Excerpts From Columbine Report

Excerpts from Jefferson County Sheriff's Office's report on the Columbine High School massacre:

"Within the span of 16 minutes, the gunmen had killed 13 people and wounded 21 others. A savage act of domestic terrorism, their crime is the deadliest school shooting in the history of the United States."

Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold fired 188 shots, including 37 shotgun rounds and 151 9mm rounds. Of the shotgun rounds, Harris fired 25, including 21 inside the library, and Klebold fired 12, including six inside of the library. Of the 9mm rounds, Harris filed 96, including 47 outside the building, and Klebold fired 55, including 52 inside the building.

"A total of 141 shots were fired by law enforcement officers....No individual was hit or injured by 'friendly fire.'"

"At one time or another, the number of shooters believed to be involved in the incident ranged from two to eight. Differing descriptions of the gunmen, different reports of their locations inside the school, the sheer volume of calls received about sightings and knowledge related to the incident, different observations made by law enforcement officers around the school, the number of explosions occurring, and the number of victims all played a part in the challenge to identify how many shooters were involved and where they were in the school."

"There was a report that a suspect had escaped the school....There were reports of snipers on the roof of the school, which could have had an effect on the response and the ability to approach the scene....There were continued reports of bombs exploding....There were numerous reports of hostages throughout the school. This information came from people within the school and from law enforcement officers who interpreted their observations...."

"While the news helicopters assisted law enforcement by surveying the rooftops and the grounds, there was also the concern that images aired live might be seen by suspects inside the school."

"One of the technical limitations that surfaced...was the difficulty for separate agencies to communicate directly with one another. With 46 separate agencies responding, it was inevitable that they would be operating on different emergency radio channels, and in different parts of the radio spectrum or bandwidth....With such varying systems being used, not only were agencies prevented from communicating with each other, but groups with similar functions also could not communicate via radio."

Jefferson County Sehriff's Deputy Neil Gardner, a uniformed officer assigned to the school, drove his patrol car around the building in response to a radio report of a "female down" in the south parking lot.

"As Gardner stepped out of his patrol car, Eric Harris turned his attention from shooting into the west doors of the school to the student parking lot and to the deputy. Gardner, particularlvisible in the bright yellow shirt of the community resource officer uniform, was the target of Harris' bullets. Harris fired about 10 shots from his rifle at Gardner before his gun jammed. Although Gardner's patrol car was not hit by bullets, two vehicles that he was parked behind were hit by Harris' gunfire...."

"Gardner, seeing Harris working with his gun, leaned over the top of the car and fired four shots. He was 60 yards from the gunman. Harris spun hard to the right and Gardner momentarily thought he had hit him. Seconds later, Harris began shooting again at the deputy. After the exchange of gunfire, Harris ran back into the building. Gardner was able to get on the police radio and called for assistance from other sheriff's units. `Shots in the building. I need someone in the south lot with me.' It was 11:26 a.m."

"At 11:29 a.m.,the gunmen entered the school library yelling, `Get up!' Some witnesses reported hearing one of them yell, `Everyone with a white cap or baseball cap, stand up.' Others reported hearing, `All jocks stand up. We'll get the guys in the white hats!' When no one stood up, a witness heard one of the gunmen say, `Fine, I'll start shooting.'"

"Harris, noticing a student under Table 11, told him to identify himself. The student, who was an acquaintance of Klebold, identified himself and asked Klebold what he was doing. Klebold replied, `Oh, just killing people.' The student asked if Klebold was going to kill him. Klebold told him to get out of the library, which he did."

"Harris walked over to Table 19, where he bent down and saw two frightened girls. He slapped the table top twice, said, `Peek-a-boo,' and fired, killing Cassie Bernall. After shooting Cassie, Harris made a comment about hitting himself in the face. Investigators believe Harris broke his nose as a result of the `kick' from the shotgun when he bent to fire under the table."

"Valeen (Schnurr), who was critically hurt, began to cry 'Oh God, help me.' Klebold, who had shot her, came back and taunted her about her belief in God. He then walked away."

"Witnesses heard one of the gunmen shout, `This is what we always wanted to do. This is awesome.'"

In the cafeteria, at 11:44 a.m., "the suspects both took a moment to drink from water bottles left by students on the school lunch tables. A witness hiding in the cafeteria heard one of the gunmen say, 'Today, the world's going to come to an end. Today's the day we die.'"