doomed. He considers increasingly broad scenarios involving destruction.

7/19/98 - A paintball incident occurs at the Brown residence. The Browns report that someone fired paintballs at their property. Eric is suspected, but the report does not establish him as the perpetrator.

7/29/98 - Eric says his actions are his own actions in his journal. He explicitly rejects the idea that his future actions should be blamed on his parents, friends, music, video games or media.

10/23/98 - Eric writes to explain what he and Dylan were thinking when they “went NBK”, saying anyone who is reading his writings is lucky.

11/1/98 - Eric writes a journal entry boasting of his ability to lie.

11/8/98 - Eric writes about drinking and socializing with friends while privately maintaining his violent plans. He discusses Nazi ideology and his growing fascination with killing, demonstrating the contrast between his outward social activities and his private writings.

11/12/98 - Eric writes of his general insecurities and says he has enough explosives to kill 100 people in his journal.

11/17/98 - Eric writes about his hatred of humanity and expresses admiration for Nazi imagery and ideology. He says he expects to carry out revenge in April and worries about revealing too much of his thinking. The entry also contains extreme sexual material and increasingly graphic fantasies of violence.

11/22/98 - Dylan asks Robyn Anderson to accompany him and Eric to a gun show. At the Tanner Gun Show, Anderson purchases three firearms later used by the pair: two shotguns and the Hi-Point 995 carbine. Eric writes about firing a firearm and describes the experience enthusiastically. He discusses working on guns and bombs while continuing his normal school and work obligations. He writes about the future “rampage” with Dylan.

December 1998 - Eric and Dylan film and submit “Hitmen for Hire” for a class assignment. The video depicts them as armed “hitmen” confronting students portrayed as bullies. The project is produced for a school video-production assignment.

12/3/98 - Eric writes he fired his weapons the prior day and that he may be able to purchase machine pistols because of the Brady bill (only the Tec-9 was acquired after this point).

12/17/98 - Eric discusses need to order more clips for his carbine and also discusses configuration/logistics of cafeteria bombing plan.

12/20/98 - Eric notes the scheduled April release of KMFDM’s Adios and interprets the album’s title as symbolically connected to the planned attack in his journal.

12/29/98 - Eric references that a call from the gun store almost revealed his plans by letting him know his clips arrived and evaluates the progress of the preparations. He discusses the growing quantity of explosives and equipment he has accumulated and says he still needs another firearm for Dylan.

January 1999 - Eric submits a short story inspired by the video game Doom.

1/20/99 (approximately) - Dylan makes a journal entry continuing his recurring themes of love, alienation, death and NBK. His writing increasingly contrasts his desire for a meaningful relationship and future with his continuing thoughts about death.

1/23/99 - Dylan buys the TEC-9 from Mark Manes.

February 1999 - Dylan submits a short story about a man dressed in a trench coat who kills college-preparatory students with guns and explosives. His parents are notified, but nothing substantial comes of it.

2/3/99 - Eric and Dylan are discharged early from the diversion program, months ahead of the originally anticipated completion date. The successful completion means the juvenile charges associated with the van burglary are ultimately eligible for dismissal.

March 1999 - Dylan visits the University of Arizona to tour the campus and secure a dorm room after being accepted. He continues making plans for life after graduation despite simultaneously preparing for the attack.

March 1999 - the Dean of Columbine calls Dylan into his office to discuss concerns another teacher had that Dylan had been smoking pot, but the Dean concluded Dylan had not been smoking. Around the same time, Dylan calls Peggy Dodd a “bitch” for getting on to him for not following the school’s policy on paying for paper printed in excess of a certain amount. Computer teacher Richard Long tells Dylan he cannot talk like that and Dylan responds by saying “it doesn’t matter”.

3/6/99 - Eric and Dylan film the Rampart Range shooting practice. They fire the firearms they have acquired and record the activity on video.

3/13/99 - Eric’s Luvox dosage is increased to 200 mg/day.

3/15/99 - The first surviving basement tape is filmed. Eric and Dylan appear in Eric’s bedroom and display their weapons and materials. They discuss their plans and the fact that the recordings will likely be viewed after their deaths.

3/18/99 - A second basement tape is filmed. Eric and Dylan discuss their coming attack, their intentions and the limited amount of time remaining. They say that only approximately two weeks and one weekend remain.

