[CTRL] Columbine 911 tapes released to the public

[Shane A. Saylor, Eccentric Bard]

Columbine 911 tapes released to the public: Recordings reflect panic inside
high school

July 6, 2000
Web posted at: 4:25 a.m. EDT (0825 GMT)

GOLDEN, Colorado (CNN) -- Officials on Wednesday released audio tapes of
frantic 911 calls made during last year's massacre at Columbine High School
in Littleton, Colorado.

The worst school shooting in U.S. history left 15 dead and 21 wounded.
Emergency calls flooded in to police and other agencies as the killings
continued.

The tapes released Wednesday reveal the confusion and panic of teachers and
students trapped inside the building on April 20. At one point, a student
can be heard describing the condition of teacher Dave Sanders, who lay
fatally wounded.

Student: "We're in the southeast corner of the school ... yes he (Sanders)
is conscious ..."

But by the time a SWAT team reached Sanders and the student with him,
Sanders had died. Sanders' family is among those suing the sheriff's
department, alleging negligence.

Witnesses reported shots, smoke and an explosion
The recordings begin shortly after 11:15 a.m., when the 911 calls started
with reports of shots, smoke and an explosion.

"Fire department? Hi...? We got shots fired at Columbine High School...we've
got one down as far as I know," said one of the first callers.

On one section of the tape, a terrified teacher seems to be trying to keep
students calm as one of the gunmen passes close by:

" ... He's shooting in the library ... don't leave ... lay low ... quiet ...
don't get shot ... be very quiet... He's walking by ..."

Some of the calls are nearly incoherent pleas for help. At one point, an
unidentified voice screams:

"The guy is in a black trench coat ... they just shot somebody inside the
cafeteria...I'm in ... I'm gonna have to call you back ... "

One dispatcher is heard telling a caller that the authorities are trying to
avoid taking any "hasty" action.

''Just hang in there, we are getting somebody to em. We've got people there
we just don't wanna compromise anybody's safety by doing anything hasty so
... you know ... or the shooters might start doing something rash.''

Even when the shooting was over, police were unsure whether gunmen Dylan
Klebold and Eric Harris were still hiding in the school. Later they learned
the two had committed suicide.

A judge ordered the tapes released after some families of victims said they
needed to hear them to help prepare negligence lawsuits against the
sheriff's office. The lawsuits claim that sheriff's deputies did not act
swiftly enough to rescue victims in the school. The sheriff's office has
denied the allegations.

The tapes, excerpts of which have previously been released, do not contain
any gunshot sounds, said Steve Davis, a spokesman for the Jefferson County
Sheriff's Department.

They do include parents calling to report that their children are safe,
calls from news organizations and at least one complaint that live broadcast
news coverage was revealing locations where students might be hiding inside
the school.

Tapes edited to remove names
Released on two CD-ROMs, the recordings cover 45 hours of conversation
between the dispatchers, responding police officers and other agencies. The
tapes have been edited to delete all names and addresses.

Excerpts from the tapes were released in May as part of a comprehensive
report from the sheriff's office on the massacre.

The two CD-ROMs are being sold for a $28.

Families of all the victims were notified before the tapes were released to
the public and the media, Davis said.

Official report released in May
On May 15 of this year, the sheriff's department released its official
report on the shootings.

That report included a timeline constructed from eyewitness reports,
surveillance videotapes, 911 calls and forensic evidence. It indicates that
Harris and Klebold "fired their first shots about 11:19 a.m. and injured the
last victim at 11:35 a.m. By shortly after noon, the killers ... had died at
their own hands."

The sheriff's report was released following an investigation that involved
4,500 witness interviews and 10,000 pieces of evidence.

Investigators said significant findings included:

  � Surveillance videotapes show two 20-pound propane bombs were placed in
the school cafeteria the morning of the attack rather than the night before.

  � The killers carried all explosives into the school inside duffel bags,
backpacks or in ammunition pouches strapped to their bodies.

  � Had the cafeteria bombs worked as intended, all 448 people in the room
might have been killed.

  � Initial 911 calls mentioned a shooter on the roof. The person was later
identified as an air conditioning repairman who hid on the roof during the
attack.

  � Physical evidence does not indicate a third shooter. No known evidence
suggests anyone had prior knowledge of the killers' plan.

Released on CD-ROM, the report offers a multimedia perspective on the
investigation, including taped interviews and audio from some of the 911
calls for help made from the school. Photo clips are included.

Release of the report followed a deadline set by a Jefferson County district
judge. The judge set the deadline after accusations by some victims'
families that the sheriff's office was intentionally stalling the report's
release as a way to delay their lawsuits, which had to be filed within one
year of the attack.

Reuters contributed to this report.
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