The day it happened: How it looked on TV

I've posted one of these clips in the "Documents" section, but I'll post all of them here so that we can talk about the following:

Except for Amanda, no one who posts here was at the school on that day, so none of us can know what it was truly like. But many of us know where we were on that day, and even where we were when we first heard about what had happened.

I know exactly where I was when I first heard about the massacre. I was glued to the TV for hours.

Some years ago, I downloaded some clips of the news footage from 4/20. I've been watching them over the last few days, and it's almost surreal to see a situation that we now know in such minute detail be presented live to the American public in such a confused, sketchy form, with a healthy dollop of misinformation.

Aside from those who were at the school, no one watching these TV news reports knew who Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold, Rachel Scott, Dave Sanders, or any of the others were ... but we would come to learn a lot about them in the days, weeks, months, years, and decades to come.

Here are a few clips from CBS showing some of the key moments of that day. I do not have the most famous Columbine TV moment - Patrick Ireland's falling out the window. But I do have these: a girl telling the world that "Eric Harris" was one of the killers; Daniel Rohrbough lying dead on the sidewalk; Bree Pasquale nearly breaking down in front of the media vultures;  Rachel's body being dragged like a duffel bag from the sidewalk onto the grass; students running past her body before it is dragged into an even muddier part of the grass.

I'm kind of an old-TV-news junkie, so maybe I get more of a kick out of watching this stuff than I should ... but I remember seeing some of these things live like it was yesterday. It always hits me when I think about how much time has gone by since that awful Tuesday afternoon.

So here are the clips:

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1. Janine (last name?):

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Someone in the background tells her to say that it was "Eric Harris and someone whose name we don't know." Early on, Eric was already being talked about on the Denver TV stations and even on national television networks as a suspect.

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2. Daniel Rohrbough lying dead on the sidewalk:

Warning: Graphic Video:

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3. Bree Pasquale:

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Bree is hard to watch - her pain is so raw.

I hate to admit that, even right after watching her, I laugh when I the news anchor talk about the "Trenchcoat Gang" (sic) and Marilyn Manson, and I laugh again after I see the "WTF?" look on his face when he talks about the shooters' alleged targeting of those wearing white hats.

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4. Rachel being dragged (at the 1:25 mark):

Warning: Graphic Video:

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5. Rachel being dragged again (at the 1:13 mark):

Warning: Graphic Video:

Thanks! That 4th video, though.. What the actual hell was that news reporter thinking when he said "You can see the arm being held up. Which would indicate that they have not been cuffed and taken into custody." while watching the swat drag a obviously limp body by it's arms across the grass and pavement.
It's really no surprise that so many false facts were put out there just by the media alone, during those crucial 24 hours afterwards. Especially before they confirmed the real fatality count.

paradisedreams wrote:

Thanks! That 4th video, though.. What the actual hell was that news reporter thinking when he said "You can see the arm being held up. Which would indicate that they have not been cuffed and taken into custody." while watching the swat drag a obviously limp body by it's arms across the grass and pavement.
It's really no surprise that so many false facts were put out there just by the media alone, during those crucial 24 hours afterwards. Especially before they confirmed the real fatality count.

Yes. And all the while they're practically salivating over the carnage. Disgusting.

paradisedreams wrote:

Thanks! That 4th video, though.. What the actual hell was that news reporter thinking when he said "You can see the arm being held up. Which would indicate that they have not been cuffed and taken into custody." while watching the swat drag a obviously limp body by it's arms across the grass and pavement.

Yeah, that was a groaner.

There was all sorts of bullshit being peddled as truth ... there were reports that the Trenchcoat Mafia was a national group of neo-Nazis who gathered at Marilyn Manson concerts, and that Eric and Dylan were gay lovers who screamed "Heil Hitler!" whenever they scored at bowling.