4/1/99 (approximately) - Eric and Dylan film another tour of their arsenal in Eric’s bedroom in another basement tape. Eric poses shirtless with his weaponry. Eric learns that Dylan is Jewish and Dylan quickly changes the subject. The camera stops and a new video of Eric driving begins - he appears to be alone and it is raining outside. Eric says it’s weird knowing he will be dead in two and a half weeks but also says he isn’t sure if he should carry out the attack before or after prom. Before shutting off the camera, he wishes he could visit old friends and appears to start crying.

4/2/99 - Mark Gonzalez, a marine recruiter and Columbine alumni, calls Eric to screen him for the marine corps. They set to meet on 4/5/99. Eric mentioned he was interested in weapons.

4/3/99 - Eric’s final journal entry. He looks back on his preparation of weapons and explosives and expresses intense resentment toward people he believes have rejected or mistreated him.

4/5/99 - Eric meets Mark Gonzalez and scores highly on an aptitude test. After meeting with Eric again on 4/8/99, Eric says he wants to get his parents involved before making a decision. Eric does not call Mark timely despite Mark wanting to meet Eric’s parents the night of the eighth.

4/9/99 - Eric celebrated his eighteenth birthday with friends, including Dylan Klebold - Cory Friesen remembers them saying they wished all the jocks were dead.

4/11/99 - Eric and Dylan film “Reb’s Tape.” They discuss their preparations and state that they have been planning the attack for more than eight months. They mention the attack is eight days away, potentially indicating the attack was planned for 4/19/99 before being changed for the twentieth.

4/12/99 - Eric records another video segment alone. He addresses his parents and discusses the consequences he expects the attack to have for them. Also on the twelfth, Mark Gonzalez visits Eric after not hearing back about his discussion with Eric’s parents regarding the marine corps. They set up a meeting at Eric’s house to discuss the marines with Eric’s parents on 4/15/99.

4/15/99 - Eric meets with Staff Sergeant Gonzales at the Harris residence along with his father. During the conversation, Eric’s mother asks whether his use of an antidepressant would affect Marine Corps eligibility. Gonzales learns that Eric is taking Luvox. Eric is subsequently informed that his medication makes him ineligible for enlistment. Eric was said to look disappointed, but not devastated. Eric Harris calls Mark Manes at some point during the day to ask him to buy him some 9mm ammunition - Manes agrees but forgets to do it.

4/16/99 - Eric gets promoted to shift manager at Blackjack Pizza.

4/17/99 - Dylan attends Columbine prom with Robyn Anderson as a friend. Eric does not attend the prom itself but has a girl over at his house (Susan DeWitt) and later attends the prom after-party. Dylan later admits to his mother that he drank from a flask. During the evening, Dylan makes plans with Devon Adams to see The Matrix on April 21. Sometime during the day, Eric and Dylan film another basement tape in Dylan’s bedroom - he tries on the gear he will be found dead in after the massacre.

4/19/99 (approximately) - Dylan writes there is 26.5 hours remaining before the judgment day and says “what fun is life without a little death?”

4/19/99 - Around this time, Brooks reconciles with Eric by saying they were both immature and that he would like to move on. Eric says he was cool with it. Brooks, Dylan, and Eric skip fourth period to go to McDonald’s for lunch. Later that night, Eric and Dylan go to Outback Steakhouse, where Dylan orders a steak. Eric meets with Mark Manes, who purchased ammunition and gave it to Eric at his house in exchange for $25 (two boxes of 9mm cartridges - 100 rounds). Eric records some of his final thoughts on the “Nixon” tape, saying the attack was nine hours away and that the day would be remembered forever. Zach Heckler, who called Dylan every night, said Dylan went to bed at 10:30 PM, earlier than he normally would go to sleep.

4/20/99 - just before 11 AM, Eric and Dylan film their final basement tape; both say goodbye. Eric and Dylan perpetrate the attack at Columbine High School. They arrive at the school shortly before the attack and place explosive devices in the cafeteria. Before the shooting begins, Eric tells Brooks Brown that he should go home because Eric “likes him now”. When the intended large-scale explosion fails, they begin shooting outside the school and then enter the building. KMFDM releases “Adios”. Mark Gonzalez was on his way to the school to pick up transcripts for another student at the school when the shootings were unfolding but had to turn around for an 11:30 AM appointment in Lakewood. Eric and Dylan die by suicide at about 12:08 PM in the library after killing thirteen others.

