Columbine conspiracy theories
Columbine conspiracy theories are many 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.
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[edit] Additional suspects
- Conspiracy theorists note that in official police interview transcripts,[1][2] 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 redacted 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 acne, pronounced overbite 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."[2] 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."[2]
- 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.”[2] 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."[2] 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.”[2]
[edit] Other conspiracies
- Articles from the Associated Press state that ballistics from Columbine show that six of the thirteen victims were possibly shot and killed by Jefferson County SWAT.[3] 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 Rohrbough, Daniel Rohrbough's father, went on to be Alan Keyes' running mate in the 2008 Presidential election.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Columbine High School Massacre--7 shooters, not 2 28 Jan 2004, URL accessed 25 June 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f Long, Evan (2007). "The Columbine Cause: An Examination of the April 20, 1999 Attack on Columbine High School", URL accessed 25 June 2011.
- ^ (AP, December 7, 2001, "Columbine Student Killed by Cop"; AP, December 8, 2001, "Rohrbough, Ballistics show police killed Daniel")
- ^ Catherine Tsai (18 April 2002), Cop Cleared In Columbine Death, CBS News, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/04/19/columbine/main506693.shtml, retrieved 2007-07-25
