Editing Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold (section)

{{Short description|American mass murderers (1981–1999)}}
{{redirect|Eric Harris|other people|Eric Harris (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox mass murderer
| name              = Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold
| image             = {{Multiple image|align=center|image1=Eric Harris.JPG|width1=150|image2=Dylan Klebold.JPG|width2=152|perrow=2}}
| caption           = Harris ''(left)'' and Klebold ''(right)'' in their 1999 senior year portraits
| birth_name        = Eric David Harris<br/>{{Birth date|1981|4|9}}<br/>[[Wichita, Kansas]], U.S.<hr/>Dylan Bennet Klebold<br/>{{Birth date|1981|9|11}}<br/>[[Lakewood, Colorado]], U.S.
| occupation        = '''Harris:''' Shift leader at [[Blackjack Pizza]]<br/>'''Klebold:''' Cook at Blackjack Pizza
| education         = [[Columbine High School]] (both)
| death_date        = {{Death date|mf=yes|1999|4|20|}} (Harris aged 18 and Klebold, 17)
| death_place       = [[Columbine, Colorado]], U.S. (both)<ref name="CDPmap">"[http://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/GUBlock/st08_co/place/p0816110_columbine/DC10BLK_P0816110_001.pdf 2010 Census – Census Block Map: Columbine CDP, CO] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304071354/http://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/GUBlock/st08_co/place/p0816110_columbine/DC10BLK_P0816110_001.pdf |date=March 4, 2016 }}" U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on April 25, 2015. The school's location is on Pierce Street, which runs north-south through Columbine, roughly one mile west of the Littleton city limit.</ref>
| cause             = [[Suicide methods#Shooting|Suicide by gunshot wound]] (both)
| parents           = '''Harris:''' Wayne Harris and Katherine Poole<br />'''Klebold:''' Thomas Klebold and [[Sue Klebold|Susan Yassenoff]]
| date              = April 20, 1999
| time              = {{nowrap|11:19&nbsp;a.m. – 12:08&nbsp;p.m.}} [[Mountain Time Zone|MDT]] ([[UTC−06:00|UTC−6]])
| targets           = Students and staff at [[Columbine High School]]; [[first responder]]s
| locations         = [[Columbine High School]]
| fatalities        = 14 (total, including one in 2025); 9 by Harris and 5 by Klebold
| injuries          = 23 (3 indirectly; combined total)
| weapons           = '''Harris:''' [[Hi-Point carbine|Hi-Point 995 carbine]], [[Savage Arms#Shotguns|Savage 67H]] [[Pump action|pump shotgun]], explosives and two knives<br />'''Klebold:''' [[TEC-9|Intratec TEC-DC9]], [[Stevens Arms#Shotguns|Stevens 311D]] [[Double-barreled shotgun|double-barreled]] [[sawed-off shotgun]], explosives and two knives{{efn|Neither Harris nor Klebold used their knives during the shooting.}}
}}

{{Columbine High School massacre}}

'''Eric David Harris''' (April 9, 1981 – April 20, 1999) and '''Dylan Bennet Klebold''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|l|iː|b|oʊ|l|d}} {{respell|KLEE|bohld}}; September 11, 1981 – April 20, 1999) were American high school seniors and [[mass murder]]ers who perpetrated the [[Columbine High School massacre]] at [[Columbine High School]] on April 20, 1999, in [[Columbine, Colorado]]. Harris and Klebold killed 13 students and one teacher and wounded 23 others.{{efn|Harris and Klebold directly wounded 20 people by gunfire; three others received injuries related to the attack.}} After killing most of their victims in the school's library, they died by [[Suicide in the United States|suicide]]. At the time, it was the [[List of school shootings in the United States by death toll|deadliest high school shooting]] in U.S. history.{{efn|Many early reports said the Columbine massacre was the worst school-related massacre in U.S. history.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://extras.denverpost.com/news/shot0424w.htm|title=Columbine – Tragedy and Recovery|website=extras.denverpost.com|publisher=[[The Denver Post]]|access-date=May 14, 2021|archive-date=May 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502080616/https://extras.denverpost.com/news/shot0424w.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> However, the 1927 [[Bath School disaster]] (a bombing) left 44 dead. The 1966 [[University of Texas tower shooting]] was the deadliest school shooting at the time. It remained the deadliest public school shooting in American history until the 2012 [[Sandy Hook elementary school shooting]] and the deadliest high school shooting until the 2018 [[Stoneman Douglas High School shooting]].}}

The ensuing media frenzy and moral panic led to "Columbine" becoming a byword for [[school shooting]]s, and becoming one of the most infamous mass shootings ever perpetrated in the United States.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0030923990350304 | doi=10.1080/0030923990350304 | title=Violent Media, Guns and Moral Panics: The Columbine High School Massacre, 20 April 1999 | year=1999 | last1=Springhall | first1=John | journal=Paedagogica Historica | volume=35 | issue=3 | pages=621–641 | access-date=July 11, 2022 | archive-date=July 11, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711211550/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0030923990350304 | url-status=live | url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=McPadden|first1=Mike|url=https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/crimefeed/crime-history/after-so-many-more-mass-shootings--why-is-columbine-still-such-a|title=After So Many More Mass Shootings, Why is Columbine Still Such a Cultural Touchstone?|website=[[Investigation Discovery]]|date=20 April 2018|access-date=July 11, 2022|archive-date=July 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711211550/https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/crimefeed/crime-history/after-so-many-more-mass-shootings--why-is-columbine-still-such-a|url-status=live}}</ref>