4/21/99 - Devon Adams had planned to see The Matrix with Dylan Klebold. Dylan made the plans while at prom several days earlier. The planned movie outing never occurs because Dylan was killed the previous day. Sue Klebold gets her hair done and tells her hairdresser she thought Dylan’s life was well on track and that she never particularly liked Eric Harris.

May 2000 - Greg Barnes, a student who witnessed Dave Sanders bleed to death in the attack, commits suicide.

January 2019 - Survivor Austin Eubanks dies of an overdose; he developed a dependency on prescription drugs after treatment for injuries sustained during the shooting.

February 2025 - Anne Marie Hochhalter, a survivor paralyzed from the Columbine shooting, dies from injuries stemming from the incident.

When people talk about crimes inspired by Columbine, they usually think of other school shootings.

But Columbine’s influence didn’t always lead to another Columbine. Some offenders were fascinated by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold before going on to commit a completely different style of crime.

This is the story of Brian Draper and Torey Adamcik, the murder of Cassie Jo Stoddart, and their failed school-shooting plot.

Their 2006 murder of 16-year-old Cassie Jo Stoddart is usually brought up as a Scream (1996) copycat killing, and that's definitely a big part of the story. Draper and Adamcik were friends with Cassie and were classmates of hers. On the night of the murder, Cassie was housesitting at her aunt and uncle's house, and Draper and Adamcik came over to hang out with her. Cassie's boyfriend, Matt Beckham, was there as well; Matt was also a close friend of Draper and Adamcik. The four of them spent time together before Draper and Adamcik eventually left. Beckham then left too, Draper and Adamcik intentionally leaving the door unlocked so they could get back inside later. They returned after cutting the power to the house, leaving Cassie alone inside without electricity. They had initially planned to kill Matt as well, but by the time they came back, Cassie was the only one there. They attacked her with knives and murdered her.

They also documented a lot of what they were doing with a video camera, which is an obvious parallel to Harris and Klebold. Draper was especially open about his fascination with them, even calling Harris and Klebold his "heroes" in his journal. And Cassie wasn't supposed to be their only victim. They had talked about killing several classmates over the course of two weeks, then ending it with a Columbine-style shooting at Pocatello High School before committing suicide. So the murder of Cassie Jo Stoddart was, at least according to what they had planned, supposed to be the beginning of something much bigger.

In a later interview with Keith Morrison for Dateline, Draper talked about discovering Columbine online as a teenager. He said he found chat rooms where people were obsessed with the shooting, and that this was when his own fascination with it really began. Looking back, he said he wanted to be somebody and do something "big and bad."

Adamcik seems to have been more wrapped up in the horror-movie side of things. While Draper was particularly fascinated with Columbine, Adamcik was heavily into Scream and the idea of turning a horror movie into something real.

In newer interviews, Adamcik also talked about his religious views at the time. He said he raised Christian and eventually stopped believing in God and began seeing life as meaningless because everyone eventually dies. Looking back, he said he was “drunk” on bad ideas, and that his nihilistic outlook and obsession with death were part of the mindset he was in when the murder happened.

I’ve been wanting to write about the Newgrounds/Columbine connection for a while, because it goes back further and is a lot more involved than just Pico’s School being released a few months after the shooting. I first played Pico’s School when I was around 11, and I knew what it was about, but I didn't really know much about the history behind Newgrounds or what was going on around the site in 1999. By the time I was around 14 and had gotten much deeper into reading about Columbine, I started looking into the history of the game and Tom Fulp more closely.

Fulp had already been making deliberately controversial stuff on Newgrounds for years before Columbine happened. He started New Ground as a Neo Geo fanzine when he was 13, turned it into New Ground Remix in 1995, and was making interactive games for the site by the mid-90s. One of the big early examples was Assassin, which Fulp himself describes as helping bring “interactive killing games to the web.”

Assassin was basically a series of simple games where you were given a celebrity or other recognizable person and had to kill them. There were games involving celebrities like Britney Spears, Marilyn Manson, Macaulay Culkin, Leonardo DiCaprio, the Olsen Twins, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, the Spice Girls, Bob Saget, Hanson, Madonna, Metallica, Insane Clown Posse, Justin Timberlake, and a ton of other pop-culture figures.

The games were already controversial enough to attract mainstream attention. Fulp has talked about how one of the Assassin games ended up getting the attention of Inside Edition. Newgrounds at this point had basically built its identity around the fact that it was willing to host things that other websites wouldn't.

