What was said in the library according to witnesses is gotten so very wrong in books and film depictions such as Zero Hour. People dogmatically cling to Eric as the "leader", and to them saying most of what they said at the entrance, but by all accounts Dylan was the vocal one in the library, and none of what was said was while standing at the entrance.
Background:
Fact: On the morning of April 20, 1999, senior students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold planted two diversionary bombs a few miles south of their high school, and two 20 pound propane bombs in the school cafeteria set to explode during the busiest lunch hour, the "A" lunch shift, potentially killing some 500 students. They parked in separate parking lots, and rigged a bomb in each of their cars. They are wearing trench coats and t shirts with a message underneath. Eric's reads "Natural Selection" and Dylan's reads "Wrath".
Fact: They are armed with pipe bombs, CO2 cartridge bombs known as 'crickets', Molotov cocktails, two guns each, and knives. Eric carries a pump action shotgun and a carbine rifle, Dylan carries a double-barrel, break action shotgun and a TEC-9 handgun.
Fact: The Jeffco/CNN CD says the diversion devices had the capability of motion detection, and that this was relayed to the school.
Shooting begins:
Fact: At approximately 11:19 a. m., a pipe bomb is thrown into the parking lot, and they begin shooting students at the top of the stairs on the west side of the school. They first shoot Rachel Scott, who dies, and Richard Castaldo, who are eating lunch in the grass near the west entrance. Next they shoot Daniel Rohrbough, who dies, Lance Kirklin, and Sean Graves. They toss pipe bombs all the while, and shoot Michael Johnson and Mark Taylor on the grassy hill to the west. They also shoot at the surrounding sports fields, and apparently at anybody around.
Fact: Meanwhile inside the cafeteria, Dave Sanders and two custodians order students in the cafeteria to get down under tables, before telling them to run up the cafeteria stairs and out the back of the school.
Fact: Dylan descends the stairs, and shoots Lance Kirklin in the face with his shotgun when he meekly calls for help. He steps into the cafeteria slightly, before turning around and heading back up the stairs. Eric shoots Anne-Marie Hochhalter.
Fact: Eric gets into a shootout using his carbine with Jeffco police and school resource officer Neil Gardner. Neither are injured.
Fact: They shoot Patti Nielson and Brian Anderson and toss pipe bombs before they enter the west entrance. At some point while outside, Eric takes off his trench coat. They shoot at several fleeing students inside, but only hit Stephanie Munson in the ankle.
Fact: Dave Sanders is running around the school to help students by making sure doors are locked and so forth. He and a student turn a corner and Eric and Dylan are at the end of the hallway. He turns back around and is shot in the neck and back by Eric and collapses. The students gets away. Dylan walks to where Sanders fell and throws a pipe bomb down the hallway before heading back. Sanders is pulled into a science classroom and students and teachers in the room attempt to administer first aid.
Fact: The cafeteria CCTV shows they are throwing crickets and pipe bombs into the cafeteria from above. They also throw several in the halls.
Library massacre:
Fact: Patti Nielson rushes into the library, tells students to get under the tables, and dials 911 while she hides under the main counter. Her call would record the entire library massacre.
Fact: They enter the library at approximately 11:29 a. m. Dylan first, then Eric.
Fact: They proceed to kill ten people in the library with gunshots (Kyle Velazquez; Steven Curnow; Cassie Bernall; Isaiah Shoels; Matthew Kechter; Lauren Townsend; John Tomlin; Kelly Fleming; Daniel Mauser; and Corey Depooter). Several more are injured.
Fact: All the while in the library, they are speaking to the library in general and taunting students. They repeatedly taunt jocks, tell people to get up, and that the library is about to explode. They also taunt specific students.
Fact: According to Bree Pasquale, who most agree is the most perceptive witness, the first thing Dylan says to the library in general, after shooting Kyle is screaming: Everybody get up! We're gonna blow this library up!
Fact: They then shoot out the library windows at police. According to Bree and the diagrams of the shell casings, only Eric does this, with his shotgun.
Fact: Dylan removes his trench coat and fires at a table of 3 boys: Patrick Ireland, Makai Hall, and Daniel Steepleton. Ireland is later "the boy in the window", attempting to escape on live television.
Fact: Eric shoots Steven Curnow and seriously wounds Kacey Ruegsegger. He then slaps the top of the desk Cassie Bernall is hiding under before saying "peekaboo" and killing her with a shotgun blast to the head. He thus holds his shotgun with only one hand, and it smacks his face in recoil, making his nose bleed.
Fact: Eric taunts Bree, who was unable to hide under a desk properly. He tells her everybody in the library is going to die. When Dylan tells Eric to shoot her, he responds "No, we're gonna blow up the school anyway".
Fact: Dylan taunts Isaiah Shoels for being black. Both Eric and Dylan fire under his table. Eric kills Isaiah, and Dylan kills Matthew Kechter.
Fact: Eric tries to topple a bookcase. Dylan shoots out a trophy case. He then shoots Mark Kintgen.
Fact: Dylan fires several shots on a table full of girls, killing Lauren Townsend and injuring Val Schnurr and Lisa Kreutz. Val Schnurr would later be asked if she believes in God and why.
Fact: Nicole Nowlen and John Tomlin are shot by Eric. Tomlin moves out from under his table. He is then killed by shots from Dylan..
Fact: Kelly Fleming is killed by a shot from Eric's shotgun.
Fact: Eric points his carbine at a student and orders him to identify himself. It is John Savage. Dylan knows him, and does not kill him, but tells him to run.
Fact: Daniel Mauser is shot twice with Eric's carbine, first in a grazing shot with his hand and ear, then one square in the face, killing him. Something happens between him, the library chair, and Eric. Eric apparently thinks he was trying to jump him.
Fact: Corey Depooter is the last to die at 11:35. Witnesses recall them saying it might be more fun to start stabbing people.
Fact: Dylan taunts Evan Todd who is underneath the main counter while holding him at gunpoint, but does not shoot him, and say he will let him live. Eric wants to go to the commons. Dylan smashes a chair on the counter. They leave at 11:36, and students flee out of the west entrance.
Suicide:
Fact: After lighting a storage closet on fire and shooting into a classroom, they are seen on the cafeteria CCTV. Eric tries to detonate a bomb by shooting at it. Dylan tosses a Molotov cocktail at it, causing a large fire by lighting a gas can attached to the propane tank, but which is eventually put out by the sprinklers.
Fact: Eric and Dylan walk around the halls of the school, tossing pipe bombs and shooting walls and ceilings.
Fact: They return to the cafeteria and are again seen on the CCTV. Eric seems to make a waving gesture. They enter the kitchen. Around noon, they go back up the cafeteria stairs and return to the library.
Fact: The police are shot at one more time. They light a Molotov cocktail on a tabletop, and both commit suicide by 12:08 p. m.
Appendix:
Fact: Dave Sanders dies several hours later, waiting for help to arrive. Throughout the massacre, police never entered the building.
Fact: Before the massacre, on unreleased video tapes, Dylan said "It will be the most nerve racking fifteen minutes of my life, when the bombs are planted and we're waiting to charge through the school".
Fact: While outside, Dylan shot a total of 3 times with his TEC-9, and once with his shotgun into Lance's face. Thus, in all likelihood, all shots spoken of outside are from Eric. Daniel Rohrbough's was considered proven to be from Eric in the reinvestigation into his death known as the El Paso Report, and there were some 8 shots which hit either of just Rachel or Richard.
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