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Who Was Eric Harris?
On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris, alongside his friend Dylan Klebold, carried out a devastating shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. The attack resulted in the deaths of 13 individuals and left more than 20 others wounded. Following the massacre, Harris and Klebold took their own lives by suicide in the school library. The tragic event remains one of the most infamous school shootings in U.S. history.
Early Life
Eric Harris was born on April 9, 1981, in Wichita, Kansas. As the son of an Air Force pilot, Harris experienced a childhood marked by frequent relocations. While living in Plattsburgh, New York, he appeared to be an ordinary child, engaging in activities like little league baseball. The Harris family settled in Littleton, Colorado, in 1993 after his father’s retirement from the military. It was in Littleton that Harris began to change. Although he was an accomplished soccer player and dressed in preppy clothes, he struggled to fit in with his peers at Columbine High School.
History of Aggressive Behavior
Harris’s behavior became increasingly erratic as he entered high school, and he formed a close friendship with Dylan Klebold, another student who felt like an outsider. While Harris was outspoken and volatile, Klebold was more introverted and withdrawn. Together, they shared a deep resentment towards the school, its cliques, and anyone they felt had wronged them, which eventually fueled their violent actions. Both boys were passionate about technology, spending considerable time playing violent video games.
By his sophomore year, Harris began to adopt the distinctive appearance of the school’s outsider group, the Trench Coat Mafia, wearing long coats, dark clothing, and boots. Though not officially part of the group, Harris and Klebold were often ostracized for their unconventional appearance and behavior. The two also developed an interest in Nazi ideology, expressing admiration for Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich. They would wear swastikas and occasionally perform the “Heil, Hitler” salute.
While Klebold was more reserved in his anger, Harris’s rage was more openly expressed. One notable incident involved Harris throwing an ice ball at a friend’s windshield, which cracked the glass, and later threatening to kill the individual on his personal website. The website was filled with violent and disturbing rants directed at those whom Harris perceived as enemies or who had wronged him.
In 1998, during their junior year, Harris and Klebold were arrested for stealing items from a van. They were charged with theft, criminal mischief, and criminal trespassing. Given it was their first offense, they were enrolled in a diversion program that included community service and counseling. After completing the program a month early in February 1999—just two months before the shooting—they both received positive evaluations. Harris, in particular, was described as “a bright young man who is likely to succeed in life,” according to reports from The Christian Science Monitor.
The Columbine High School Attack
Eric Harris, a strong student with good grades, often displayed violent imagery and graphic details in his schoolwork. Sometime after his arrest, he began conspiring with Dylan Klebold to carry out an attack on their high school. For nearly a year, the two meticulously planned what they referred to as “Judgment Day,” aiming to kill hundreds of people and gain lasting notoriety while seeking vengeance against those they resented. Harris documented their plans in his diary.
The pair acquired firearms and learned how to make bombs. Harris, using the online alias “Reb,” even posted bomb-making instructions on his website. A friend of Klebold’s reportedly assisted them in obtaining three of the weapons, while a co-worker from Harris’s part-time job at a pizza restaurant helped them secure the fourth. They also recorded several videotapes in which they expressed their rage, racist sentiments, and some ambivalence toward their parents. Harris, already angry, was possibly further incensed after being rejected by the U.S. Marine Corps due to his psychiatric medication, Luvox, which he was taking for depression.
After months of preparation, Harris and Klebold launched their assault on April 20, 1999—the birthday of Adolf Hitler. They had planted a bomb in the school’s cafeteria, timed to detonate around 11 a.m. to force an evacuation of the building. Their plan was to shoot students as they exited the school. However, when the bomb failed to explode, the two entered the school shortly after 11 a.m. and began shooting. Over the course of less than an hour, they terrorized the school, killing 12 students and one teacher, while injuring more than 20 others. They then returned to the library, where they had already killed and wounded several victims, before both Harris and Klebold took their own lives.
The nation was left in shock following the school shootings, with the response of law enforcement and emergency services under intense scrutiny. Many questioned what could have been done to prevent the tragedy and how police could have better handled the siege. In the aftermath, schools across the country began to re-evaluate their emergency response plans and explore ways to identify and support potentially violent students.
The tragic events at Columbine have since become a grim reference for subsequent school shootings, with Harris and Klebold serving as an influence on other young perpetrators, such as Seung-Hui Cho, the Virginia Tech shooter in 2007.