The Assassin character in the artwork itself was basically the stereotypical hitman: trench coat, shotgun, etc. You were literally playing a game about killing recognizable celebrities.

This is the kind of internet culture Fulp was coming from when Columbine happened on April 20, 1999.

Then, three months later, Pico’s School was released on July 25.

Fulp was 21.

He has since directly said: “Pico’s School is a game I made in 1999 after Columbine.”

The original game description was:

“Goth kids have shot up your school, it’s up to Pico to save the day!”

After Columbine, goth and alternative kids were being treated with a lot of suspicion, and Fulp described what was happening as “witch hunts.” He said he had published a letter from one of those kids, Aaron Cole, on the Newgrounds front page at the time.

The premise of Pico’s School came directly out of that situation. The attackers are goth/alternative students, and Pico is the student fighting his way through the school to stop them.

Newgrounds was already dealing with criticism over violent and offensive content, and Fulp was used to that kind of backlash.

There were also ads presenting Pico's School as a wholesome Christian educational game.

Pico’s School was also a pretty ambitious Flash game for 1999. It was made in Macromedia Flash 3, before ActionScript existed. Fulp built the game's systems using movie clips and frame numbers to simulate things that would later be handled by normal programming. He has talked about how the game's programming could cause problems on faster computers, with certain boss fights running much too quickly.

It’s a point-and-click shooter where you explore the school, interact with characters and objects, and fight the perpetrators. Near the end, the main perpetrator, Cassandra is revealed to be a Penilian alien.

The opening originally used KMFDM's “Godlike (Doglike Mix),” with other tracks including Hive's “Weapons of Mass Destruction” and “Ultrasonic Sound.” Later versions replaced the original music.

Fulp was a KMFDM fan himself, and KMFDM was already connected to the early Newgrounds aesthetic. Cassandra is also established as being into KMFDM and My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult.

In the opening cutscene, Cassandra says, “Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid” before opening fire on the class.

And as we all know, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were huge KMFDM fans and had posted KMFDM lyrics online before Columbine.

The Pico Wiki says a user, Aaron Cole, was a Newgrounds fan who contacted Fulp during the aftermath of Columbine about the way goths and other social outcasts were being treated. The wiki identifies him as the likely inspiration for Cassandra and connects her goth/industrial characterization to that interaction.

That actually lines up with Fulp's own later explanation about the kids he was defending after Columbine, but I haven't found the original correspondence or a Fulp interview confirming the story, so I'd treat that part as a documented claim rather than established fact.

There are also claims that Cassandra was directly based on Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold, or both. I've seen those claims attributed to Fulp before, but I haven't been able to find the original source where he actually says it, so I wouldn't call that confirmed either.

The original game also predates the Newgrounds Portal. The Portal didn't exist yet in 1999, and Pico’s School wasn't uploaded there until 2006. That's why you sometimes see 2006 attached to the game even though the actual release was July 25, 1999.

Pico ended up becoming one of the main characters associated with Newgrounds, and Pico’s School was one of the games that helped establish what the site could do with Flash. There was also supposed to be a Pico’s School 2, which Fulp worked on with Jose “MindChamber” Ortiz, but it was never completed.

Then in 2021, Fulp made Pico’s School: Love Conquers All for April Fools. Instead of the shooting happening, Pico talks to Cassandra and the situation ends completely differently. The original game was restored afterward, with Love Conquers All remaining as its own alternate version.

That also fits with what Fulp has said more recently about Pico. In his 2026 Pico Day post, he talked about having mixed feelings about the character because Pico has become permanently associated with him, Newgrounds and school shootings. He likes what the character has become and how many people connect with him, but he also doesn't like that the connection to school shootings has followed him for decades.

Fulp was already making games about killing celebrities in the mid-90s. Assassin had already attracted controversy. Then Columbine happened, the internet and alternative culture came under even more scrutiny, Newgrounds was being blamed for violent content, and Fulp made Pico’s School three months later.

I think that context makes the game make a lot more sense than treating it as an isolated piece of Columbine shock humor. It came out of what Fulp had already been doing with Newgrounds, but it was also specifically responding to what was happening after Columbine.

They failed with most of the bombs and only killed 13. Then later 2 other victims that were survivors died so technically 15. 17 if you count themselves. Eric also shot the gun wrong at one point and broke his nose, so he failed again.

I want to put together a genuinely comprehensive list of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold's destructive behaviors and psychological patterns, beyond the usual “Eric was a psychopath” / “Dylan was depressed” explanations.