Quote :

It's really no surprise that so many false facts were put out there just by the media alone, during those crucial 24 hours afterwards. Especially before they confirmed the real fatality count

Here's a news report on the unreal one:
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(AOL was big in those days ... hell, even Eric was on it. )

I still remember how my jaw dropped when I first heard that (erroneous) number. It was truly shocking - almost unthinkable.

But what might the number have been if the bombs had gone off? Two fifty or higher?

Years later, when Virginia Tech happened, I watched the TV reports and thought, "Ah, who knows if they're even telling the truth?"

Quote :

But what might the number have been if the bombs had gone off? Two fifty or higher?

Hard to say. McVeigh used a much mroe powerfull bomb and kileld 168. But his bomb was outside a somewhat sturdy building. E&D's bombs were inside, contained in a large room densely packed with people. Their smaller bomb could have taken a similar or even larger toll than McVeigh's bomb... it it actually exploaded, rather than just ignite. And that last part is pretty debatable if it could actually happen.

Again, I'm not gonna go into specific details, sorry.

Oddly, the person being dragged in No. 4 has been identified as Mark Taylor:

Warning: Graphic Video:

What type of bomb exploded in Dylan's car at 11pm that night? It obviously didn't do much damage. Unless they expected people to hide directly behind/next to it if they survived and escaped the intended cafeteria bombing.

paradisedreams wrote:

What type of bomb exploded in Dylan's car at 11pm that night? It obviously didn't do much damage. Unless they expected people to hide directly behind/next to it if they survived and escaped the intended cafeteria bombing.

AFAIK ti did not even explode on purpose. Some of the police and technical people that were to secure the car got careless and iirc they caused a spark that ignited something. It was not in any way related to E&D's bomb plans.

Sabratha wrote:

paradisedreams wrote:

What type of bomb exploded in Dylan's car at 11pm that night? It obviously didn't do much damage. Unless they expected people to hide directly behind/next to it if they survived and escaped the intended cafeteria bombing.

AFAIK ti did not even explode on purpose. Some of the police and technical people that were to secure the car got careless and iirc they caused a spark that ignited something. It was not in any way related to E&D's bomb plans.

Ohhh. Sadly, that's somehow not surprising.

paradisedreams wrote:

Sabratha wrote:

paradisedreams wrote:

What type of bomb exploded in Dylan's car at 11pm that night? It obviously didn't do much damage. Unless they expected people to hide directly behind/next to it if they survived and escaped the intended cafeteria bombing.

AFAIK ti did not even explode on purpose. Some of the police and technical people that were to secure the car got careless and iirc they caused a spark that ignited something. It was not in any way related to E&D's bomb plans.

Ohhh. Sadly, that's somehow not surprising.

That gave rise to the myth taht the bomb was set to 11.00 PM instead of 11 AM by accident by Dylan. In fact it was just a coincidence taht the peeps messed with it 12 hours later.

Gustopoet2 wrote:

paradisedreams wrote:

Thanks! That 4th video, though.. What the actual hell was that news reporter thinking when he said "You can see the arm being held up. Which would indicate that they have not been cuffed and taken into custody." while watching the swat drag a obviously limp body by it's arms across the grass and pavement.
It's really no surprise that so many false facts were put out there just by the media alone, during those crucial 24 hours afterwards. Especially before they confirmed the real fatality count.

Yes. And all the while they're practically salivating over the carnage. Disgusting.

It really is. The amount of unprofessional crime scene tampering done that day is unreal. More notably with Danny R's body. Seeing that he was flipped over during the attempted rescue by the swat, & trampled on (or almost) by half of the school as they escaped. There was no reason they should have left his body out there for almost 2 days. And I know the 'who killed him' questions happened soon after. But where his body originally landed after he was shot and the surrounding area were already completely useless within the first 20 minutes. That's just my opinion, though. I' guess i'm obviously slightly naive when it comes to the crime scene part of things.

Here's some more footage ... these reports aired between 1 and 2 p.m. Mountain (3 and 4 p.m. Eastern):

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Among other things, we hear "Brian" and "Janine" and see Patti Nielson talking about what they heard and saw.