Harris and Klebold were both born in 1981. Harris was born in [[Wichita, Kansas]], but moved around frequently as a child due to his father's occupation in the [[United States Air Force]], while Klebold was born and raised near Columbine. Harris's family eventually settled in Colorado in 1992. Shortly after, Harris and Klebold met while they were in the 7th grade. Over time, they became increasingly close. By the time they were [[Junior (education year)|juniors]] in high school, they were described as inseparable. There are differing reports; some say Harris and Klebold were very unpopular students once they were upperclassmen, as well as frequent targets of bullying, while others say they were not near the bottom of the school's social hierarchy and that each had many friends, along with active social lives. Columbine High School was alleged to have an intense "[[Jock (stereotype)|jock]] culture", which saw popular students, mainly athletes, benefit from special treatment from faculty and other students.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/june99/columbine12.htm |title=Dissecting Columbine's Cult of the Athlete |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=1999-06-12 |accessdate=2022-06-04 |archive-date=October 9, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009035341/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/june99/columbine12.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to their journal entries, Harris and Klebold seem to have begun planning the attack by May 1998, nearly a year before the attack. Throughout the next eleven months, Harris and Klebold meticulously built explosives and gathered an arsenal of weapons. Both Harris and Klebold each left behind several journal writings and home videos, ones they made both alone and together, foreshadowing the massacre and explaining their motives. Harris and Klebold hoped this content would be viewed by the public extensively and inspire followers, although much of the evidence has never been released by authorities.

Harris and Klebold often wore [[trench coat]]s in school, and in general, as part of their everyday outfits, so after the massacre, it was widely believed Harris and Klebold were part of a [[clique]] in school called the "Trenchcoat Mafia", a group of misfits in the school who supposedly rebelled against the popular students.<ref>{{cite news|first=Robert|last=Garrison|url=https://www.lamarledger.com/2019/04/12/columbine-high-school-shooting-focused-on-trench-coat-mafia/|title=Columbine High School shooting focused on "Trench Coat Mafia"|newspaper=The Lamar Ledger|date=April 12, 2019|access-date=December 12, 2020|archive-date=September 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921102258/https://www.lamarledger.com/2019/04/12/columbine-high-school-shooting-focused-on-trench-coat-mafia/|url-status=live}}</ref> This turned out to be untrue, as neither Harris nor Klebold had any affiliation with the group.<ref>{{cite web|first=Marco|last=Margaritoff|url=https://allthatsinteresting.com/eric-harris-dylan-klebold-columbine-shooters|title=The Full Story Behind Columbine High School Shooters Eric Harris And Dylan Klebold|website=allthatisinteresting.com|date=March 8, 2019|access-date=December 12, 2020|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112012425/https://allthatsinteresting.com/eric-harris-dylan-klebold-columbine-shooters|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Brockell>{{cite news|first=Gillian|last=Brockell|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/04/19/bullies-black-trench-coats-columbine-shootings-most-dangerous-myths/|title=Bullies and black trench coats: The Columbine shooting's most dangerous myths|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=April 20, 2019|access-date=December 12, 2020|archive-date=May 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528002414/https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/04/19/bullies-black-trench-coats-columbine-shootings-most-dangerous-myths/|url-status=live}}</ref> The pair's aforementioned writings and videos gave insight into their rationale for the shooting. The [[FBI]] concluded that Harris was a [[Psychopathy|psychopath]], who exhibited [[narcissistic]] traits, unconstrained aggression, and a lack of [[empathy]], while Klebold was concluded to be an angry [[Major depressive disorder|depressive]] with a vengeful attitude toward individuals who he believed had mistreated him.<ref name="Slate">{{cite magazine|first=Dave|last=Cullen|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2004/04/at-last-we-know-why-the-columbine-killers-did-it.html|title=The Depressive and the Psychopath: At last we know why the Columbine killers did it|magazine=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|date=April 20, 2004|access-date=December 12, 2020|archive-date=October 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004005922/https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2004/04/at-last-we-know-why-the-columbine-killers-did-it.html|url-status=live}}</ref> However, neither Harris nor Klebold were formally diagnosed with any [[personality disorders]] prior to the attack,<ref>{{cite web|first=Greg|last=Sancier|url=https://www.police1.com/active-shooter/articles/looking-into-the-minds-of-eric-harris-and-dylan-klebold-WMSQHsoymjDbq5om/|title=Looking into the minds of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold|website=police1.com|date=April 18, 2014|access-date=December 12, 2020|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126025555/https://www.police1.com/active-shooter/articles/looking-into-the-minds-of-eric-harris-and-dylan-klebold-WMSQHsoymjDbq5om/|url-status=live}}</ref> so this conclusion is often debated. In the following years, various media outlets attributed multiple motivating factors to the attack, including [[bullying]], [[mental illness]], [[racism]], [[psychiatric medication]], and [[media violence|violence in music, movies, and video games]]. Despite these conclusions, the exact [[Motive (law)|motive]] for the attack remains inconclusive.

Harris and Klebold have become [[pop culture icon]]s, with the pair often portrayed, referenced and seen in film, television, video games, music and books. Many killers since the shooting have taken inspiration from the pair (dubbed the [[Columbine effect]]), either hailing them as heroes or expressing sympathy for them. Harris and Klebold also have a fanbase, who have coined the term "Columbiners", who write [[fan fiction]] and draw [[fan art]] of them. Others have also dressed as the duo for [[cosplay]] or [[Halloween costume|Halloween]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Kathleen|last=Joyce|url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/2-kentucky-high-school-girls-suspended-after-dressing-up-as-columbine-shooters-for-halloween|title=2 Kentucky high school girls suspended after dressing up as Columbine shooters for Halloween|website=[[Fox News]]|date=November 2, 2018|access-date=December 12, 2020|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108171222/https://www.foxnews.com/us/2-kentucky-high-school-girls-suspended-after-dressing-up-as-columbine-shooters-for-halloween|url-status=live}}</ref>