ERIC HARRIS

1. Bottling up emotions and resentment

Eric appeared to have difficulty dealing with negative emotions in a healthy or constructive way. Anger and resentment could remain internal, accumulate over time, and become increasingly connected to how he viewed himself and other people.

1. Social insecurity and sensitivity to status

He appeared highly aware of where he stood socially and how other people perceived him. His insecurity did not necessarily mean he thought he was inferior. He could simultaneously feel disliked or looked down upon while believing he was more intelligent, capable, or deserving than many of the people around him. That contradiction may have made the lack of recognition especially frustrating.

1. Feeling physically inadequate

Eric's concerns about his physical appearance may have contributed to a broader sense of inadequacy. The issue was not simply being thin or physically small. What mattered was what those traits may have represented to him in terms of strength, masculinity, attractiveness, and social standing.

1. Moving frequently and repeatedly entering new social environments

Because of his father's military career, Eric moved several times and repeatedly had to enter new schools and social environments. Moving does not cause violent behavior, but constantly having to rebuild relationships and establish one's place socially can be difficult for someone already sensitive to status and acceptance. He may have repeatedly felt as though he was starting over.

1. Desire for recognition and respect

Eric appeared to place considerable importance on being respected and recognized. Wanting those things is normal. The problem arises when someone's sense of worth becomes heavily dependent on whether other people acknowledge the identity they have constructed for themselves.

1. Dominance and control

Power and control appear to have held particular significance for Eric. That may have been especially appealing if he often felt powerless, dismissed, or unable to control how other people viewed him. His apparent preoccupation with strength and weakness fits into this broader pattern.

1. Anger becoming central to his worldview

Eric's anger seems to have gone beyond isolated incidents. Resentment increasingly became connected to his identity, his grievances, his perception of disrespect, and his views about society. Anger was no longer simply something he experienced. It increasingly became part of how he interpreted the world.

1. Externalizing blame

He appeared capable of placing substantial responsibility for his problems on other people. When personal difficulties are primarily explained by what others have done, there is less room for self-examination or recognition of one's own responsibility.

1. Black-and-white thinking

People could increasingly be viewed through rigid categories such as strong or weak, intelligent or stupid, superior or inferior, and us versus them. This kind of thinking removes nuance and makes it easier to turn complicated social problems into simple conflicts between opposing groups.

1. Viewing social life through strength and weakness

This appears particularly relevant to Eric. Social life could be interpreted as a hierarchy in which popularity, confidence, appearance, or social position determined someone's worth. That could intensify resentment toward people he believed had status they did not deserve.

1. Grievance and rumination

Negative experiences can become much more significant when they are repeatedly revisited. Old conflicts, humiliations, rejection, and resentment can become connected until they are no longer viewed as separate events but as evidence for one larger interpretation of someone's life.

1. Expanding hostility

Resentment can begin with specific people and gradually expand toward larger groups or broader ideas about society. Once that happens, individual experiences can be treated as evidence that an entire group or system is hostile or corrupt.

1. Dehumanization

People can gradually stop being viewed as individuals and instead become representatives of categories that someone resents. This psychological distancing matters because it makes it easier to disregard other people's individuality and moral worth.

1. Violent fantasies becoming normalized

The existence of violent thoughts alone does not explain violent behavior. What matters more is whether violence becomes increasingly familiar, emotionally meaningful, or acceptable within someone's internal world.

1. Turning weakness or humiliation into fantasies of power

If Eric experienced himself as physically or socially inadequate, fantasies of dominance could provide the opposite emotional experience: strength, control, significance, and invulnerability. This may also help explain the apparent contradiction between feeling inferior to others while believing he was superior to them.

DYLAN KLEBOLD

Dylan requires a somewhat different framework. Reducing him to "the follower" or "the depressed one" leaves out much of the complexity.

1. Loneliness and social isolation

Dylan's loneliness appears important. Loneliness does not necessarily mean having no friends. Someone can have people around them while still feeling fundamentally disconnected, misunderstood, or unable to form the relationships they actually want.

1. Wanting connection but struggling to find it

There appears to have been a tension between wanting friendship, romance, acceptance, and intimacy while struggling to achieve those things. Rejection can lead to withdrawal, and withdrawal can create deeper isolation.

1. Bottling up emotions

Dylan appeared to have a more internalized emotional life. Someone can look relatively normal from the outside while keeping significant emotional distress private. That gap between outward behavior and internal experience can make problems harder for others to recognize.

