Columbine conspiracy theories
Encyclopedia
Columbine conspiracy theories are any of several conspiracy theories which argue that the mainstream account of the Columbine High School massacre
, which occurred on Littleton, Colorado
on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, is inadequate or inconsistent in explaining the events, and/or that evidence in the case has been suppressed.
The mainstream account of the massacre, derived from press reports and extensive investigations by local, state and Federal officials, is that between about 11:19 am and 12:10 pm on the above noted date, Columbine High School students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 students and one teacher and injured 24 other students before killing themselves. They also planted several bombs on and near the campus, several of which exploded.
Perhaps the most prominent conspiracies include claims that additional suspects were involved and that police accidentally killed students during the chaos of the massacre.
Columbine High School massacre
The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, an unincorporated area of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States, near Denver and Littleton. Two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, embarked on a massacre, killing 12...
, which occurred on Littleton, Colorado
Littleton, Colorado
Littleton is a Home Rule Municipality contained in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. Littleton is a suburb of the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Statistical Area. Littleton is the county seat of Arapahoe County and the 20th most populous city in the state of...
on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, is inadequate or inconsistent in explaining the events, and/or that evidence in the case has been suppressed.
The mainstream account of the massacre, derived from press reports and extensive investigations by local, state and Federal officials, is that between about 11:19 am and 12:10 pm on the above noted date, Columbine High School students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 students and one teacher and injured 24 other students before killing themselves. They also planted several bombs on and near the campus, several of which exploded.
Perhaps the most prominent conspiracies include claims that additional suspects were involved and that police accidentally killed students during the chaos of the massacre.
Additional suspects
- Conspiracy theorists note that in official police interview transcripts, dozens of Columbine students asserted that there were additional shooters other than Harris and Klebold.
- Names of alleged shooters other than Harris and Klebold are usually redactedRedactionRedaction is a form of editing in which multiple source texts are combined and subjected to minor alteration to make them into a single work. Often this is a method of collecting a series of writings on a similar theme and creating a definitive and coherent work...
in official documents. In some instances, however, the suspect names were not redacted; e.g. former Columbine student Robert Perry was identified as a shooter by several students who claimed to know him by sight due to his severe acneAcneAcne is a general term used for acneiform eruptions. It is usually used as a synonym for acne vulgaris, but may also refer to:*Acne aestivalis*Acne conglobata*Acne cosmetica*Acne fulminans*Acne keloidalis nuchae*Acne mechanica...
, pronounced overbiteOverbiteOverbite refers to the extent of vertical overlap of the maxillary central incisors over the mandibular central incisors.Overbite may also refer to:* Overbite , an extension for the Mozilla Firefox web browser....
and great height of 6'6" to 6'8". - Columbine student Johnathan Vandermark claimed to have seen a person who was probably Harris accompanied by an armed older male, about 30 years old, who did not fit Klebold's description; the unknown man was "about one foot shorter than Dylan, with dark hair that was spiked on top with blonde tips." Similarly, student Jennifer Smull was paraphrased by police about what she observed outside her classroom before taking cover: "[she] saw an adult (blonde, short, spiky hair, thought he was in 30′s). [She] thought he was a cop until he held up a sawed off shotgun."
- Names of alleged shooters other than Harris and Klebold are usually redacted
- Conspiracy theorists also note that police interviews indicate that shortly before 11:19 am, when Harris and Klebold began shooting near the school's west entrance, numerous witnesses claimed that other suspects were throwing bombs at other locations.
- According to interview notes by FBI Special Agent Matthew S. Harris, student Jake Apodaca mistook Harris and Klebold's first shooting as firecrackers. Moments later, Apodaca claimed to have seen two men, one of whom wore a black mask, near the soccer field: "Apodaca saw the person in the white tee shirt throw an object about the size of a soda can on top of the library. This object appeared metallic, since it looked silver in the sunlight. One or two seconds after landing on the roof, it exploded with a loud boom, a flash of fire and puff of smoke.” Apodaca's account was corroborated by testimony of two students. Chris Wisher: "Wisher saw this person [i.e., a man wearing jeans and white t-shirt] throw an object one-handed on top of the cafeteria/library roof. It appeared metallic [...] and [...] it exploded with a loud bang, a flash of fire and a pall of smoke." And Donald Arnold: “[Arnold] looked towards the school and [seen] a short, pudgy male, wearing a white T-shirt, and throwing something onto the roof of the school near the electrical transformers. Arnold heard [an] explosion and saw dust on the roof soon after.”
- On April 21, a press conference was held by Jefferson County District Attorney David Thomas and Sheriff John Stone, saying that they suspected that other people helped plan the shooting. This disclosure, coupled with suggestions that Harris and Klebold could not have brought so many explosives into the building by themselves, fueled speculation.
- A man on the roof was assumed to be a possible third shooter by the police. It was later discovered to have been a roofing repairman who was scheduled to do maintenance on the library's roof and had remained hidden there after hearing shots fired by Harris and Klebold. It was never properly explained why witnesses said that the man on the roof was armed with a gun. It also has never been properly explained why some witnesses saw three men on the roof in different areas, all with firearms. One of them was reported to be wearing a South ParkSouth ParkSouth Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
shirt. Chris Morris, the leader of the Trenchcoat Mafia and a close friend of both Harris and Klebold, was arrested by police during the day and news footage showed that he was wearing a South Park shirt.
