The White T-shirt Bomber by FactQuest
The White T-shirt Bomber by FactQuest
There were a couple of publicized interviews of students on 4/20/99, in which students claimed to have seen three suspects. The official report, which came out several months later, claimed that these people were confused. The report claims that they saw Eric Harris both before and after he took of his trench coat, and thus thought that he was two different suspects.
Now, the southwest side of Columbine is where the shooting began, and it is a jumble of corners, angles and hills. People near the West entrance would not be able to see around to the stairs. People by or down the stairs would not be able to see the West entrance. So, only the witnesses further away would have the best perspective on the unfolding events.
What do these witnesses say?
THE WITNESSES
Chris Wisher (page 1261 in the 11,000 pages of released files)
Chris states that he was behind the cafeteria about 100 yards away, and heard what he thought were fireworks. He turned and saw two kids wearing trench coats, and one kid wearing a white T-shirt who was throwing bombs onto the school. One of the trench-coated kids shot a shotgun at him, and then other kid in a trench coat had an automatic rifle. A little later, he and his friends also saw a person with a gun hiding in the bushes in Weaver Park.
Jake Apodaca (page 653)
He states that he saw 3 suspects, simultaneously. He was at the soccer field, heard firecrackers. He turned and saw two guys carrying shotguns, wearing black trench coats, black berets, black pants, black army boots, and black T-shirts. He had seen them at school before, but could not find them in the yearbook. A 3rd guy wearing a white T-shirt, jeans, light brown hair, that he had not seen him at school before, was seen throwing bombs onto the roof. It is not stated if the 3rd suspect had a gun or not. Jake also states that he saw a gunman with a shotgun hiding in the bushes in Weaver Park.
Jonathan Cole (page 749)
He states that he had met up with Jake Apodaca and Chris Wisher outside the main West entrance. There, he noticed two tall guys in black trench coats, no hats, one had on a ski mask, and one had "puffy" hair. One had a white T-shirt under his coat, the other had a black or dark T-shirt. These 2 walked over to top of the hill and looked down toward the cafeteria. He then saw a third male, wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, exit the school through the same door. This person looked over to the other two suspect, and yelled "GO!! GO!!". The two suspects pulled out guns and began shooting. Jonathan began running, looked back and saw the person in the white T-shirt throwing some bombs onto the roof, which exploded. Several days later, when students were allowed back into the school to claim their belongings, he saw the white-t-shirted bomb-thrower at the school. This person is described as being 5'10", wearing black glasses, and having collar length blondish brown hair. Jonathan was shown a photo lineup, but could not identify him as one of those suspects. Jonathan was about 73' to 75' away from the gunmen, but could not identify them.
William Arapkiles (page 660)
On 5/5/99, Billy states that he was at the soccer field, and heard firecrackers. He turned and saw 3 people near the West entrance. Two were wearing black trench coats, and carrying guns. The third was wearing a white T-shirt, and no visible gun. The person in the white T-shirt was pacing back and forth about 5' away from the two gunmen. He saw the gunmen shoot toward the ground and into the air. He saw them shoot one person near the top of the stair, and another at the bottom of the hill, then a third victim that was trying to run away across the parking lot. The shooter then shot at the witnesses on the soccer field. Billy observed actions of one shooter, which seemed to him to be a jammed gun.
Don Arnold (page 666)
Don states that he was on the soccer field, heard firecrackers, and turned toward the school. He saw a "short, pudgy" male in a white T-shirt that was throwing bombs onto the roof. He did not see this person having a gun. Don saw another male standing at the top of the hill, shooting toward the parking lot. Don had gone shooting with his father before, and knew the sounds of gunshots. He heard two different gunshot sounds -- one was a shotgun, and the other was not. This shooter then turned and shot 5 or 6 time toward the soccer field using a shotgun. He saw that this shotgun was a pump shotgun.
Pat Neville (page 1043)
On 5/6/99, gave an account much like Don Arnold's. He was by the soccer field, heard firecrackers, turned and saw two suspects. One in a black trench coat, tall, all in black, shooting people with a long gun. The other had a white T-shirt, blue jeans, no visible gun, and was throwing bombs onto the roof.
Arthur Curtis (page 765)
Arthur was also on the soccer field. He only saw 2 shooters. One was tall, with long hair, and wore a black trench, the other wore a white T-shirt. He saw the one in the black trench coat carrying a sawed-off shotgun. Arthur states that he could identify the one in the trench coat if given a picture. He saw them shoot at groups of people and at the soccer field witnesses. He reported that the one in the white T-shirt descended the stairs, fired a few shots, and went back up the stairs.