Thank you for creating this thread and sharing all of this footage, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].

So these clips are from something you downloaded from someone else? The quality is quite good compared to most.

tfsa47090 wrote:

Thank you for creating this thread and sharing all of this footage, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].

So these clips are from something you downloaded from someone else? The quality is quite good compared to most.

You're welcome. I'm uploading another one right now.

These are fairly big files - in the upper hundreds of megs. So the quality is pretty good.

Yes, I downloaded these years ago ... don't remember where.

LPorter101 wrote:

Here's some more footage ... these reports aired between 1 and 2 p.m. Mountain (3 and 4 p.m. Eastern):

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Among other things, we hear "Brian" and "Janine" and see Patti Nielson talking about what they heard and saw.

It's really crazy comparing these early speculations and stories with what we all know actually happened.

Here are a few more reports that aired between 2 and 3 p.m. Mountain (4 and 5 p.m. Eastern):

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Clinton spoke at 2:34 p.m. Mountain (4:34 p.m. Eastern).

paradisedreams wrote:

What type of bomb exploded in Dylan's car at 11pm that night? It obviously didn't do much damage. Unless they expected people to hide directly behind/next to it if they survived and escaped the intended cafeteria bombing.

There was NO explosion from Dylan's car

During the collection and handling of the explosives evidence Tuesday evening, one bomb and other devices within the bomb trailer were accidentally detonated. Two bomb technicians from the Arapahoe Sheriff’s Office were lowering a pipe bomb into the trailer when a striking match attached to the pipe bomb brushed against the trailer wall and ignited. The devices exploded within the confines of the trailer.  

At 10:40 p.m. April 20, the radio report of “officer down” stunned the entire law enforcement community responding to the Columbine incident.  Thankfully, no one was hurt because the technicians were well trained and wearing protective bomb suits and knew to fall backward as they saw the spark from the device.

There were no injuries and no fatalities as a result of any bomb explosions.

Here are two from the day after the massacre.

This aired about 24 hours after the shooting began:
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The president of the United States himself was blaming video games and movies.

Try to listen to that description of Eric and Dylan without cringing...

And here's one from late on the afternoon of the 21st:
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If you look, you can see two girls in the background walking into the crime-scene area to leave some flowers, only to be yelled at by a cop.

Its fascinating just to study peoples actions. Some people look calm, others frantic. Although the media invaded the privacy of many peoples lives that day, if it wasn't for the media we wouldn't have a huge array of footage and interviews.

Here is an ABC News clip that aired at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time on the 20th:
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Thank you LPorter101, some amazing footage there.

Thanks fot sharing the videos LPorter101, I have seen most of them before but in such a bad quality I couldn't appreciate the details. For example, I never noticed before the blood stain on the wall right next to Rachel's body (in video [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]).

Blood: Red - Rachel: Blue

Warning: Graphic Photo:

Warning: Graphic Photo:

I have to say that is an interesting blood stain pattern. But I too have never noticed that, anyone have any other pictures?

I find the news coverage from that day very interesting. That said the media were pretty much vultures willing to sensationalize the story for ratings. I think its very odd and unprofessional that they would allow an interview with kids who were still in the school during the attack. That was dangerous and wrong on many different levels.

Do you guys think Eric and Dylan stopped at any point to check the news? They were involved with the A/V classes at the school so they knew where the TVs were located. After seeing the massive wall of police that had gathered outside the school I wouldn't put it passed Eric to want to check the news out. They had plenty of time to stop and watch for a few minutes. There were obviously people inside the school who were watching the news, so there is a chance they could have at least heard some of the news while walking through the halls.

Nirvana92 wrote:

I find the news coverage from that day very interesting. That said the media were pretty much vultures willing to sensationalize the story for ratings. I think its very odd and unprofessional that they would allow an interview with kids who were still in the school during the attack. That was dangerous and wrong on many different levels.

