School Slaying Inquiry Uncovers Few Answers

Nearly two weeks after the bloodiest high school shooting in U.S. history, the difficult and massive investigation has been characterized by what authorities don’t know instead of what they have uncovered.

Officials have said frequently that they believe others were involved in planning or carrying out the attack. To date, however, their sole arrest has been of a hardware store clerk accused of concocting a story about selling bomb components to gain media attention.

Authorities do know how Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold obtained the four guns used in the April 20 rampage but have not charged any of the individuals known to have supplied the weapons.

All 13 victims, as well as Harris and Klebold, have been buried, and all but half a dozen of the most critically wounded have been released from the hospital.

Because the two gunmen took their own lives, the reason behind the massacre at Columbine High School may never be known. Still, some of the most basic questions remain unanswered.

* Did anyone know of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold’s plan to bring their school to its knees? Did anyone help them?

* How were more than 60 explosive devices, including a 20-pound bomb, brought into the school?

* What did Klebold’s girlfriend, who purchased three of the four weapons used in the attack, know and what did she do?

* What is the official timeline of the attack?

* What did Harris’ and Klebold’s parents know of the attack and the bomb-making activity?

* Were warning signs ignored?

The tedium of a long investigation, the most extensive in state history, has set in as experts pore over 10,000 pieces of evidence, with more yet to be gathered from the crippled school.

75 Investigators Are on the Case

Even with 75 investigators on the case and an FBI computer bank collating 1,200 leads, some ask if the investigation is focused and moving in the right direction.

“I think so,” said Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Mark Pautler. “I feel that if there is another person involved, we’ll get him. We’re working hard, even if it doesn’t always seem like we are.”

Although the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and scores of state and local agencies have roles, the investigation is being led by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, which has jurisdiction over the unincorporated area in which Columbine lies. To say it is the department’s biggest case ever is an understatement: Jefferson County had 18 homicides in 1998, and its usual calls run more to the stolen bike than mass murder.

At the helm is Sheriff John Stone, a slight, steady man whose only hint of flair is his pointy-toed black cowboy boots. He was a police officer for 19 years in Palo Alto and Lakewood, Colo., and previously served as a Republican county commissioner for 12 years.

Elected sheriff in November, the 49-year-old Stone took office in January. He oversees 270 deputies who patrol 632 square miles in the fast-growing, formerly rural area.

Many have questioned whether the department’s resources--in personnel, expertise and its $39-million annual budget--are sufficient to handle an investigation of this scale. Already the work has cost the department more than $1 million, and that figure doesn’t include thousands of hours of overtime pay.

Pace of Questioning Draws Criticism

To some, though, the questioning of several key individuals has proceeded at a leisurely pace.

Soon after the attack, police said they found a trove of Nazi literature as well as the sawed-off barrel of a shotgun lying in plain view in Harris’ bedroom. But as of Thursday, investigators had still not interviewed the teenagers’ parents, who they believe could hold clues about any confederates the two may have had.

On Friday, Dist. Atty. Dave Thomas explained the delay in interviewing the Harrises: The busy schedule of their attorney was complicating the process. Of the Klebold family, he said simply that they were being “cooperative” and expected an interview to be conducted soon.

On Saturday, however, the district attorney’s office said it had been negotiating with the Harrises. The parents, who could face charges if it’s proved they had knowledge of the impending carnage, had demanded immunity from prosecution before being questioned. Thomas flatly refused the request. The Harris family has yet to be interviewed.

Since the day of the shooting, Thomas and Susan Klebold had been prepared to speak with authorities. Still, 10 days passed before investigators sat down with the couple, conducting a two-hour interview late Friday.

Officials declined to disclose details of that interview.

For those following the case, facts have been few and, apparently, perishable. Complicating the entire picture has been the massive international media presence and its effect on authorities.

Some officials have understandably been flummoxed by the rapid-fire questions at daily media briefings. And often they have blurted out investigative information that surprised others in law enforcement.

Release of Too Much Information Feared

One FBI source in Washington, who asked to remain anonymous, said he believes local authorities were releasing too much information to the media.

The problems have been more than the expected public relations gaffes. Often, information about essential facts of the case has simply been wrong.

In recent days, both the sheriff and the district attorney have placed their subordinates in the excruciating position of having to delicately refute what their bosses announced the day before.

Last week, Stone boasted that during the siege at the school his deputies had cut off Harris and Klebold’s attack route, driven them back with a volley of fire and forced the pair to commit suicide.

The only problem with that scenario was that authorities said Harris and Klebold killed themselves in the first 15 to 20 minutes after opening fire and that no SWAT teams or deputies entered the building for at least another hour.

Stone’s office did more backpedaling Friday. The parents of Columbine student Brooks Brown have for some time maintained they made multiple calls last spring to the Sheriff’s Department about Harris’ menacing behavior toward their son.

The Browns provided deputies with pages downloaded from Harris’ Web page in which he wrote, “God, I can’t wait until I can kill you people.”

At first, sheriff’s spokesmen said they were unaware of any such reports. Days later they said the incident reports had been located but had been made part of the investigation and could not be discussed.

Friday brought the latest spin. Officials said there had been a slight mix-up regarding the case when it was first pursued last year. A new deputy was assigned to investigate the threats.

He searched the Internet to verify Harris’ Web site but had the wrong address and never found it. Without documentation, and with the Browns wishing to remain anonymous in their complaints, officials said there was no probable cause to arrest or even interview Harris.

Randall Brown was incredulous at the explanation. “My 15-year-old could find that Web site.”

Despite the inability of the department to locate the Web site, a report about Harris’ alleged threats was forwarded to Neil Gardner, a deputy stationed at Columbine.

Gardner said he kept an eye on both Harris and Klebold, engaging them in conversation, and reported only that they were respectful and seemingly benign.

The investigation’s biggest success has been in tracing the weapons used in the attack.

That work has been done by ATF agents. Three of the guns have been traced to Klebold’s girlfriend. Authorities now say they know the source of the fourth firearm, a TEC-DC9 semiautomatic handgun.

Police say Harris and Klebold acquired the TEC-DC9 through a middleman who worked with them at Blackjack Pizza. The other employee allegedly put the two teenagers in touch with the man who sold them the gun.

Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Davis said of the investigation: “We are being thorough; we are being careful. Everyone wants us to be.”

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Times researcher Lianne Hart contributed to this story.

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