Eric Harris | |
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Senior year picture, 1998
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Born |
Eric David Harris April 9, 1981 Wichita, Kansas, U.S. |
Died | April 20, 1999 Columbine, Colorado, U.S. |
(aged 18)
Cause of death | Suicide by gunshot |
Occupation | Student at Columbine High School and shift manager at Blackjack Pizza |
Parent(s) |
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Relatives |
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Motive | Multiple factors, bullying, psychopathy, sadism |
Killings | |
Date | April 20, 1999 11:19 a.m. – 12:08 p.m. |
Location(s) | Columbine High School |
Target(s) | Students, teachers, and police |
Killed | 8 |
Injured | 24 (21 together with Klebold) |
Weapons | Hi-Point 995 Carbine, Savage 67H pump-action shotgun, explosives and two knives |
Dylan Klebold | |
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Senior year picture, 1998
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Born |
Dylan Bennet Klebold September 11, 1981 Lakewood, Colorado, U.S. |
Died | April 20, 1999 Columbine, Colorado, U.S. |
(aged 17)
Cause of death | Suicide by gunshot |
Occupation | Student at Columbine High School and employee at Blackjack Pizza |
Parent(s) |
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Relatives |
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Motive | Multiple factors, bullying, depression, revenge |
Killings | |
Date | April 20, 1999 11:19 a.m. – 12:08 p.m. |
Location(s) | Columbine High School |
Target(s) | Students, teachers, and police |
Killed | 5 |
Injured | 24 (21 together with Harris) |
Weapons | Intratec TEC-DC9, Stevens 311D double barreled sawed-off shotgun, explosives and two knives |
Eric David Harris (April 9, 1981 – April 20, 1999) and Dylan Bennet Klebold (September 11, 1981 – April 20, 1999) were the two American high school seniors who committed the Columbine High School massacre. The pair killed 13 people and injured 24 others. The two then committed suicide in the library, where they had killed 10 of their victims.
Harris was born in Wichita, Kansas. The Harris family relocated often, as Eric's father, Wayne Harris, was a U.S. Air Force transport pilot. His mother, Katherine Ann Poole, was a homemaker. The family moved from Plattsburgh, New York, to Littleton, Colorado, in July 1993, when Wayne Harris retired from military service.
The Harris family lived in rented accommodations for the first three years that they lived in the Littleton area. During this time, Eric met Dylan Klebold. In 1996, the Harris family purchased a house south of Columbine High School. Eric's older brother, Kevin, attended college at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Klebold was born in Lakewood, Colorado, to Thomas and Susan Klebold. His parents were pacifists and attended a Lutheran church with their children. Both Dylan and his older brother, Byron, attended confirmation classes in accordance with the Lutheran tradition. As had been the case with his older brother, Dylan was named after a renowned poet (in Dylan's case, the playwright Dylan Thomas).
At the family home, the Klebolds also observed some rituals in keeping with Klebold's maternal grandfather's Jewish heritage. Klebold attended Normandy Elementary in Littleton, Colorado for the first two grades before transferring to Governor's Ranch Elementary and became part of the CHIPS ("Challenging High Intellectual Potential Students") program. He found the transition to Ken Caryl Middle School difficult.