Dylan Klebold – Columbine High School Massacre, 1999
Overview
On April 20, 1999, Dylan Klebold, alongside his friend Eric Harris, carried out one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. The attack, meticulously planned for months, involved firearms, explosives, and a strategy aimed at mass casualties. The pair murdered 13 people, wounded over 20 others, and terrorized the school before taking their own lives. Their rampage marked a turning point in discussions about school safety, bullying, and youth violence.
The Attack
Klebold and Harris arrived at the school shortly before 11:00 a.m., heavily armed with shotguns, a carbine rifle, a TEC-9 semi-automatic pistol, and improvised propane bombs. They planted explosives in the cafeteria timed to detonate during lunch, intending to force survivors into their gunfire. When the bombs failed to explode, they began shooting indiscriminately at students outside and inside the school, moving from the west entrance to the library, where the majority of killings took place. The entire attack lasted less than an hour, ending when both perpetrators died by suicide in the library.
Victims
The massacre claimed 13 lives, each a tragic loss to family, friends, and the community:
- Rachel Scott, 17 – killed outside on the lawn.
- Daniel Rohrbough, 15 – killed near the west entrance steps.
- Coach William “Dave” Sanders, 47 – teacher killed in a hallway while helping students to safety.
- Kyle Velasquez, 16 – killed in the library.
- Steven Curnow, 14 – killed in the library.
- Cassie Bernall, 17 – killed in the library.
- Isaiah Shoels, 18 – killed in the library.
- Matthew Kechter, 16 – killed in the library.
- Lauren Townsend, 18 – killed in the library.
- John Tomlin, 16 – killed in the library.
- Kelly Fleming, 16 – killed in the library.
- Daniel Mauser, 15 – killed in the library.
- Corey DePooter, 17 – killed in the library.
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