Mike Kenny (page 93
Mike was also on the soccer field when here heard a noise like firecrackers. He looked and saw two people about 100 yards away. One was in a black trench coat and black pants and was holding a TEC-9, the other was about 10 feet behind him and was wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans. They appeared to be together. The one in the trench coat was shooting, but Mike couldn't tell if the one in the white T-shirt was shooting or not. The trench coat shooter shot at the players on the soccer field, who ducked and ran. Mike looked back, and saw explosions on the roof. He did not see anyone throw a bomb up there, but either of the two suspects he did see could have thrown a bomb to that location.
Jason Brehm (page 71
On 5/5/99, Jason give the following information: Jason walked out the West main doors, and saw a figure in a black trench coat, leaning against a post outside the library North door. This person was a little shorter than 5'11", with a round face, and was not Eric or Harris. This person had a black hat turned backward, black boots, and one pants leg tucked into a boot. This person also has a large, full, black nylon bag with straps at his feet. Jason walked to the soccer field, heard firecrackers, and turned around. He turned, and saw the guy in the trench coat still there, with smoke rising beside him. He said this lone gunman walked down and back up the stair, shooting, then threw some bombs onto the roof, then ran back down the stairs and shot a different, louder gun, which Jason thinks was a shotgun. He thinks that was when Lance Kirkland was shot in the face. As Jason was running away, he saw a figure in a white T-shirt walking calmly from the parking lot towards the shooter.
J-u-s-t-i-n Woods (page 126
J-u-s-t-i-n was on the soccer field, and states that he was about 50 feet away, and saw two guys come out of the West entrance of the school. He identifies one shooter as Dylan, describes him as wearing a trench coat, a black hat, and no mask, carrying a handgun with a banana clip. He says that the other suspect wore a white shirt, black pants, boots, not hat, no mask, and more clean-cut that the other. This suspect had a shotgun, leaned against the fence and shot at people. Klebold was shooting at @#%$ and the other people on the soccer field as they ran away. He heard explosions, and saw smoke on the roof of the school.
Bryan Stepp (page 1179)
On 4/30/99, Bryan stated that he was playing soccer, and saw two guys near the West main entrance. One was wearing all black, black cargo pants, black trench coat, and a hat. The other suspect was wearing a black trench coat and a white shirt, and a hat. He saw the first suspect bend down and light fireworks or pipe bombs. When he stood up, Bryan could see he held a gun with a banana clip. He said that someone walked out of the West entrance door, and this suspect shot at this person, who then fell down. Bryan said that this suspect shot at students down the hill from him, and they all ran away except one, then the shooter shot at the student in the soccer field, who fled. When Bryan looked again, he heard explosions and saw smoke above the roof of the school. He also saw the banana-clip shooter shoot out the windows in the double doors of the West main entrance, then both shooters walked down the stairs toward the cafeteria, where they shot out a window.
Evan Vitale (page 1243)
On 4/20/99, Evan stated that he was in the Sr. parking lot, in a car that was about to leave school. He heard a "pop pop pop" and looked, and saw a kid on the top of the hill, shooting a rifle, about 30 shots. This gunman was wearing a white T-shirt, a trench coat, black pants, had dark hair and dark skin. He saw another individual in a dark trench coat, a black ball cap worn backwards, and long, blond hair, who was running up and down the stairs outside the West side of the cafeteria. As the car began pulling out, Evan noticed a third suspect. This person was stand by the wall next to the West side of the cafeteria. This suspect was holding a pump shotgun, and wore a white shirt and black pants. He was very sure this was not Dylan. Evan did not believe it possible for this suspect to be the same as the shooter on the hill, as it seemed that this would have required this person to move too far too fast.
Trent Karnes (page 911)
Trent was the driver of the car Evan Vitale was riding in. He was in the parking lot when he heard what he thought was someone roofing. It was 6 or 7 rapid gunshots. He turned and saw a person at the top of the outside stairs, holding a rifle, leaning on a fence, shooting down the hill at people. He was wearing a white dress shirt, black dress pants, and a thin black vest. Trent saw another person, about 6'2" or 6'3" tall, in a black trench coat, black pants, medium brown shoulder length hair, a black leather hat, and sunglasses. He saw this person running up and down the stairs, apparently looking at the victims between groups of shots by the first person. Trent estimated the distance at between 100 and 200 yards. He also mentions that there was a kid wearing a white T-shirt and faded blue jean shorts, standing, watching and smiling. He thinks this kid was not part of it, only that he thought it was a joke, as apparently did the other people he saw smiling as they ran.