- In a video clip of the school cafeteria it is alleged a dark figure is in the back holding what some say may be a gun. This was possibly Dylan Klebold briefly entering the cafeteria when the shooting began.
Other conspiracies
- Much debate have discussed the link between the shootings and Luvox, a prescription medication which Harris was taking. Debaters have stated that Klebold was on anti-depressants also. Others say that anti-depressants used by adolescents risk the chances of murder and or suicide.
- The intended and actual dates of the massacre have been extensively commented upon by those with a numerologicalNumerologyNumerology is any study of the purported mystical relationship between a count or measurement and life. It has many systems and traditions and beliefs...
bent, with links noted to the Oklahoma City bombingOklahoma City bombingThe Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...
, the Waco siegeWaco SiegeThe Waco siege began on February 28, 1993, and ended violently 50 days later on April 19. The siege began when the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms attempted to execute a search warrant at the Branch Davidian ranch at Mount Carmel, a property located east-northeast of Waco,...
, Adolf HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's birthday, the Apollo 16Apollo 16Young and Duke served as the backup crew for Apollo 13; Mattingly was slated to be the Apollo 13 command module pilot until being pulled from the mission due to his exposure to rubella through Duke.-Backup crew:...
MoonMoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
landing and the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
- Much debate has been initiated on Rachel ScottRachel ScottRachel Joy Scott was the first victim of the Columbine High School massacre, which claimed the lives of 12 students, one teacher and the two perpetrators, in one of the deadliest high school shootings in United States history.She has since been the subject of several books and is the...
's death. The first casualty, Rachel Scott was shot and killed by Eric HarrisEric Harris and Dylan KleboldEric David Harris and Dylan Bennet Klebold were American high school seniors who committed the Columbine High School massacre. They killed 13 people—including teacher Dave Sanders—and injured 24 others, three of whom were injured as they escaped the attack...
. Richard Castaldo, a student who was sitting next to Scott and was injured by Harris, said that Rachel was only injured when the first shots were fired, then the gunmen approached Scott, grabbed her by the hair and asked her if she still believed in God. Supposedly, after saying "You know I do", one of the killers said "Go be with him" then shot and killed Scott. Other theorists have supported this, while others claim that Scott was killed instantly.
- One debate was speculated that Rachel ScottRachel ScottRachel Joy Scott was the first victim of the Columbine High School massacre, which claimed the lives of 12 students, one teacher and the two perpetrators, in one of the deadliest high school shootings in United States history.She has since been the subject of several books and is the...
, the first victim, enlisted Harris and Klebold into committing the massacre, making sure she was killed first, in order to make her writings famous. The day she died, she told a teacher she would have an impact on the world.
- It has been speculated, especially by Donna Taylor, mother of injured survivor Mark Taylor, that Harris and Klebold were sexually assaulted by the police officer, Tim Walsh, that arrested them for breaking into a van. This would explain Klebold writing in Harris's 1998 yearbook, "killing cops!!! My wrath for January's incident will be God like!" One of Harris's friends was videotaped teasing him, saying "Eric just got jacked up the ass!".
- Articles from the Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
state that ballistics from Columbine show that six of the thirteen victims were possibly shot and killed by Jefferson County SWATSWATA SWAT team is an elite tactical unit in various national law enforcement departments. They are trained to perform high-risk operations that fall outside of the abilities of regular officers...
. In 2002, an independent investigation disproved accusations against the Jefferson County sheriff's department to the satisfaction of Daniel Rohrbough's parents, the chief proponents of this theory. Brian RohrboughBrian RohrboughBrian Rohrbough was the 2008 vice presidential candidate of America's Independent Party in the 2008 United States presidential election, running on the ticket with presidential candidate Alan Keyes.-Career:...
, Daniel Rohrbough's father, went on to be Alan Keyes'Alan KeyesAlan Lee Keyes is an American conservative political activist, author, former diplomat, and perennial candidate for public office. A doctoral graduate of Harvard University, Keyes began his diplomatic career in the U.S...
running mate in the 2008 Presidential election.
- Another theory is that Klebold did not commit suicide, but was murdered by Harris. In some crime sceneCrime sceneA crime scene is a location where an illegal act took place, and comprises the area from which most of the physical evidence is retrieved by trained law enforcement personnel, crime scene investigators or in rare circumstances, forensic scientists....
photographs, Klebold's shotgun is allegedly too far out of his reach for him to have shot himself. He was shot through the left temple, and the TEC-DC9 was found in his right hand and his parents reported that he was left handed. However, these photos were taken after police had moved and disarmed the weapons, as the magazines are visible on the ground. Some believe this theory as in the last basement video (which has yet to be released to the public), Klebold mentions to Harris that he is Jewish. Harris, who in his diary entries drew several swastikas, was allegedly shocked by this information. As Klebold then attempted to explain he was only half Jewish, Harris simply said "Well, that's too bad." Klebold reportedly sat there for a moment, as though he was afraid of being attacked by Harris. Had Klebold's shotgun been out of reach, it would not have mattered. Klebold's suicide was a shot to the left temple with his TEC-DC9. Harris shot himself through the mouth with his shotgun.