Report: 12 killed at Columbine in first 16 minutes

May 16, 2000
Web posted at: 4:11 p.m. EDT (2011 GMT)

In this story: Other significant findings Officers traded fire with gunmen Family: Why aren't earlier threats in report? RELATED STORIES, SITES

GOLDEN, Colorado (CNN) -- The Jefferson County, Colorado, Sheriff's Department on Monday released a comprehensive report on the Columbine High School massacre which said that in the 16 minutes after the first shot was fired, 12 people were dead and 22 people were wounded.

The report's minute-by-minute timeline of the April 20, 1999, attack was constructed from eyewitness reports, surveillance videotapes, 911 calls and forensic evidence. It indicates that teen-age gunmen Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold "fired their first shots at about 11:19 a.m. and injured the last victim at 11:35 a.m. By shortly after noon, the killers ... had died at their own hands."

Before Harris and Klebold killed themselves, they fatally shot 12 students and one teacher and wounded more than 20 others.

VIDEO National Correspondent Tony Clark looks at the Columbine report. Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K   Ammunition used by Harris and Klebold The gunmen fired 188 shots -- including 37 shotgun rounds and 151 9mm rounds. Shotgun rounds: Harris fired 25, including 21 inside the library. Klebold fired 12, including six inside of the library. 9mm rounds: Harris filed 96, including 47 outside the building. Klebold fired 55, including 52 inside the building.     FULL REPORT Introduction from the Jefferson County Sheriff Table of Contents     TIME.com ANALYSIS Columbine Report: More details than answers     SPECIAL Are U.S. Schools Safe?     MESSAGE BOARD Remembering Columbine

Parents of several of the victims have filed suit against the sheriff's office, claiming authorities did not act quickly enough to save their children, and alleging in one case that a bullet from an officer working for the sheriff -- rather than bullets from the teen-age shooters -- killed one of the students.

The report disputes the wayward bullet claim, saying, "A total of 141 shots were fired by law enforcement officers at Columbine High School. ... No individual was hit or injured by 'friendly fire.'"

But the report confirms that some of the wounded and teacher Dave Sanders, who died in a science room, waited for hours until the SWAT team finished evacuating the school.

The sheriff's report is the final result of an investigation that involved 4,500 witness interviews and 10,000 pieces of evidence gathered since the killings.

"While this report established a record of the events of April 20, it cannot answer the most fundamental question -- why?" Jefferson County Sheriff John Stone said in a statement. He declined to answer additional questions, citing the pending lawsuits.

Released on CD-ROM, the report offers a multimedia perspective on the investigation, including taped interviews and audio from some of the frantic calls for help made from the school. Photo clips are also included.

The 10-month investigation determined that the gunmen didn't intend to end up in the school library but apparently changed their plan when bombs they had brought didn't explode and police officers arrived at the school.

  •  Surveillance videotapes show two 20-pound propane bombs were placed in the school cafeteria the morning of the attack rather than the night before.

  •  The killers carried all explosives into the school inside duffel bags, backpacks or in ammunition pouches strapped to their bodies.

  •  Had the cafeteria bombs worked as intended, all 448 people in the room might have been killed.

One of the duffel bag bombs

  •  Initial 911 calls mentioned a shooter on the roof. He was later identified as an air conditioning repairman who hid on the roof during the attack.

  •  Physical evidence does not indicate a third shooter. No known evidence suggests anyone had prior knowledge of the killers' plan.

  •  According to their videotapes and writings, Harris and Klebold planned to kill many more people.

  •  In their yearbooks, journals, videotapes and computer files, Harris and Klebold listed 67 people they disliked. Only one of those people was actually injured in the attack, and there is no evidence that he was specifically targeted.

The investigators noted that information trickled in and not all of it was accurate. For example, the estimated number of shooters involved ranged from two to eight, one suspect was reported to have escaped, and numerous reports indicated hostages were being held throughout the school.

According to the report, the "information came from people within the school and from law enforcement officers who interpreted their observations."

Firearms used by Klebold and Harris

Shortly after the attack began, Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputy Neil Gardner, a uniformed officer assigned to the school, drove his car around the school in response to a radio report of a "female down" in the parking lot.

The report said, "As Gardner stepped out of his patrol car, Eric Harris turned his attention from shooting into the west doors of the school to the student parking lot and to the deputy. Gardner, particularly visible in the bright yellow shirt of the community resource officer uniform, was the target of Harris' bullets. Harris fired about 10 shots from his rifle at Gardner before his gun jammed.

"Gardner, seeing Harris working with his gun, leaned over the top of the car and fired four shots. He was 60 yards from the gunman.

"Seconds later, Harris began shooting again at the deputy. After the exchange of gunfire, Harris ran back into the building. Gardner was able to get on the police radio and called for assistance from other sheriff's units: 'Shots in the building. I need someone in the south lot with me.' It was 11:26 a.m."

The report says that around noon, gunfire erupted from a second-story library window as paramedics tried to rescue the wounded students outside.

"Deputy (Kevin) Walker sees a muzzle flash from a library window and returns fire. Deputy Gardner fires three shots at the gunmen," the report said. It also stated Denver police provided cover fire to allow paramedics to recover three wounded teens and to determine that student Daniel Rohrbough was dead.

Just minutes after SWAT teams entered the building, the gunmen killed themselves, according to the report.

During Monday's news conference, a spokesman for the sheriff's office said the CD-ROM is available to the public for $12, plus shipping. He said that the sheriff's office would not receive any proceeds from the sale of the report, but did not say where the money would go.

The report may help lawyers and families who have brought at least 15 lawsuits against Stone and others.

The school's west entrance area

The release of the report follows a deadline set by a Jefferson County district judge. The judge set the deadline after accusations by some victims' families that the sheriff's office was intentionally stalling the report's release as a way to delay their lawsuits, which had to be filed within one year of the attack.

The families' lawsuits claim the Jefferson County sheriff's office ignored warnings that Harris and Klebold were planning the attack, and that the police commando teams took too long to enter the school after the shooting started.

"Everybody is going to go over (the report) very closely," said Jim Cederberg, who represents partially paralyzed victim Richard Castaldo.

Judy and Randy Brown don't trust the sheriff's department or the final report.

The couple had reported Harris to authorities for making threats on a computer Web site against their son, Brooks Brown. Because of that, they question the authenticity of the report's timeline.

"Why does it start at 11:13 a.m.? asked Judy Brown. "Eric started a year before planning this. He said he was going to do this a year before. He said, 'I'm looking for ground zero.' The police department had that information -- they didn't look into it."

When Harris was about to enter the school just prior to the attack, he encountered Brooks Brown and told him to go home. The Browns said their other son, Aaron, narrowly missed being shot by the attackers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Jefferson County, Colorado, Public Schools
Sheriff John P. Stone office
Columbine High School Tributes
National School Safety Center

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