Mindy Pollock (page 1093)
On 4/26/99, she gave this information to the FBI: She was about to get into Trent's car with Evan, where she heard firecrackers. She looked, and saw a man running up and down the stairs, and another standing at the top of the stairs shooting people. She thought is a skit. She described the running man as wearing black pants, black shirt, a black hat backwards, a black trench coat, and carrying a silver handgun, which she did not see him shoot. She described the shooter as wearing black pants, a white shirt, black suspenders, a red hat backwards, and a huge black gun.
THE CONCLUSIONS
Summary table deleted here. I'll edit in a reformatted version later.
We know Harris was wearing a white T-shirt, but did the investigators come to the correct conclusion that every sighting of a suspect in a white T-shirt was Harris? Of the 15 sightings listed above, only 7 are consistent with Harris. Even with these 7, 3 are clearly inconsistent with the official timeline. (See detailed analysis of the witnesses' accounts below.) Put another way: of the 14 people that witnessed these events, only 4 gave statements consistent with the description and activities of Eric Harris, as seen in the Sheriff's Report.
Most telling however, is that no less than 4 witnesses saw 3 suspects AT THE SAME TIME. These 4 witnesses were Chris Wisher, Jake Apodaca, Jonathan Cole, and William Arapkiles. This is very, very strong corroboration - corroboration that was either overlooked or ignored. Two others had strong evidence of a third suspect. These two were Don Arnold and Evan Vitale.
It is certainly reasonable to assume that not every witness will see every suspect. So, for the sake of argument, lets suppose that there was a third, T-shirt wearing bomb thrower, and see how well the witnesses' statements support this. Please note we will not be counting the failure to notice a suspect as an anomaly. This could easily be accounted for by a bad angle, or by the witness focusing on the more immediate threat rather than surveying the scene carefully.
Since we know that Harris wore a white shirt as well, how can we tell the two apart? Well, Harris wore black pants, had a gun, and spent all of his time outside the school at the top of the hill, shooting people (according to the official report). The possible 3rd suspect, as reported by the 4 witnesses who saw 3 suspects at once, wore blue jeans, had no gun, and threw bombs onto the roof.
Do any of the other witnesses report a shooter that more closely matches our hypothetical bomber? Lets examine each:
Don Arnold: The description of the trench-coated shooter with a pump shotgun, shooting from the top of the hill, much more closely fits Harris that Klebold. Since the suspect in the white T-shirt does not match Klebold at all, he must be a 3rd suspect. Don hears two distinct weapons, but the suspect in the white T-shirt did not have a gun, which also strongly indicates a 3rd suspect.
Pat Neville: The description of the trench-coated shooter much more closely fits Harris that Klebold. Which means the suspect in the white T-shirt must be a 3rd suspect.
Arthur Curtis: The description of this suspect in a white T-shirt fits Harris very well.
Mike Kenny: This report has little information, but Mike did notice the explosion, and since the suspect in the white T-shirt was wearing blue jeans and had no visible gun, it does give more support to the white T bomber theory.
Jason Brehm: This muddled account is mostly likely a combination of Harris and Klebold.
J-u-s-t-i-n Woods: A sighting of Harris without a gun seems most likely. Who threw the bombs is unclear.
Bryan Stepp: Given the sparse details, it is most likely Harris
Evan Vitale: The 3rd suspect could possibly have been Harris. Even if it was not, this suspect is not the white T-shirt bomber as described above.
Trent Karnes: The shooting suspect in a white T-shirt is consistent with Harris. The other person mentioned seems most likely to be uninvolved
Mindy Pollock: This suspect also is consistent with Harris.
So, let's try these groupings:
Arthur Curtis, Jason Brehm, J-u-s-t-i-n Woods, Bryan Stepp, Trent Karnes, Mindy Pollock, and Evan Vitale do not report seeing this white T-shirt bomber. The person in a white T-shirt that they do see conforms well to Harris's description. If we assume that the official timeline is erroneous in not having Harris go down the stairs, then they are very consistent.
Don Arnold, Pat Neville, and Mike Kenny saw a suspect that very strongly supports the account of the bomber seen by Chris Wisher, Jake Apodaca, Jonathan Cole, and William Arapkiles.
