Interviewing Eric's childhood friend

I have the opportunity to interview a childhood friend of Eric's. This is the same guy who sent the new elementary school picture. I figured I would make a post here about it and see if anyone had any questions they'd like me to include in the interview. I have a lot of questions myself, but I'm sure you guys have some good ones too!

Did his friend ever spend much time at Eric's house or around his family? What was his home like life? Eric's dad was in the military. How did he interact with Eric? Was he very strict? I have a string of questions along those lines, as I'm sure you do as well. Please let us know how it goes.

One more. Did Eric ever mention what he wanted to be, or do, when he grew up?

I want to know if they were surprised that their childhood friend was capable of shooting a school up and what his relationship was like with his parents. Also, what was Eric like as a kid? Was he mean?

Yes, I too would be interested in hearing more about Eric's relationship with his family. Dylan's family, or Mother more so, has been so much more forthcoming than the Harris'. Would like to know more of the background in that aspect. Also, if Eric ever spoke about wanting to do anything violent, or said anything weird along those lines.

Childhood friend from where?

And did this person keep in touch with Eric for years later?

How well did this person really know Eric?

Once those questions are answered, I will have more questions.

I bet he's going to say that Eric was nothing like what he become and would have never expected it. Pretty much everyone (with a few exceptions) who grew up to be fucked up and commit violent acts were not like that as little kids. I haven't heard of many 7 years old shooting up there schools. Youngest I ever heard was an 11 and 14 year old.

Actually,

On February 29, 2000, 6 year old Dedrick Owens found a .32 caliber handgun in his uncle's home. During a class changing period, in the presence of a teacher and 22 students, Owens shot classmate Kayla Rolland. At 6 years old, Rolland is believed to be the youngest school shooting victim in U.S. history.

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ColumbineIsInterestingAF wrote:

I bet he's going to say that Eric was nothing like what he become and would have never expected it. Pretty much everyone (with a who exceptions) who grew up to be fucked up and commit violent acts were not like that as little kids. I haven't heard of many 7 years old shooting up there schools. Youngest I ever heard was an 11 and 14 year old.

This video includes an interview with some of Eric's childhood friends from Plattsburgh and they basically say what you expected. This segment starts about 5 minutes into the clip.

cypressdustwitch wrote:

I have the opportunity to interview a childhood friend of Eric's. This is the same guy who sent the new elementary school picture. I figured I would make a post here about it and see if anyone had any questions they'd like me to include in the interview. I have a lot of questions myself, but I'm sure you guys have some good ones too!

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

The new yearbook picture of Eric was from Grade 5 @ River Road Elementary School, as far as I remember.

That was in 1992. So, is that when this person knew Eric?

[quote="sororityalpha"]Actually,

On February 29, 2000, 6 year old Dedrick Owens found a .32 caliber handgun in his uncle's home. During a class changing period, in the presence of a teacher and 22 students, Owens shot classmate Kayla Rolland. At 6 years old, Rolland is believed to be the
I clearly said with a few exceptions so no, there is no "actually". And if you're going to say it's because of what I said about the 7 and 11 and 14 year old thing I clearly said "I have never heard of so and so" meaning me personally, I didn't claim that it's never happened. I've noticed others have also gotten annoyed by the way you speak to them. Watch how you say stuff because you are rubbing me and others the wrong way.

I have never posted offensive material to anybody on this forum.

There is no offence given from my side.

How someone interpret things is on him/her not me.

Have a good day...

sororityalpha wrote:

I have never posted offensive material to anybody on this forum.

There is no offence given from my side.

How someone interpret things is on him/her not me.

Have a good day...

You acted as though you were correcting me when meanwhile it was a result of your own failing of reading what I said correctly. Also, columbine video archives guy specially told you he felt as though you disrespected him and to speak with more respect, so yeah, this is not something only I think.

Could you ask him if Eric was a good person and what happened to him once he moved was a scenario of something snapping and giving up. Also what does he smell like.

you are referring to this? [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] where I simply stated that what he described happening in the 911 call didn't happen(Cassie's death).

So, again [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] don't feel like I am attacking you because I am not.

shades wrote:

Also what does he smell like.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], you are too funny

He also stated that every thread you were in you were disrespectful

ColumbineIsInterestingAF wrote:

He also stated that every thread you were in you were disrespectful

How come you're speaking for him? I for one don't think Sorority is being disrespectful at all. I think he's just making sure information and source is legit. I see no problem with correcting what is posted. He's been around for a long time and he's good help when you're trying to find stuff relating to the case.

