Eric David Harris (9 April 1981 - 20 April 1999) and Dylan Bennet Klebold (11 September 1981 - 20 April 1999) were the two students who carried out the Columbine High School attack in Jefferson County, Colorado, on 20 April 1999.
On the day of the attack they murdered 12 students and one teacher, wounded others, and then killed themselves. In 2025, the death of survivor Anne Marie Hochhalter was ruled a homicide because complications from paralysis caused by the shooting were a significant contributing factor, raising the legal death toll connected to the attack.
Background
Harris and Klebold were students at Columbine High School. They planned the attack in advance, acquired weapons, made explosive devices, and left behind writings and recordings that later became part of the investigation.
Early public explanations focused heavily on bullying, music, video games and school cliques. Later research and official material showed a more complicated picture involving grievance, violent ideation, planning, failed intervention, access to weapons, and a desire for notoriety.
Columbine High School Attack
The attack took place on 20 April 1999. Harris and Klebold brought firearms and homemade explosive devices to the school. Their plan included bombs intended to cause far more deaths, but the main explosive devices failed.
They shot students and staff inside and around the school, including in the library. Teacher Dave Sanders and 12 students were killed on the day of the attack. Harris and Klebold died by suicide before police reached them.
The attack became a major turning point in public understanding of school shootings. It changed police response tactics, school emergency planning, media coverage, threat assessment and public discussion of youth violence.
Investigation
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, the FBI and other agencies investigated the attack. The FBI later released records through its Vault, and Jefferson County Archives maintains investigation records.
The investigation showed that the attackers had planned for a bombing and shooting, not only a shooting. Their failure to detonate the main bombs prevented a much larger death toll.
The case also exposed mistakes and missed signals. Some prior behaviour had drawn concern, and later scrutiny focused on whether law enforcement, schools and families had enough information to intervene.
Online Following and Copycat Risk
Columbine developed an unhealthy online following. Some people study the case for research or prevention, but others romanticise the attackers, copy their appearance, repeat their language, or treat them as symbols of revenge.
This following is a serious part of the attack's legacy. Harris and Klebold have been referenced by later attackers, and Columbine material has circulated for years in violent online subcultures. Responsible coverage should avoid turning them into anti-heroes or repeating material designed to give them attention.
Legacy
Columbine changed school security and policing in the United States and beyond. It contributed to wider use of lockdown drills, threat assessment, school resource officers, emergency communication systems, and rapid police engagement during active attacks.
The attack also shaped arguments about media ethics. Repeated publication of attackers' names, images and writings can create status for violent offenders. Later guidance often recommends focusing on victims, survivors, warning signs and prevention rather than on spectacle.
The victims, survivors and families remain central to the history of the attack. The event should be remembered as a mass murder and attempted bombing that damaged a community for decades, not as a cultural myth built around the perpetrators.
See Also
References
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