The Columbine High School massacre, often referred to as simply Columbine, was a school shooting and attempted bombing that occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators, twelfth-grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered twelve students and one teacher; ten were killed in the school library, where Harris and Klebold subsequently died by suicide. Twenty-one additional people were injured by gunshots, and gunfire was exchanged with the police. Another three people were injured trying to escape. The Columbine massacre was the deadliest mass shooting at a K-12 school in U.S. history until December 2012. It is still considered one of the most infamous massacres in the U.S. for inspiring many other school shootings and bombings; the word "Columbine" has since become a byword for modern school shootings. As of 2025, Columbine is still the deadliest school shooting in Colorado, the deadliest high school shooting in the United States to happen west of the Mississippi River, and one of the deadliest mass shootings in the United States.
A school shooting is an armed attack at an educational institution, such as a primary school, secondary school, high school or university, involving the use of a firearm. Many school shootings are also categorized as mass shootings due to multiple casualties. The phenomenon is most widespread in the United States, which has the highest number of school-related shootings, although school shootings take place elsewhere in the world. Especially in the United States, school shootings have sparked a political debate over gun violence, zero tolerance policies, gun rights and gun control.
Columbine is a census-designated place (CDP) in and governed by Jefferson and Arapahoe counties in Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Denver metropolitan area. Located primarily in Jefferson County, Columbine lies immediately south of Denver. The population of the Columbine CDP was 25,229 at the 2020 census. The community lies in ZIP code 80123.
Salida is the Statutory City that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. The population was 5,666 at the 2020 census.
Eric David Harris and Dylan Bennet Klebold were two American high school seniors and mass murderers who perpetrated the Columbine High School massacre at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, in Columbine, Colorado. Harris and Klebold killed 12 students and one teacher and wounded 24 others. After killing most of their victims in the school's library, they died by suicide. At the time, it was the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history.
Cassie René Bernall was an American student who was killed in the Columbine High School massacre, where 11 more students and a teacher were killed by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who then committed suicide. It was reported that Bernall had been asked whether or not she believed in God, and she said "Yes", before being shot during the massacre. However, investigators concluded the person who was asked about her belief in God was Valeen Schnurr, who survived the shooting.
Rachel Joy Scott was an American student who was the first fatality of the Columbine High School massacre, during which 11 other students and a teacher were also murdered by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who then committed suicide.
Columbine High School (CHS) is a public high school in Columbine, Colorado, United States, in the Denver metropolitan area. It is part of the Jefferson County Public Schools district.
Chatfield High School is a high school located in Ken Caryl, an unincorporated area of Jefferson County near Littleton, Colorado, United States. It is part of the Jefferson County Public Schools system.
Where the Columbines Grow is one of the two official state songs of the U.S. state of Colorado. It was written and composed by Dr. Arthur John Fynn in 1911, and was adopted on May 8, 1915. In the early to mid-2000s, there was debate over replacing Where the Columbines Grow with John Denver's Rocky Mountain High or Merle Haggard's rare song Colorado. In 2007, the Colorado legislature named Rocky Mountain High as Colorado's second official state song, paired with Where the Columbines Grow.
Jefferson County School District R-1 is a school district in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The district is headquartered at the Jeffco Public Schools Education Center in an unincorporated area of the county near Golden in the Denver metropolitan area. Jeffco Public Schools serves almost 81,000 students in 166 schools. It is the second-largest school district in Colorado, having been surpassed in 2013 by Denver Public Schools, which has an enrollment of approximately 81,000.
Evergreen High School is a public high school in the JEFFCO Public Schools district in Evergreen, Colorado, United States. Until Conifer High School opened in 1996, the school served students in both Evergreen and Conifer. Evergreen has won two Blue Ribbon Awards for academic achievement from the United States Department of Education in 2007 and 2015.
Orange High School is a high school in the northern area of Orange County, North Carolina, United States.
Littleton is a home rule municipality city located in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties, Colorado, United States. Littleton is the county seat of Arapahoe County and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city population was 45,652 at the 2020 United States Census, ranking as the 20th most populous municipality in Colorado.
The Arapahoe County School District No. 6, more commonly known as Littleton Public Schools (LPS), is a school district in Littleton, Colorado which serves several communities within the southern Denver metropolitan area. It is governed by a five-member Board of Education, and administered by a superintendent and six executives. Its headquarters, the Education Services Center, is located in Downtown Littleton. It is the fifteenth largest school district in Colorado. LPS operates 11 elementary schools, four middle schools, three high schools, several alternative programs, a preschool, and two charter schools.
Heritage High School is a public school located in Littleton, Colorado, United States. It was established in 1972 as the last of three high schools in the Littleton Public Schools system. It was rated by Newsweek magazine as one of the top 200 high schools in the US in 2010, and the Denver-based 5280 magazine acknowledged Heritage High School as one of the best schools in the Denver area. The school colors are scarlet and dark blue. The mascot is the bald eagle.
The 2014 Jefferson County Public Schools protests were a series of demonstrations against the new AP United States History (APUSH) curriculum in Jefferson County in the U.S. state of Colorado. Protests began on Friday, September 19, 2014, at Standley Lake and Conifer high schools when classes were cancelled at both schools because a high number of teachers called in absent to work. On September 22, the protests spread to Evergreen when students left class on marched on the Jefferson County Schools Education Center. On September 23, the protests spread to Pomona, Arvada, and Ralston Valley high schools. Two days later, the protest grew to about 1,000 when Columbine and Dakota Ridge students joined together on a pedestrian bridge over South Wadsworth Boulevard.
Stephen Austin Eubanks was an American motivational speaker on addiction and recovery. He was one of the most well-known survivors of the Columbine High School massacre, both in its immediate aftermath and in post-event commentary. During the shooting, Eubanks' best friend, 17-year-old Corey DePooter, was killed and Eubanks was shot in his hand and knee. Eubanks struggled with opioid addiction and later heroin use for years after the shooting. He was the chief operations officer for the Foundry Treatment Center. Eubanks died of a heroin overdose in 2019.
The Columbine effect is the legacy and impact of the Columbine High School massacre ("Columbine"), which occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado. The shooting has had an effect on school safety, policing tactics, prevention methods, and inspired numerous copycat crimes, with many killers taking their inspiration from Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold by describing the two perpetrators as being martyrs or heroes.