Do you guys think Eric and Dylan stopped at any point to check the news? They were involved with the A/V classes at the school so they knew where the TVs were located. After seeing the massive wall of police that had gathered outside the school I wouldn't put it passed Eric to want to check the news out. They had plenty of time to stop and watch for a few minutes. There were obviously people inside the school who were watching the news, so there is a chance they could have at least heard some of the news while walking through the halls.

I forget where, but at some point the anchor in the clips I posted said that Jeffco asked the TV stations to stop broadcasting live pictures from their helicopters above the school.

One of the Denver TV stations broadcast at least one fake prank call during the live coverage.

LPorter101 wrote:

Nirvana92 wrote:

I find the news coverage from that day very interesting. That said the media were pretty much vultures willing to sensationalize the story for ratings. I think its very odd and unprofessional that they would allow an interview with kids who were still in the school during the attack. That was dangerous and wrong on many different levels.

Do you guys think Eric and Dylan stopped at any point to check the news? They were involved with the A/V classes at the school so they knew where the TVs were located. After seeing the massive wall of police that had gathered outside the school I wouldn't put it passed Eric to want to check the news out. They had plenty of time to stop and watch for a few minutes. There were obviously people inside the school who were watching the news, so there is a chance they could have at least heard some of the news while walking through the halls.

I forget where, but at some point the anchor in the clips I posted said that Jeffco asked the TV stations to stop broadcasting live pictures from their helicopters above the school.

One of the Denver TV stations broadcast at least one fake prank call during the live coverage.

I'd forgotten about the prank call!!! Further proof of how little order was in the media that day. Pretty sick that someone would do that though. Like the woman who claims to have slept with Eric. The sickest one I think ive heard is the recent Steve Rannasazi's 9/11 lie. I don't understand what people get out of placing themselves in tragedies. Its the same as doing a massacre for the attention without having to get your hands dirty. Its pathetic really.

Falcolus wrote:

I have to say that is an interesting blood stain pattern.  But I too have never noticed that, anyone have any other pictures?

I didn't think that was blood...I could have sworn that another crime scene photo shows the wall and it looked like a big burn mark....and yes, I know what dried blood looks like

These videos are horrying, especially the one of Danny and two videos of Rachel being dragged łike a bag of garbage. Damn those cameras got really close. And I always found it unbelievable that these CHILDREN just ran past dead bodies (especially Rachel, who was supposedly the "it"girl.
I honestly cannot even fathom how those cops were not brought up on charges.
Every time I hear the words "trenchcoat mafia" in relation to Columbine, even Oprah did it and it's still done, I want to scream.

If anyone has the clip of Patrick Ireland, I'd love to see it. The pictures just don't capture the absolute horror of a bloody, half-conscious kid literally flopping out of a second story window.

NotYourRobot wrote:

If anyone has the clip of Patrick Ireland, I'd love to see it. The pictures just don't capture the absolute horror of a bloody, half-conscious kid literally flopping out of a second story window.

It's about 2 minutes into LPorter's video here: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I know there were cameras everywhere that day, I'm just wondering if there's any footage capturing the parents of the 13 before there lives imploded. I don't have kids, I can't even imagine what that waiting game was like.

NotYourRobot wrote:

I know there were cameras everywhere that day, I'm just wondering if there's  any footage capturing the parents of the 13 before there lives imploded. I don't have kids, I can't even imagine what that waiting game was like.

There definitely was not. They were in a private room.

LPorter101 wrote:

Here's some more footage ... these reports aired between 1 and 2 p.m. Mountain (3 and 4 p.m. Eastern):

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Among other things, we hear "Brian" and "Janine" and see Patti Nielson talking about what they heard and saw.

That's a different Nielson, and it seems that she worked in the Cafeteria. It's not Patti.