SUMMARY:
There was a third accomplice, the White T-shirt Bomber.
Switching to this theory instead of a two-shooter theory, the number of anomalous testimonies falls from 11 to 4. (Evan, Jason, Trent and Mindy all reported a shooter that may not have been Eric or Dylan).
Of the 14 witnesses, four witnesses saw him simultaneously with Eric and Dylan, and 3 other witnesses saw him with one of the two shooters.
Put in percents:
No white T-shirt bomber: Anomalous reports: 73%
With white T-shirt bomber: Anomalous reports: 28%
If we factor out the anomalies that do not directly relate to the white T-shirt bomber, we have:
No white T-shirt bomber: Anomalous reports: 50%
With white T-shirt bomber: Anomalous reports: 0% None. Zip.
Seven corroborating witnesses, four of whom saw 3 suspects simultaneously. Furthermore, none of the seven reports about the white T-shirt bomber contradict each other. And the theory much more closely aligns with the actual witnesses' reports than does the official report.
Could it be any plainer than that?
There was a third accomplice, the White T-shirt Bomber.
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etailed witness analysis
Chris Wisher (page 1261)
On 4/20/99, he gave a quick written statement. He saw 3 people simultaneously, 2 in black trench coats and one in a white T-shirt. Chris and his friends were about 100 yards away, and were shot at. He saw the person in the white T-shirt throw a bomb on the roof. A little later, he and his friends also saw a person with a gun hiding in the bushes in Weaver park.
Later on 4/20/99, he gave a longer statement. Chris states that he was behind the cafeteria and heardwhat he thought were fireworks. He turned and saw two kids wearing trench coats, and one kid wearing awhite T-shirt who was throwing bombs onto the school. He says he believes one of the kids is [redacted] (ie, not Eric or Dylan).
One of the trench-coated kids shot a shotgun at him, then other kid in a trench coat had an automatic rifle.
Also on 4/20/99, he talks to the media, recounting the same facts as above.
On 4/27/99, FBI agent Harris records a slightly different account. On his way to the soccer field from the cafeteria, he hears what he thinks are fireworks and turns around. He sees a tall guy, all in black, with a black trench coat, a black hat, and sunglasses. He thinks it is someone that is redacted (ie, not Dylan or Eric), who is a member of the Trench Coat Mafia. This person shoots a shotgun at people nearby 3 times, then turns and shoots 4 or 5 times at Chris and his friends, who duck. This shooter then moves towards the SW cafeteria entrance. Chris then sees a person in blue jeans and a short-sleeved white T-shirt, who throws a silvery object onto the roof, which explodes. Chris hears very rapid gunfire from within the school, while simultaneously seeing the trench-coated shooter and the T-shirted bomber.
Finally, on 10/12/99, Chris is asked again about his redacted ID. Chris says that this was his impression, that one of the gunmen was [Redacted], but that he was not sure. Chris says he is positive that it was NOT [different Redacted]. Chris is shown a photo from the cafeteria tape, and Chris states that these two guys are indeed the people he saw outside.
So - how many suspects did Chris see? In all three accounts on 4/20, the number is 3 (well, 4 if you count the gunman in the bushes in Weaver park). On 4/27, one of the gunmen has apparently has moved into the school, firing a weapon. And on 10/12, it reads like he only see two, except for the "one of the gunmen" statement -- the white T-shirted figure was never said to have a gun, so there is still room for 3.
Why didn't the FBI officer seek to clarify the numbers? Surely he would have to account for the discrepancy, but he does not.
Why didn't any of the follow-up interviews ask ANY questions about a gunman in the bushes in Weaver park?
If the suspect in the white shirt were Harris, then the person shooting at Chris would have to have been Klebold. The official story says that Klebold only fired 5 shots outside the school -- but Chris counted 7 or 8 shots.
Jake Apodaca (page 653)
On 4/20/99, he states that he saw 3 suspects, simultaneously. He was at the soccer field, heard firecrackers. He turned and saw two guys carrying shotguns, wearing black trench coats, black berets, black pants, black army boots, and black T-shirts. He had seen them at school before, but could not find them in the yearbook. A 3rd guy wearing a white T-shirt, jeans, light brown hair, that he had not seen him at school before, was seen throwing bombs onto the roof. It is not stated if the 3rd suspect had a gun or not. Jake also states that he saw a gunman with a shotgun hiding in the bushes in Weaver park.