ColumbineIsInterestingAF wrote:

He also stated that every thread you were in you were disrespectful

Actually, he's not.

Hey dumbass, go check out the thread and see for yourself that he clearly says it in reply to her.

ColumbineIsInterestingAF wrote:

Hey dumbass, go check out the thread and see for yourself that he clearly  says it in reply to her.

Newbie, you won't last around here treating other users like that.

There is no need for you to derail this thread with abusive name calling.

Please discontinue  clogging up this thread with your remarks.

Why don't you start a new topic where you can rant and rave about things?

Just thought you should be forewarned  that as a new user maybe you are not aware but calling others dumbass etc isn't allowed here.

If I am not right, just ask some of the mods or Administrator and I am sure they will let you know as well.

Have a good day...

What is going on with you people lately? All this arguing in the threads and insulting people needs to stop. First of all, no name calling or personal insults towards other forum members is like the first rule on this forum. This isn't the Columbine Tag on Tumblr or YouTube. Calling other people names will get you thrown off of here. There's no reason for it.

Second of all, I don't know how many times I've said this on the forum - the reason there are moderators on this forum is to take care of situations like this. We don't need forum members acting as moderators and telling other members what they should or shouldn't be doing. So for the last time, staff members ONLY are to be moderating the forum. If you have a problem with something someone is doing contact me or one of the moderators and we will take care of it.

And finally, the creator of this thread is looking for questions (SERIOUS QUESTIONS) for an interview they are having with one of Eric's old friends. So do you think we can stop all this bickering and get back on the topic of coming up with some questions?

Thank you.

I would like to know if Eric ever showed any anger or said anything NBK like when he was young.

Did he have many friends? Did he have any enemies?

shades wrote:

Also what does he smell like.

Lol, Shades you're such a creeper.

Damn you all be taking what I asked seriously huh.

shades wrote:

Damn you all be taking what I asked seriously huh.

hey it is a legit question! How else are we supposed to know what soap and deodorant he used??!!

Children change drastically as they grow up, so I think we'll have to take everything with a grain of salt.

I think some good questions would be about his temper and his family life. We know about some of Dylan's unusual and over-the-top childhood outbursts. Does he remember Eric throwing any of these? Was there anything unusual about his temper, ability to handle defeat, willingness to share, etc.?

Questions about his family life might be insightful. Could he describe Eric's older brother a bit and maybe shed some light on their relationship? Did Eric or his brother bully or engage in bullying others?

Any odd fascinations? Any personality quirks? How did he respond to animals/pets?

It might be a good idea to leave some room for an open ended question such as, "Take a couple of minutes to describe what you remember about Eric. Is there anything you know or experienced that you'd like to mention?"

And of course, what did he smell like? Did you ever get the chance to smell his older brother?

Thank you all for the input, and keep the questions coming if you have any that haven't already been asked on here!    I've spoken with this man once before about Eric, when he told me the little league story. He also told me that he spent the night at the Harris household a few times, but I never got to go any more in depth as it was a hanging out type of situation and we were actually in the middle of a card game when we got on the subject of him knowing Eric.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] this man went to River Road with Eric. From the info he gave me from our first discussion, it sounds like they were pretty good friends when they went to school together, good enough friends to have overnights and such. I'm hesitant to provide TOO much information about his friend as he really wants to remain anonymous.

I'm hoping to have this interview completed within the next couple of weeks. I will be posting it on here first, as well as tumblr. It hasn't been determined yet whether the interview will be via email or audio recording in person. I'll keep you guys posted!

I am so excited about this opportunity! We've had a fair amount of new information about Dylan over the years, and hardly anything about Eric, so the fact that I've been able to contribute ANYTHING new at all feels really good. I hope I can continue to provide everyone with insight into Eric's early years.

Just a quick question from me if you get chance. Were Eric and Kevin treated equally by their parents or did they seem to give one preferential treatment over the other?

Jenn wrote:

We don't need forum members acting as moderators and telling other members what they should or shouldn't be doing. So for the last time, staff members ONLY are to be moderating the forum. If you have a problem with something someone is doing contact me or one of the moderators and we will take care of it.

I don't know if this in reference to me, but I did message Jenn to complain about the member name calling etc. I thought it should be addressed as [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] did not deserve to be called a dumbass. Thank you for taking care of it.

Now, back to the topic:

cypressdustwitch wrote:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] this man went to River Road with Eric. From the info he gave me from our first discussion, it sounds like they were pretty good friends when they went to school together, good enough friends to have overnights and such. I'm hesitant to provide TOO much information about his friend as he really wants to remain anonymous.

