Austin Eubanks found dead

Really sad news. Rest in peace, Austin.

Just heart breaking

That's terrible. Can't believe we already have 4 school shooting related suicides this year.
R.I.P Austin Eubanks.

This is not news I expected to see today. Rest in peace, Austin.

Came here to post this but someone beat me to it.

I haven't seen anything to suggest it was a suicide; however, it would not surprise me

I’m not sure what kind of afterlife I believe in but I’d like to think he’s now not in pain and he’s hanging out with Corey.


Someone commented on a public post that they should add his death on to the list of chargers against the killers at Columbine.. then someone was like “Um,  they’re dead...”

But they really did cause something that’s still being felt today.

Very sad

My heart hurts. I feel like I knew him personally.... atleast he's with Corey now

So sad. RIP Austin.

We'll have to wait for the official cause of death, but it appears it was an overdose. In my opinion, this is akin to a suicide for someone whose career was based on fighting addiction.

Eubanks’ family says in a statement that he “lost the battle with the very disease he fought so hard to help others face,” KMGH-TV reports.
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thelmar wrote:

We'll have to wait for the official cause of death, but it appears it was an overdose. In my opinion, this is akin to a suicide for someone whose career was based on fighting addiction.

Eubanks’ family says in a statement that he “lost the battle with the very disease he fought so hard to help others face,” KMGH-TV reports.
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That's awful.

Regardless of where you were that day, being a survivor is hard, i think it changes who you are to the core whether it is in a small way or a huge way.


He was doing good for so many people, but when you're struggling with your own demons it's terrifying, it is hard to get through.


Even the people who didn't know Austin who are also survivors it has to tear them apart. I imagine it hurts even hurts the parents of Eric and Dylan, especially Sue... knowing their children are responsible for so much, "Ripples of Columbine" was the perfect title for that series.

Screamingophelia wrote:

Regardless of where you were that day, being a survivor is hard, i think it changes who you are to the core whether it is in a small way or a huge way.


He was doing good for so many people, but when you're struggling with your own demons it's terrifying, it is hard to get through.


Even the people who didn't know Austin who are also survivors it has to tear them apart. I imagine it hurts even hurts the parents of Eric and Dylan, especially Sue... knowing their children are responsible for so much, "Ripples of Columbine" was the perfect title for that series.

Yes, the effects are still very much being felt all these years later. The title couldn't have been any better. I feel for Austin's family. It must have been so reliving to know he made it out of the school alive only for them to lose him 20 years later.

Ironically, I posted an article about his struggle with addiction just a couple of days ago:
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Three years ago, he seemed to have triumphed over it. But no one ever cures an addiction. The struggle goes on until the day you die.

Rest in peace, Austin. May you find the serenity in death that eluded you in life.

Austin Eubanks and Corey DePooter, 1999:
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Austin Eubanks, 2016:
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Another victim over 20 years later, so sad. R.I.P. Austin.

God speed Austin

Terrible, terrible news... It shows painfully well how Columbine is still affecting survivors today.
Mark Taylor is another unfortunate example of that.
IIRC Austin had two young children
It saddens me to think that E&D were so right when they predicted the effects it would have..

Runes wrote:

Terrible, terrible news... It shows painfully well how Columbine is still affecting survivors today.
Mark Taylor is another unfortunate example of that.
IIRC Austin had two young children
It saddens me to think that E&D were so right when they predicted the effects it would have..

This is very heart breaking. What goal did E and D hope to accomplish by having the survivors deal with addiction and substance abuse most of their lives? This poor man and I pray for his family.

Screamingophelia wrote:

I’m not sure what kind of afterlife I believe in but I’d like to think he’s now not in pain and he’s hanging out with Corey.


Someone commented on a public post that they should add his death on to the list of chargers against the killers at Columbine.. then someone was like “Um,  they’re dead...”

But they really did cause something that’s still being felt today.

I’m glad you mentioned that, because it certainly is true. Anne Marie’s mom, so many addicts and having to face their demons, then there was an athlete who committed suicide the year after the shooting.

The whole thing is just so sad.

School Massacre Archives wrote:

That's terrible. Can't believe we already have 4 school shooting related suicides this year.
R.I.P Austin Eubanks.

A survivor of Parkland, the father of one of the Sandy Hook victims, now Austin, who is the fourth?

There were two suicides from Parkland
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His TedX talk in case anyone hasn't seen it. It's obvious that he fought really hard to overcome his addiction, its sad that it won. Someone claimed to be his son in the comments, which makes it even worse. I used to be one of those people who thought of addicted people as "druggies," but my mind has opened up a lot since then. Between the predatory healthcare and legal systems and the stigmatization/lack of access to mental health care, it's no wonder we have an opioid pandemic.