On 4/27/99, Jake tells the FBI that he and his friends were walking from the cafeteria toward the soccer field, heard what they thought were firecrackers. They turned, and Jake saw two guys crouched down by the NW corner of the cafeteria. One was wearing a white short sleeved T-shirt, blue jeans, and had no visible weapon, the other was all in black, with a black trench coat, a black beret, and a black mask. Jake saw the guy in the white T-shirt throw two bombs onto the roof. Then he saw the guy in the black trench coat shoot at three people with a shotgun, then turned and shot 4 or 5 times at Jake and his friends, about 40 or 50 yards away, who ducked.
Again, why did the FBI agent (agent Harris) fail to clarify the numbers from Jake's previous statement? And why is there no mention of the gunman in the bushes?
Again, if the person in the white T-shirt is Harris, then Klebold has to have shot at least 7 rounds outside, not 5 as the official story claims.
But more ominously, this is the second witness who claimed to have seen 3 suspects, but in the reports filed by FBI agent Harris, it reads as two suspects.
Jonathan Cole (page 749)
Interestingly, the only report released from Jonathan Cole was the interview he gave on 6/1/99 to FBI agent Holloway. In it, he states that he had met up with Jake Apodaca and Chris Wisher outside the main West entrance.There he noticed two tall guys in black trench coats, no hats, one had on a ski mask, one had "puffy" hair. One had a white T-shirt under his coat, the other had a black or dark T-shirt. These 2 walked over to top of the hill and looked down toward the cafeteria. He then saw a third male, wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, exit the school through the same door. This person looked over to the other two suspect, and yelled "GO!! GO!!". The two suspects pulled out guns and began shooting. Jonathan began running, looked back and saw the person in the white T-shirt throw some bombs onto the roof, which exploded. Several days later, when students were allowed back into the school to claim their belongings, he saw the white-t-shirted bomb-thrower at the school. This person is described as being 5'10", wearing black glasses, and having collar length blondish brown hair. Jonathan was shown a photo lineup, but could not identify him as one of those suspects. Jonathan was about 73' to 75' away from the gunmen, but could not identify them. Agent Holloway notes in the report that the interviews of Jake and Chris only show one trench-coated gunman.
Jonathan's parents do not allow him to be interviewed again.
First, why was this the only interview released? Almost all the other student who saw shooters had had two or three interviews by this time. I would be very surprised if Jonathan had not. Yet, they were not released.
Second, Holloway's note about the interviews of Jake and Chris not corroborating Jonathan's account of three suspects is outrageous. That is NOT what they say! Did Holloway only read Harris's report? Did Harris intentionally bury the 3rd suspect aspect of their prior statements, knowing that Holloway would only read the FBI reports?
Third, the Official Report makes mention of the "GO!! GO!!" statement, but attributes it to Harris. Yet Jonathan is the only witness to have recounted someone yelling this. Ironic that LE would give that much weight to this single aspect of his statement, yet completely reject the corroborated statement of seeing 3 suspects simultaneously.
William Arapkiles (page 660)
In the released information, there is a brief undated statement, which can safely be assumed to be given on 4/20/99. In it, he states that he saw two guys with guns and grenades. One had a black trench coat, was 6' tall, and shot at William (Billy) and his friends.
On 5/5/99, Billy states that he was at the soccer field, and heard firecrackers. He turned and saw 3 people near the West entrance. Two were wearing black trench coats, and carrying guns. The third was wearing a white T-shirt, and no visible gun. The person in the white T-shirt was pacing back and forth about 5' away from the two gunmen. He saw the gunmen shoot toward the ground and into the air. He saw them shoot one person near the top of the stair, and another at the bottom of the hill, then a third victim that was trying to run away across the parking lot. The shooter then shot at the witnesses on the
soccer field. Billy observed actions of one shooter, which seemed to him to be a jammed gun.
No other interviews have been released, if they were conducted.
Why would the investigators leave it at this?
Don Arnold (page 666)
Only one interview with Don Arnold was released, dated 5/11/99, with the FBI. In it, Don states that he was on the soccer field, heard firecrackers, and turned toward the school. He saw a "short, pudgy" male in a white T-shirt that was throwing bombs onto the roof. He did not see this person having a gun. Don saw another male standing at the top of the hill, shooting toward the parking lot. Don had gone shooting with his father before, and knew the sounds of gunshots. He heard two different gunshot sounds -- one was a shotgun, and the other was not. This shooter then turned and shot 5 or 6 time toward the soccer field using a shotgun. He saw that this shotgun was a pump shotgun.