I'm hoping to have this interview completed within the next couple of weeks. I will be posting it on here first, as well as tumblr. It hasn't been determined yet whether the interview will be via email or audio recording in person. I'll keep you guys posted!

Thank you [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] for the update.

So he/she knew Eric in Grade 5, when Eric was 10/11 years old. He/She would have known Eric before he moved to Plattsburg, New York while Eric was living in Oscoda, Michigan.

Here is what Eric referenced about Oscoda, Michigan when he would have known the person you are going to interview:

026771-026774 O Pioneers by Eric 2/18/97 Period 1 Mrs. Caruthers

The first home I lived in was located in a largely wooded area, so we didn't have many neighbors. Oscoda is a very, very small town. Of the three close neighbors I had, two of them had children my age. Every day we would play in the woods, or at our houses. We would make forts in the woods or make them out of snow. We would ride around on our bikes, or just explore the woods. It was probably the most fun I ever had in my childhood.

After living there for 3 years, we moved to live on the Air Force base. It was hard leaving my friends, especially my best friend. Even though we were still only a 10 minute drive away, we only saw each other maybe three times after that.

&

026609-026610 Guns by Eric 4/16/99 Period 4 R.D. [source: Dominic Duran -http://web.archive.org/web/20030703011628/http://denver.rockymountainnews.com/shooting/0421bda04.shtml]

Guns! Boy, I loved playing "guns" as a kid. It is one of the few things I miss from childhood today. Living in a rural town in Michigan for three years, I played a lot in a forest. My brother, two friends and I would always be running around shooting imaginary bad-guys. The woods behind my house were vast, empty, and old. It smelled of a musty tree or maybe of pine trees most of the time in there. Those woods left so many memories in the mind it's amazing. Such as how scary they looked during hard rain storms or how dark they were at night. I was even afraid to go into the woods during night time, for fear of the unknown. For the most part, however, my memories are fond ones. My brother, Sonia, and I had countless missions in those woods, hunting for enemy troops and stopping invasions. We would set up little tree fort made of loose sticks and branches, and use them for our bases and camps. Fire! I would scream, as we all made as many fast gun sounds as we could, waving our deadly plastic toys around. Almost every time we had a firefight, we would pretend one of us would be injured. We always would carry little bandages and tape with us to dress the wound. Luckily, the bullet would always go right through so we wouldn't need to perform surgery. Sonia, being her crazy self, would run right into the battle screaming and firing at all the bad guys, as we gave cover fire. It seemed too vivid, our fighting, and so real. Now that I have actually fired weapons I realize how unrealistic we were, but hey, we were just kids!

"Where's the air support?!" my brother screams, as I reload my M16. "Hell if I know!!" I retort. "We got more incoming APCs on our 6's, set those mines quick!" Sonia hollers. The bad guys were surrounding us, but we had plenty of ammo to last us for hours. I toss a few stick grenades into the trees ahead, and duck as they go off killing the wave of enemy troops. Kevin was setting the mines for those trucks and Sonia was launching rockets at the platoon on our left. Grenade! I scream as I see a stick fall in our base. Sonia and I jump out over the tree trunks as the grenade destroys our base.

"We got to move, now!" Sonia yells in my ear under all the shooting. We run right past my brother and he joins up in the evacuation. Just then our air support flies by overhead. "There are the gunships!" says my bro., as we dodge tree limbs, bullets, and mortars. We stop at a group of rather large trees and turn and return fire. The air support is dropping napalm on the advancing troops, and launching rockets at the trucks. We pull out a huge machine gun and set it up on a stationary position in a tree. Sonia and Kevin start spraying bullets everywhere as I use hand-to-hand combat on a few bad guys that made it to us. By the time I finish them off with a really strong stick, it's time to go inside and do some homework, and Sonia needs to go out to dinner with her family tonight, too. All in a day's work as a kid, I guess.

One of these days, real soon, I will call up Sonia and see if she still remembers me. And see if those woods, our forts, and our hide-outs are all still there where I left them over seven years ago.


Maybe some of this information will jog his/her memory of his past experience with Eric.

I am so looking forward to your interview.

Did Eric seem to have any depression as a child? Also if he did keep in touch afterwards, did he notice a change in Eric? I feel like he was Eric Harris in his first 2 years of high school, then he was his alter ego Reb the last 2 years. Thank you!

Did anyone ever see the interview that [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] talked about in this thread posted on Tumblr?

sscc wrote:

Did anyone ever see the interview that [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] talked about in this thread posted on Tumblr?

To my knowledge no. But I would actually be interested in reading this interview if it ever happened.