COUNTLESS victims tragically lost their lives during the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999, while two dozen were injured as a result of the school shooting and attempted bombing.
The attack at Columbine High School remains the deadliest mass shooting and the deadliest school shooting to occur in Colorado, and was the deadliest mass shooting at a K-12 school in the US until it was surpassed by the Sandy Hook, Uvalde, and Parkland school shootings.
Who are the Columbine High School shooting victims?
On April 20, 1999, twelve students and one teacher walked into Columbine High School for the last time.
The thirteen victims included:
- William “Dave” Sanders, 47
- Cassie Bernall, 17
- Steven Curnow, 14
- Corey DePooter, 17
- Kelly Fleming, 16
- Matthew Kechter, 16
- Daniel Mauser, 15
- Daniel Rohrbough, 15
- Rachel Scott, 17
- Isaiah Shoels, 18
- John Tomlin, 16
- Lauren Townsend, 18
- Kyle Vasquez, 16
In addition to the 12 students and one teacher that were killed, two dozens individuals were injured.
21 people were injured by gunfire, including:
- Brian Anderson, 17
- Richard Castaldo, 17
- Jennifer Doyle, 17
- Stephen “Austin” Eubanks, 16
- Nicholas “Nick” Foss, 18
- Sean Graves, 15
- Makai Hall, 19
- Anne Marie Hochhalter, 17
- Patrick Ireland, 17
- Michael Johnson, 15
- Mark Kintgen, 17
- Lisa Kreutz, 18
- Lance Kirklin, 16
- Stephanie Munson, 17* wounded ankle, shot
- Patricia “Patti” Nielson, 35
- Nicole Nowlen, 16
- Jeanna Park, 18
- Kacey Ruegsegger, 17
- Valeen Schnurr, 18
- Daniel Steepleton, 17
- Mark Taylor, 17
Three additional victims were injured during the shooting or while trying to escape, including:
- Joyce Jankowski, 45, was treated for injuries sustained in the fall through the ceiling when she tried to escape the school
- Adam Kyler, 16, was treated for abdominal pain after being hit in the stomach with a chair
- Evan Todd, 15, sustained abrasions to his eye after a gunshot splintered a wood counter in front of his hiding spot
Each year, Columbine High School, and its surrounding community, try to honor those who lost their lives that fateful day.
In 2019, Colorado’s governor even proclaimed April 20 as a Colorado Day of Recommitment to remember the victims who lost their lives, and those who survived the terrifying ordeal.
Sam Bowersox-Daly, a social studies teacher at Columbine, helps organize a service project on the day of the attack with the help of individuals worldwide.
“Some are friends of Columbine teachers or students who have gone off to do other things,” Bowersox-Daly said, as reported by CBS News.
“Some are people who were touched by somebody at Columbine at some point,” they added.
“Every year we hear from folks in Europe, Tanzania. We had a submission the other day from Java, Indonesia.”
A permanent memorial to all victims is also located near the school at Robert F. Clement Park, named the Ring of Remembrance and Wall of Healing.
On Friday, April 19, 2024, just one day before the 25th anniversary of the shooting, a vigil was held at a church near the state Capitol, honoring those who lost their lives 25 years ago.
Tom Mauser, a gun safety advocate and the the father of then-15-year-old Daniel Mauser, who was shot and killed at Columbine, organized the vigil.
“And most importantly we ask you to never forget, never forget the victims of Columbine,” Mauser said, as reported by AP News.
“The slain, the injured, the traumatized and their families. And especially never forget those who lost their lives,” Mauser added.
During the vigil, Mauser was wearing his son’s sneakers, “a tradition he reserves for special occasions.”
Coni Sanders, said her father, Dave Sanders, “changed the world forever by saving hundreds of students.”
“The kids that he saved now have children and those children will have children so generations from now people will know they exist because of his bravery,” she said.
Nathan Hochhalter, who survived the attack by hiding in a classroom, only to be frisked by SWAT officers during their rescue, also spoke at the vigil.
HIs sister, Anne Marie, was paralyzed after being shot at Columbine, and his mother, who had previously suffered from bipolar disorder, took her own life just a few months after the massacre.
“I just want to use this moment to let everyone know that it’s OK to ask for help, whatever your situation is whether, either as a survivor 25 years later or someone struggling with any part of their life,” Hochhalter said.
“These things come in waves and they can hit you when you least expect it.”
“You should all know that we’re all here for you and that you’re not alone,” he added.
What happened to the Columbine shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold?
Two senior students, Eric David Harris and Dylan Bennet Klebold, were responsible for the attack, which was intended to primarily be a bombing.
When their homemade bombs failed to detonate, Harris and Klebold both resorted to a shooting attack on their teachers, classmates, and peers.
Both Harris and Klebold were born in 1981, and met while they were in the seventh grade.
Conflicting reports have emerged over the years, with some saying the two teens were unpopular students and victims of bullying, while other accounts acknowledging that while they were no where near as popular as the school’s “jocks,” or athletes, that each of them had friends and active social lives.
According to journal reports obtained by investigators after the shooting, Harris and Klebold began planning the attack in May 1998, nearly one year before the massacre occurred.
After acquiring weapons and the tools necessary for their homemade explosives, the duo arrived, separately, at Columbine High School around 11 am.
They had planned to detonate two 20-pound propane bombs inside the cafeteria, and then set off explosives in their personal cars, killing those who would seek refuge in the school’s parking lot, along with first responders.
When their devices failed to detonate, the teens resorted to using their weapons, including a Hi-Point 995 carbine, a TEC-9 pistol, a Stevens 311D shotgun, and a Savage 67H shotgun.
The shooting began at around 11:19 am, and lasted until 12:08 pm MDT.
At around noon, Harris and Klebold returned to the school’s library, where they had previously killed 10 of their victims and held a large group of students hostage.
By that point, Harris had killed 8 individuals, while Klebold was responsible for 5 deaths.
After their car bombs failed to go off, the teens went to the library’s west windows and opened fire on the police outside, who retaliated, though nobody was shot or injured.
By 12:08 pm, the official “end” of the shooting, both Harris and Klebold had killed themselves.
Harris had fired his shotgun through the roof of his mouth, while Klebold kneeled and shot himself in the left temple using his TEC-9.
Following their suicides, the families of both teens contributed millions to a $2.5 million settlement, given to the families of the victims.
Klebold’s mother, Sue, even published a memoir in 2016, titled A Mother’s Reckoning.
Harris’ parents, Wayne and Kathy, moved away from Littleton, Colorado, after the massacre, but penned an open letter on April 15, 2000:
“We continue to be profoundly saddened by the suffering of so many that has resulted from the acts of our son,” they wrote, as reported by Heavy.
“We loved our son dearly, and search our souls daily for some glimmer of a reason why he would have done such a horrible thing.”
“What he did was unforgivable and beyond our capacity to understand. The passage of time has yet to lessen the pain.”
“We are thankful to those who have kept us in their thoughts and prayers,” they finished.
In a devastating turn of events, both Harris and Klebold have become infamous figures in popular culture.
They are often portrayed or referenced in movies, TV shows, and other media.
Some killers have even taken inspiration from the pair and carried out their own “copycat” shootings, dubbed the Columbine effect.