Given the FBI's previous track record in Wisher's and Apodaca's interviews, I wonder what Don's earlier statements may have said.
Even granting that Don may have only seen two suspects, he still strongly indicates the presence of three participants.
Also, the official story has Eric Harris using the pump shotgun, but also as the white T-shirt bomb thrower. In this account, he clearly cannot have been both.
Pat Neville (page 1043)
On 5/6/99, gave an account much like Don Arnold's. He was by the soccer field, heard firecrackers, turned and saw two suspects. One in a black trench coat, tall, all in black, shooting people with a long gun. The other had a white T-shirt, blue jeans, no visible gun, and was throwing bombs onto the roof.
Again, we must wonder about the lack of earlier statements.
Arthur Curtis (page 765)
Arthur was also on the soccer field. He only saw 2 shooters. One was tall, with long hair, and wore a black trench, the other wore a white T-shirt. He saw the one in the black trench coat carrying a sawed-off shotgun. Arthur states that he could identify the one in the trench coat if given a picture. He saw them shoot at groups of people and at the soccer field witnesses. He reported that the one in the white T-shirt descended the stairs, fired a few shots, and went back up the stairs.
So, why wasn't he given the opportunity to make an ID? Or was he, but that report was not released?
And, if we assume that this white T-shirted shooter is Harris, we must note that this contradicts the official timeline, which never has Harris descending the stairs.
Mike Kenny (page 93
Mike was also on the soccer field when here heard a noise like firecrackers. He looked and saw two people about 100 yards away. One was in a black trench coat and black pants and was holding a TEC-9, the other was about 10 feet behind him and was wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans. They appeared to be together. The one in the trench coat was shooting, but Mike couldn't tell if the one in the white T-shirt was shooting or not. The trench coat shooter shot at the players on the soccer field, who ducked and ran. Mike looked back, and saw an explosion on the roof. He saw other explosions on the roof. He did not see anyone throw a bomb up there, but either of the two suspects he did see could have thrown a bomb to that location.
Knowing that both Harris and Klebold wore a trench coat for at least some of the time, and having no other characteristics than a media-hyped gun description, it could quite easily have been either of them in the trench coat.
The white T-shirt and blue jeans suspect is not seen with a gun, but is present when the bombs explode on the roof.
Jason Brehm (page 71
On 5/5/99, Jason give the following information: Jason walked out the West main doors, and saw a figure in a black trench coat, leaning against a post outside the library North door. This person was a little shorter than 5'11", with a round face, and was not Eric or Harris. This person had a black hat turned backward, black boots, and one pants leg tucked into a boot. This person also has a large, full, black nylon bag with straps at his feet. Jason walked to the soccer field, heard firecrackers, and turned around. He turned, and saw the guy in the trench coat still there, with smoke rising beside him. He said this lone gunman walked down and back up the stair, shooting, then threw some bombs onto the roof, then ran back down the stairs and shot a different, louder gun, which Jason thinks was a shotgun. He thinks that was when Lance Kirkland was shot in the face. As Jason was running away, he saw a figure in a white T-shirt walking calmly from the parking lot towards the shooter.
Interesting that he got such a close look at the figure by the post, and identifies him as someone other than Eric and Dylan. Yet this merits no follow-up interviews, or photo lineups, or any interest whatsoever from the investigators.
Sure, this person saw after the "firecrackers" may not have been the same person he walked right by. But it could have. More importantly, this person may have been at least an accomplice, helping to carry in the explosives or something.
That said, the investigators probably saw this testimony as hopelessly muddled, in that Jason ascribes to one shooter all the activities that the other witnesses ascribe to two or more shooters.
But, again note the appearance of a person in a white T-shirt.
J-u-s-t-i-n Woods (page 126
J-u-s-t-i-n was on the soccer field, and states that he was about 50 feet away, and saw two guys come out of the West entrance of the school. He identifies one shooter as Dylan, describes him as wearing a trench coat, a black hat, and no mask, carrying a handgun with a banana clip. He says that the other suspect wore a white shirt, black pants, boots, not hat, no mask, and more clean-cut that the other. This suspect had a shotgun, leaned against the fence and shot at people. J-u-s-t-i-n and the other people on the soccer field were being shot at by Klebold as the ran away. He heard explosions, and saw smoke on the roof of the school.
