On April 26, 1999 the Columbine Task Force was
developed and teams of responsibility were designated to handle different
aspects of the investigation. One of the teams was the Threats Team.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Richard Webb led this team.
The team’s responsibility was to immediately
respond to critical incidents and threats, which were fed into the investigation
command post through a variety of sources.
Immediately after the shooting on April 20, the command post received
numerous reports of additional attacks that were to occur at other schools in
the metro area as well as schools outside the state. Each of these incidents was followed up to assure each report
was resolved. It is important to
mention that many threats and problems that arose in the aftermath of the
Columbine shootings were not reported to or handled by the Columbine Task Force.
The majority of these incidents, nationwide, were followed up by the
jurisdiction in which they occurred.
Of particular note, three other school shootings
occurred shortly after the Columbine shootings. The first was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on April 23; the
second was in Taber, Alberta Canada on April 28, and the last was in Conyers,
Georgia on May 20, 1999.
The Threats team followed up on 256 leads, resulting
in eight arrests. Two arrests were
the result of bomb threats at two local high schools and one arrest was for
manufacturing bomb components at another local high school.
Another arrest was made of an individual trespassing at Columbine High
School while it was still a crime scene. A
Columbine High School student was arrested for inciting destruction of life and
property after threatening to “finish the job” and another individual was
charged with disorderly conduct after making several statements about blowing up
his former high school. Two arrests
were made in Canada for uttering threats towards a high school in Ontario.
Additionally, the leads investigated by the threats
team resulted in 11 students being expelled from local schools for making
inflammatory and inappropriate statements which alarmed staff and / or students.
As the investigation continued, additional evidence
was obtained which indicated Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris had identified
numerous individuals who they had disliked for a variety of reasons.
The names were found on computer generated lists, in Harris’ 1998
yearbook and referenced in videotapes made by Harris and Klebold.
The names of these 67 individuals were compared to
those injured and killed at Columbine to determine if they were victims. Only
one was actually injured. He
suffered injuries to his hand and knee.
Other responsibilities of the threats team were to
respond to bomb threats at other schools, threats of additional assaults,
suspicious activity, threats to witnesses, and individuals believed to have
prior knowledge of the shooting. The
threats team also followed up on Internet threats which were reassigned by the
Computer / Internet Team.
After the shootings at Columbine High School, many
individuals from across the nation claimed to be associates or members of the
Trench Coat Mafia (TCM). The task
force had already determined that the TCM was a loose group of individuals who
were current or past students of Columbine High School. The small group of
friends had been given the name in 1998 and was not a gang as commonly defined.
The Associate Team investigated those individuals who were actually
associated with Harris and Klebold and the threats team followed up on those
individuals who were most likely not associates of the TCM.
During the first three weeks after the shootings,
numerous bomb threats were called in to schools within Jefferson County.
The command post was also notified of other bomb threats to schools
within the state as well as nationwide. Several
of these threats claimed association with the Trench Coat Mafia; however, no
connection was found in any of the threats.
In October 1999, Sheriff’s deputies initiated a
threat investigation after a Columbine student reported hearing another juvenile
claim that he intended to attack the school. As word of the threat spread, many students decided not to
attend school the day of the planned attack.
Investigators interviewed the juvenile suspect and collected evidence
that led to the filing of felony criminal charges with the District Attorney.
The juvenile case has since been concluded.
Also in October, threatening communications were sent
to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and Columbine High School.
An Assistant United States Attorney brought federal charges against Arthur
Leon Thomas of Houston, Texas, who was interviewed and admitted to writing and
mailing the two threat letters as well as sending a threatening internet message to an
individual in Broomfield, Colorado. In
January of 2000, Thomas appeared in Denver federal court and entered a plea of
not guilty. Thomas is scheduled to
appear on May 4 in a hearing for a change in his plea.
Another internet threat was made to a Columbine High
School student by a Florida man. Michael
Ian Campbell of Cape Coral, Florida, was charged with one count of transmitting
a threat in interstate communications and was subsequently arrested.
He pled guilty in Federal District Court on February 9, 2000 to the same charge.
Campbell was sentenced on Friday, April 28, 2000 to 4 months in Federal Prison,
and 3 years of probation after release from prison.
79 leads
were generated from lists recovered during searches of the Klebold and Harris
residences. Some were titled
“shit” lists and others were merely lists of handwritten or typed names.
All of the individuals were interviewed but none could provide
investigators with definite reasons why their name would appear on one of the
lists. Some of the individuals had been asked out by Harris and had declined.
That was their only interaction with him.
Others did not know Harris or Klebold except in passing.
11 leads
were generated from references made in videotapes recovered pursuant to a search
warrant. Each of these individuals claimed to have once dated, or been asked out
by, Harris. However, they did not
report any known hostility with Harris.
15 leads
were generated from Harris’ yearbook recovered during the search. All of these
individuals were graduates of the 1998 class and could not explain why they were
targeted.
24 leads
were followed up on to determine if a particular individual had association with
the Trench Coat Mafia. None were.
40 leads
were generated due to reports of suspicious activity.
Many citizens contacted the task force about students who were believed
to be capable of violence or acting and/or dressing inappropriately in light of
the shootings. Example: someone
walking in a neighborhood mall with a trench coat and “acting suspicious.”
33 leads
were generated on reports of additional threats to schools.
8 leads
were generated on reports of threats to witnesses.
These threats were to known members of the TCM or associates of Harris
and Klebold. None were found to be
valid.
21 leads
were generated on reports of individuals who had prior knowledge of the
shootings at Columbine High School. No
one was found to have such knowledge.
17 leads
were followed up regarding bomb threats to schools.
These threats resulted in schools being evacuated and classes disrupted.
No actual explosive devices were ever located but arrests were made in
some cases.
8 leads
were turned over to the threats team from the Computer team involving threats of
additional activity or claimed association to TCM.