Deputy Watched Student Killer, Saw No Sign of Trouble

A sheriff’s deputy based at Columbine High School was told to keep an eye on Eric Harris, and did so for a year, reporting back that he saw no signs of impending trouble, authorities said Friday.

Further defending themselves against accusations that they ignored warnings that Harris might be dangerously unstable, Jefferson County sheriff’s officials said Deputy Neil Gardner watched the 18-year-old and his 17-year-old friend Dylan Klebold, even engaging them in conversations, and said they appeared to be “nice boys.”

Harris, meanwhile, maintained an Internet Web page that preached hate and offered bomb-making instructions. A neighbor gave police printouts from the Web page and told authorities several times that Harris was threatening his son, but Harris was never questioned or charged.

On April 20, Harris and Klebold carried out the greatest mass murder ever at an American high school, exchanging gunfire with the deputy who had watched them before hurling sophisticated pipe bombs and shooting fellow students, killing 12 and a teacher and wounding at least 23 before apparently turning their guns on themselves.

“We all learned a lesson on the 20th of April,” said sheriff’s Lt. John Kiekbusch. “And I think part of that is that we need to take [such threats] in a more serious fashion.”

Gardner began his surveillance of Harris after receiving a “suspicious incident” report filed by Randy Brown, who told police that Harris had repeatedly threatened his 18-year-old son, Brooks. Brown gave police printouts from an Internet Web site Harris maintained that included vows of mayhem.

“God, I can’t wait until I can kill you people,” one of Harris’ postings read. “I’ll just [go] to some downtown area in some big [expletive] city and blow up and shoot everything I can.”

Detectives were unable to find Harris’ Web site, sheriff’s officials said, and Randy Brown declined to file a formal complaint that would have allowed investigators to question Harris but would also have revealed the Browns as the complainants.

Ten days after the slaughter, the massive investigation continued to inch forward Friday, although authorities still had not questioned the parents of either teen, saying only that they were trying to coordinate schedules and arrange interviews with the parents through their busy attorneys.

The most important development of the day, perhaps, came from agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, who located the seller of a high-capacity assault pistol used in the shooting.

An employee at Black Jack Pizza, where Harris and Klebold were considered model workers, put the pair in touch with another man, who sold them the TEC-DC9, authorities said. Investigators have been in touch with both the middleman and the seller, but neither has been charged with any crime.

It is illegal to sell a handgun to a minor in Colorado, and both men could face charges in connection with the transaction. For them to be charged in connection with the shootings at the school, authorities would have to prove they were aware of Harris and Klebold’s plans for the gun.

When the two teenagers stormed the school wearing long black dusters, they also carried three other firearms--two sawed-off shotguns and a 9-millimeter carbine, all of which were purchased by Klebold’s girlfriend, Robyn K. Anderson. Anderson is considered a witness, not a suspect.

In other developments, the Jefferson County district attorney charged a clerk at a hardware store with filing a false police report after allegedly concocting a story about selling bomb components to Harris and Klebold.

Police spent the better part of a week investigating the claims of Gary Sowell, 50, who said he sold the pair five large propane tanks.

In nearby Arvada, police arrested the 34-year-old mother of a former student at Pomona High School for allegedly making a bomb threat that shuttered that school for several hours Wednesday.