So, while he did not indicate a third suspect, he does corroborate that bombs were thrown onto the roof, and does not indicate that Eric or Dylan did it.
Bryan Stepp 1179
On 4/30/99, Bryan stated that he was playing soccer, and saw two guys near the West main entrance. One was wearing all black, black cargo pants, black trench coat, and a hat. The other suspect was wearing a black trench coat and a white shirt, and a hat. He saw the first suspect bend down and light fireworks or pipe bombs. When he stood up, Bryan could see he held a gun with a banana clip. He said that someone walked out of the West entrance door, and this suspect shot at this person, who then fell down. Bryan said that this suspect shot at students down the hill from him, and they all ran away except one, then the shooter shot at the student in the soccer field, who fled. When Bryan looked again, he heard explosions and saw smoke above the roof of the school. He also saw the banana-clip shooter shoot out the windows in the double doors of the West main entrance, then both shooters walked down the stairs toward the cafeteria, where they shot out a window.
While there is no mention of a 3rd suspect, it is quite interesting to note that the official story does not have a casualty for a person being shot as they exit that door. Nor does it have Harris going down the stairs with Klebold. The official story also has Harris as the person shooting down the hill, and shooting out the door windows.
And, he does corroborate that bombs were thrown onto the roof, and does not indicate that it was Eric or Dylan.
Evan Vitale (page 1243)
On 4/20/99, Evan stated that he was in the Sr. parking lot, in a car that was about to leave school. He heard a "pop pop pop" and looked, and saw a kid on the top of the hill, shooting a rifle, about 30 shots. This gunman was wearing a white T-shirt, a trench coat, black pants, had dark hair and dark skin. He saw another individual in a dark trench coat, a black ball cap worn backwards, and long, blond hair, who was running up and down the stairs outside the West side of the cafeteria.
On 5/11/99, he is interviewed again. The officer notes that Evan mentions being interviewed before, but the office is unable to find that interview using the FBI's Rapid Start tracking system.
Evan gives a little more detail -- the gunman on the hill is now stated to be a white male, whose face he could not see. This shooter was resting his long gun on the fence as he shot it toward the grassy areas by the cafeteria. He was wearing a white shirt, black pants, and had dark hair or a dark hat. The other suspect, who was running up and down the stairs, was wearing black pants, a black shirt, a black trench coat, and a black ball cap, backwards. He did not see this person carrying a gun, but states that this person was Dylan Klebold. Then, as the car began pulling out, Evan noticed a third suspect. This person was stand by the wall next to the West side of the cafeteria. This suspect was holding a pump shotgun, and wore a white shirt and black pants. He was very sure this was not Dylan. Evan did not believe it possible for this suspect to be the same as the shooter on the hill, as it seemed that this would have required this person to move too far too fast.
Between 10/18/99 and 11/9/99, Evan missed 5 interview appointments.
On 11/16/99, Evan was interviewed again, because he had described a possible third shooter. Evan recounts the exact same events and details. Evan says that third shooter may have been Eric Harris, having since seen photos of him. The officer points out that Evans account leaves time for the uphill shooter to have moved down hill. Evan agrees that this could be possible. The investigator, apparently satisfied with Evan's answers, ends the interview.
So, could that third, shotgun-wielding shooter have been Harris? Conceivably, but the official timeline does not place Harris in that location -- then, or at other time. So, either it WAS a 3rd shooter, or the timeline is wrong. Or BOTH! How, exactly, does this make for a satisfactory conclusion for the investigator?
Trent Karnes (page 911)
Trent was the driver of the car Evan Vitale was riding in.
On 4/21/99, he was in the parking lot when he heard what he thought was someone roofing. It was 6 or 7 rapid gunshots. He turned and saw a person at the top of the outside stairs, holding a rifle, leaning on afence, shooting down the hill at people. He was wearing a white dress shirt, black dress pants, and a thin black vest. Trent saw another person, in a black trench coat, black pants, long hair, and sunglasses. He saw this person running up and down the stairs, apparently looking at the victims between groups of shots by the first person. Trent estimated the distance at between 100 and 200 yards.
On 4/27/99, he gave another statement. He described the second figure as above, adding that he was about 6'2" or 6'3", his hair was medium brown and shoulder length, he was wearing a black leather hat, and possibly a white shirt. Trent says he does not believe this was one of the suspects shown on television, and that he had seen this suspect at school before, but not this year. He now estimates his distance as about 80 yards.