Nirvana92 wrote:

LPorter101 wrote:

Nirvana92 wrote:

I find the news coverage from that day very interesting. That said the media were pretty much vultures willing to sensationalize the story for ratings. I think its very odd and unprofessional that they would allow an interview with kids who were still in the school during the attack. That was dangerous and wrong on many different levels.

Do you guys think Eric and Dylan stopped at any point to check the news? They were involved with the A/V classes at the school so they knew where the TVs were located. After seeing the massive wall of police that had gathered outside the school I wouldn't put it passed Eric to want to check the news out. They had plenty of time to stop and watch for a few minutes. There were obviously people inside the school who were watching the news, so there is a chance they could have at least heard some of the news while walking through the halls.

I forget where, but at some point the anchor in the clips I posted said that Jeffco asked the TV stations to stop broadcasting live pictures from their helicopters above the school.

One of the Denver TV stations broadcast at least one fake prank call during the live coverage.

I'd forgotten about the prank call!!! Further proof of how little order was in the media that day. Pretty sick that someone would do that though. Like the woman who claims to have slept with Eric. The sickest one I think ive heard is the recent Steve Rannasazi's 9/11 lie. I don't understand what people get out of placing themselves in tragedies. Its the same as doing a massacre for the attention without having to get your hands dirty. Its pathetic really.

Can you hook me up with that prank call? like a link I wanna see this.

ABC newscasts from April 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24, 1999:

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As I write this, the videos from the 23rd and the 24th are still processing, so you can't watch them online yet. You can download them, however.

Whoever is uploading these (not me) is putting them up in chronological order, so the rest of the newscasts from April 1999 should be up either tonight or tomorrow. Columbine dominated the news through the end of the month.

More footage from 4/20 (and the next few days):

LPorter101 wrote:

ABC newscasts from April 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24, 1999:

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As I write this, the videos from the 23rd and the 24th are still processing, so you can't watch them online yet. You can download them, however.

Whoever is uploading these (not me) is putting them up in chronological order, so the rest of the newscasts from April 1999 should be up either tonight or tomorrow. Columbine dominated the news through the end of the month.

Thanks for the links. I'll have to watch these later.

LPorter101 wrote:

Here's some more footage ... these reports aired between 1 and 2 p.m. Mountain (3 and 4 p.m. Eastern):

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Among other things, we hear "Brian" and "Janine" and see Patti Nielson talking about what they heard and saw.

At the 12:10 mark: "The Jefferson county swat team said that they were pursuing an individual inside Columbine High School and had returned fire with them and may have potentially been wearing body armor."

Did E or D ever fire at any swat members INSIDE the school? I thought they were dead before any swat team entered the school? Dear God I hope the swat team wasn't actually shooting at eachother, but the way they described it, it seems that's exactly what happened

HanShotFirst wrote:

LPorter101 wrote:

Here's some more footage ... these reports aired between 1 and 2 p.m. Mountain (3 and 4 p.m. Eastern):

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Among other things, we hear "Brian" and "Janine" and see Patti Nielson talking about what they heard and saw.

At the 12:10 mark: "The Jefferson county swat team said that they were pursuing an individual inside Columbine High School and had returned fire with them and may have potentially been wearing body armor."

Did E or D ever fire at any swat members INSIDE the school? I thought they were dead before any swat team entered the school? Dear God I hope the swat team wasn't actually shooting at eachother, but the way they described it, it seems that's exactly what happened

From what I can remember they did not shoot at them other than at the windows and such. But from the swat accounts, they were shooting at shadows, puffs of smoke, and other items so it would not surprise me if they did shoot at each other on accident. There were many teams there and it was chaos

ABC's Nightline from April 20 and 21, 1999:
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Someone help me find logical answers here.

In the video of Rachel’s body getting dragged uploaded in the first post I noticed something before I’ve not previously noticed.
Around the 30 second mark if you pay attention to the first window from the corner you can see someone dressed in black casually stroll past as if they were heading towards the library’s side exit but they never come through the door.
Timewise I’m pretty sure no police had entered yet and you’d think any student/survivor would move with more urgency or atleast actually exit the door to the safety of police.