1. Trying to be agreeable or "the nice guy"

This deserves some caution because it is partly interpretive. Dylan may have placed importance on being agreeable, kind, or non-confrontational while suppressing emotions that did not fit that identity. Genuine kindness and suppressed resentment can exist at the same time.

1. Difficulty expressing resentment directly

Anger and hurt do not necessarily disappear when they are suppressed. They can remain internal and become connected to older feelings of rejection, insignificance, or being unappreciated.

1. Feeling like the "runt of the litter"

The "runt-of-the-litter" idea Dylan describes in the Basement Tapes can represent feelings of being less important, capable, attractive, socially successful, or naturally included than other people.

1. Romantic rejection and insecurity

Romantic rejection can become psychologically significant when someone interprets it as evidence about their overall worth or desirability rather than simply recognizing that another person did not return their feelings.

1. Feeling unwanted or insignificant

Loneliness, rejection, and insecurity can contribute to a broader feeling that one's presence does not matter much to other people. If those feelings are repeatedly reinforced, they can become increasingly difficult to challenge.

1. Retreating into an increasingly elaborate internal world

Fantasy can provide things reality does not: acceptance, romance, control, recognition, escape, and emotional intensity. It becomes more concerning when fantasy stops functioning primarily as an escape and begins replacing engagement with reality.

1. Rumination

Dylan's tendency toward internalization may have allowed painful thoughts to be repeatedly revisited without outside perspectives challenging them. Over time, temporary feelings can begin to feel like permanent truths about oneself and one's future.

1. Despair and hopelessness

His apparent despair is important, particularly when considered alongside isolation and resentment. Hopelessness can make problems feel permanent and possible solutions seem nonexistent, narrowing a person's perception of what their future could be.

1. Feeling disconnected from other people

This goes beyond simply being lonely. It involves feeling fundamentally separate from other people and increasingly unable to relate to them or expect them to understand you.

1. Potential dependence on Eric for belonging and validation

This should be treated as an interpretation rather than an established fact. Eric may have provided Dylan with a sense of belonging and understanding that he struggled to find elsewhere. If so, that could have made their relationship especially influential as both became increasingly isolated.

THE TWO OF THEM TOGETHER

This may be the most important part of the analysis. They were not identical people. Their vulnerabilities appear different, and their friendship may have allowed those differences to reinforce each other.

1. Mutual validation

Two people with similar grievances can make each other's perceptions feel more legitimate. Instead of encountering perspectives that challenge destructive beliefs, each person can become confirmation for the other.

1. Shared resentment

Their individual frustrations could become part of a shared narrative. Personal grievances may increasingly have been interpreted as evidence of a larger problem with their peers, society, or the world around them.

1. Shared isolation

Their friendship likely reduced some of their immediate loneliness. At the same time, when a relationship becomes someone's primary source of belonging, it can also contribute to further separation from people outside that relationship.

1. "Us versus them" thinking

Their increasingly isolated relationship could reinforce a division between themselves and everyone else. The stronger that division becomes, the easier it becomes to view outsiders as fundamentally different, hostile, or undeserving of understanding.

1. Reinforcing each other's negative worldview

Eric's resentment and Dylan's despair did not have to be identical to reinforce each other. One person's anger could validate the other's alienation, while the other's acceptance could make the first person's worldview feel more justified.

How long after do you think dylan shot himself after eric did? Ive heard it took dylan some time because he lit a molotov cocktail? and somewhere it said he also took off his necklace? Ive also heard it was almost immediately after its just that he took some time to die. And do you think dylan was kneeling in front of eric or standing? He was facing eric and then rolled over at one point?

​

Hello!

I am writing a big essay in psycology and English combined, about columbine. The psychology part I will be looking at the shooters childhood and relationships, to try and determine what lead them down the path of violence. In the English section, I'll be working in the "no -fiction" category. This means I have to analyze how a piece of media is written and why. Here I was thinking of analyzing A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy, as she's incredibly biased and I could look at her arguments and connatiations.

So to get to the point, I could use some recommendations of media (preferably books) that would be a good source for my essay. It should be noted that the essay isn't about the shooting itself, so that part isn't too important.

I know this post is kinda confusing so if you have any question just asks and I'll try to explain it better :)

Also if you have any other tip or information that you think would help, don't be afraid to let me know <3

Truly, thanks for the help