Well said [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] addicts are not always what we see in tv or in bad parts of town. Opioids are out of control due to our healthcare system being flawed. I have a feeling we will hear soon that it was a relapse for Austin. It is sad but I am sure with him being outspoken about being an addict it may have helped others even if it didn’t end well for him.

Damn, rest in peace Austin. Not to hijack the thread but today would've marked 19 years since he graduated CHS. 20 years later and the wounds still didn't heal; it shows that survivors still suffer even if it's been 10, 20, 30 years since the physical wounds healed.

I didn't realize that I bet there are times that may even last years where you think you're doing okay and getting things back on track then something happens and it hits you all over again and you almost start the healing process again.

I wonder how many survivors feel the same way Austin did before taking his life 

Awful story....one of his kids is 14....f***ing opioids...

STEM was the last straw.

legacy.com has set up a permanent Guest Book for people to leave condolences to Austin's family. Reading it, it's clear that his work as a speaker on addiction impacted a lot of people. I hope his family, especially his children, find some small comfort in these tributes.
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I hope you are right thelmar.

Very sad. Must be a lot of deaths connected to Columbine by now, even though it has been over 20 years.

I thought this was a great article. It focuses on Austin's friends and the work he was doing more than just his "Columbine survivor" moniker.
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He spent years trying to escape Columbine and in death that's all the media harps on. He deserves better.

This saddens me so much. I was reading a lot about him 3-4 months ago and cried when I saw his videos of him speaking.

thelmar wrote:

I thought this was a great article. It focuses on Austin's friends and the work he was doing more than just his  "Columbine survivor" moniker.
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He spent years trying to escape Columbine and in death that's all the media harps on. He deserves better.

Yes, he did so much more than just survive the shooting. Unfortunately, all the headlines label him as "Columbine Survivor Austin Eubanks" rather than noting all the work he did with people who have addictions.

Even if he helped just one person cope with addiction, then I believe he made a difference. I cannot imagine how his family could not be proud of him despite their loss.

1891 wrote:

Very sad. Must be a lot of deaths connected to Columbine by now, even though it has been over 20 years.

7-10-99  Corey Hager, a freshman at CHS

10-22-99 Carla Hochhalter, the mother of victim AnnMarie Hochalter

2-13-00  Subway murders, Nicholas Kunselman,15 and Stephanie Hart, 16

5-4-00  Greg Barnes, 17 year-old junior

12-6-02  Teresa Miller, 44, teacher and hallway eyewitness. Cancer death

1-27-03  Jonathan Ross Ladd, 20, a graduate of Columbine High, killed in two plane crash over north Denver

12-14-04  Marine Lance Corporal Greg Rund, 20, a 2002 Columbine graduate was killed during a mission in Fallujah, Iraq

8-28-05  Tiffany Lien, freshman on 4-20, and an outside witness\

missing since 12-26-06  Brandi Jo Malonson, freshman on 4/20 and a cafeteria witness

6-17-07  LPD Lt. Bill Black, responded to the scene on 4-20 around noon; cancer death

9-14-07 Joseph Stair, 27. Trenchcoat Mafia associate, CHS class of '97

9-27-07  Charles Luke Milam, 26, CHS class of '99, died in combat in Afghanistan

about 11-21-08  Russ Cook, 59, elected Jefferson County Sheriff after John Stone

6-7-09  JCSO dispatcher Cindy Cline

6-15-13  Matthew Depew, 30

11/11/2010  David Caravan, TCMer

I don't really count the Subway murders as connected to Columbine. They were completely unrelated to the shooting at the school.

Joe was from the Class of '98 and the shooting had little if anything to do with his death.

Yumeko-chan wrote:

Joe was from the Class of '98 and the shooting had little if anything to do with his death.

It must have been terrible for Joe to be mentioned in one breath with Eric and Dylan at the time of the shooting, though. As if he had anything to do with it, despite there being no evidence of this whatsoever

Sorry I've been MIA I got a new job which is a huge promotion and have had to move across the state without much notice. So things have been really crazy

Anyway Austin's death hit me really hard. We had become friends due to our professional connections a few years ago I did an additional program
on addiction counseling to add to my MSW. I was really interested in his Steamboat program. He was super passionate about helping others and had so many great ideas he wanted to impliment, that didn't follow the industry status quo but were really innovative IMO.

My sister introduced us. They were friends in high school and then partied together and drifted apart and then once they both started their recovery individually they became close again.

Anyway the whole thing is just devastating. :-/

That is so sad. At least he's up there with Corey now. R.I.P, angel.

Sadly, the toxicology report confirms that Austin died from a heroin overdose.

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thelmar wrote:

Sadly, the toxicology report confirms that Austin died from a heroin overdose.

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That's very unfortunate.

We all predicted it since his family made suggestions to it, but hearing it official is very sad. Thank you for the update on him.

Interesting article about Austin Eubanks; an interview with his ex-wife, the mother of his kids.

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