I’ve also read somewhere (cannot remember where) that police thought they saw one of the shooters briefly through that door. Don’t hold me to that though, I think more importantly I mean to focus on the video evidence of someone clearly walking past the window so close to the door.
I don’t know if it could be Dylan actually caught on video during the events but then again, after only recently noticing the figure in black I don’t know if it isn’t.
Someone please check the video, look at what I’m talking about and let me know what you think.
I’ve gone over the video a dozen times already and I just don’t know.
Thanks.

Looking at the video, I think it the reflection of the police officer on the far right hand side. The "figure" moves at the same speed.

sororityalpha wrote:

paradisedreams wrote:

What type of bomb exploded in Dylan's car at 11pm that night? It obviously didn't do much damage. Unless they expected people to hide directly behind/next to it if they survived and escaped the intended cafeteria bombing.

There was NO explosion from Dylan's car

During the collection and handling of the explosives evidence Tuesday evening, one bomb and other devices within the bomb trailer were accidentally detonated. Two bomb technicians from the Arapahoe Sheriff’s Office were lowering a pipe bomb into the trailer when a striking match attached to the pipe bomb brushed against the trailer wall and ignited. The devices exploded within the confines of the trailer.  

At 10:40 p.m. April 20, the radio report of “officer down” stunned the entire law enforcement community responding to the Columbine incident.  Thankfully, no one was hurt because the technicians were well trained and wearing protective bomb suits and knew to fall backward as they saw the spark from the device.

There were no injuries and no fatalities as a result of any bomb explosions.

It also wasn't at 11pm... I remember an explosion near Dylans car on the news that day, but it was in early evening.

Or I am misremembering and saw it on the news the next day?

Do we have footage of when they first announced eric and dylans names?

I remember it being around dinner time on the east coast.

I was watching the coverage pretty much until going to bed as far as I recall...

A lot of information got wrong that Day. Apparently that they believed that 25 People had been killed. Allthough it was 15. And than the narrative about 'bullied oucasts seeking out vengeance against the jocks'.

And than there was this thing about goths/loners and that Eric and Dylan were homosexuals. And that Cassie Bernall said Yes. I dont believe that either. A lot memories can get distorted during trauma.

"That gave rise to the myth taht the bomb was set to 11.00 PM instead of 11 AM by accident by Dylan"
Wouldn't be surprised lol! Dylan is probably clumsy as hell xd I mean if he points the gun at himself while reloading (rampage video)....

Rebbie556 wrote:

"That gave rise to the myth taht the bomb was set to 11.00 PM instead of 11 AM by accident by Dylan"
Wouldn't be surprised  lol! Dylan is probably clumsy  as hell xd  I mean if he points the gun at himself while reloading (rampage video)....

If I remember correctly the bombs where made using analog clocks where the ringing would cause the bombs to go off, at least that is what the description of the bombmaking made me believe. So even if I agree Dylan is clumsy I don't think that's what happened. I think they made the sensors too weak partially on purpose cause they didn't want to accidentally blow themselves up while placing the bombs.

I posted it in another thread but I might as well just post it here. It was broadcasted on a French public television channel on 21/04/1999 (sorry, not exactly the day it happened) at night, so in the USA it was probably early afternoon. You might need to turn the subtitles on.

NotYourRobot wrote:

If anyone has the clip of Patrick Ireland, I'd love to see it. The pictures just don't capture the absolute horror of a bloody, half-conscious kid literally flopping out of a second story window.

Most definitely one of those images that stays burned in your mind forever.

You’re watching news footage, and then out of nowhere, not knowing too much of anything about what’s going on inside, and then you see that...exactly the way you described it.

Yeah, you just can’t ever let that one go.

My parents had the news on that day, it was tuned into the coverage of what was going on in Littleton. I remember getting home from school, it was also a beautiful day where I was. I arrived home to see Patrick falling out of the window