On 5/6/99, he gives another statement. He further describes the black leather hat as "either an English style leather cap with the kind of short visor that snaps or a ball cap. He did not see this suspect holding a gun. He does mention that the shooter was the shorter of the two. And, he now mentions that there was a kid wearing a white T-shirt and faded blue jean shorts, standing, watching and smiling. He thinks this kid was not part of it, only that he thought it was a joke, as apparently did the other people he saw smiling as they ran. Trent is shown a photo lineup, and he picks "#4" as possibly the taller guy with the hat and sunglasses.
Okay, Trent's description of the shooter with the thin vest is a very accurate description of Eric Harris's clothes. Very few other witnesses describe him in a white shirt, black pants, with a black vest. But is the second shooter Dylan Klebold? While he mentions a ball cap, it seems he really thinks it was a different type of leather cap. And, this person does not appear to have a gun.
More importantly, the photo lineup suspect "#4" is not named -- but everywhere else that a witness names Eric or Dylan, the officer notes that in the report. This can only mean that he ID'ed someone other than Dylan and Eric.
He mentions a guy on a white T-shirt and blue jeans, but shorts, not long pants, and he does not see him, or anyone else, throw any bombs. Is this the same person? It's hard to tell, but it does seem congruent.
Mindy Pollock (page 1093)
On 4/26/99, she gave this information to the FBI: She was about to get into Trent's car with Evan, whereshe heard firecrackers. She looked, and saw a man running up and down the stairs, and another standing at the top of the stairs shooting people. She thought is a skit. She described the running man as wearing black pants, black shirt, a black hat backwards, a black trench coat, and carrying a silver handgun, which she did not see him shoot. She described the shooter as wearing black pants, a white shirt, black suspenders, a hat, and a huge black gun.
On 5/4/99, she names gives additional information. For the running gunman, she identifies him, but the name is redacted. She states here certainty as an 8-9 on a scale of 10, and mentions knowing him from last year but not seeing him since. She describes the trench coat as black, mid-shin length, made of cloth, with no patches. The hat was a black baseball cap, backwards. She describes his face as long, with a pointed nose, looked like "a giant rat", and had a light complexion and a moustache. He wore black boots. She describes the other gunman as wearing looser black pants and black boots, a white dress-type shirt with front buttons, a red hat on backwards, and a long black gun.
On 10/8/99, she is interviewed regarding the ID of the gunman as "Redacted". The officer shows her more current photos of Dylan Klebold, and she agrees that this is who she saw, and that the handgun matches Klebold's weapon as well.
It seems rather odd that she can go from near-certainty that it was a "Redacted" to sure that it was Klebold. The description is very detailed, and matches Klebold except for the mustache, and perhaps the subjective facial descriptions. But the description of a silver handgun does not come very close to either the dark TEC-9 or the sawed-off shotgun that Klebold carried. Her description of the shooter that has tobe Harris is fairly accurate too, if you count the suspenders as a near miss on the black vest. The red hat is an odd note, though.
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Here are some other references to a suspect in a white t-shirt and/or blue jeans:
Loni Brown(724)
"Loni said that she saw a guy running up the hill during the shooting, and he was wearing a white t-shirt that possible had a design on the back, and maybe blue jeans. She said he had dark blonde/light brown hair with light streaks, cut short." (If she was right about the blue jeans, this definitely could not have been Harris, though she was unsure if he was one of the suspects.)
Tony Doty(777)
"He then saw a male in a white t-shirt and blue jeans holding a handgun walk from a corner near the cafeteria. ...he fired the handgun at him, and he heard the bullet 'whiz' by his head." Not Harris.
Autumn Hettinger( )
Before the attack "saw Klebold and Harris with a third party wearing a white t-shirt, talking. This individual stayed in the lot down between the cars during the incident.
Stefanie Haney(829)
Sees H&K and one other entering south, main cafeteria entrance at 11:10-11:15am. "Haney also described a third male walking with Harris and Klebold. The white male looked older than a high school student and she did not recognize him from any of the four years she has attended CHS. The unknown male was about the same height as Harris, his hair was dark in a kind of bowl cut and shaved on the sides. He was wearing a white t-shirt or v-necked shirt... with its sleeves rooled up one or twice."
Jessica Guertz(3134)
"Jessica said she saw two guys dressed in trenchcoats, and a guy in a white t-shirt possibly with them standing near the cement stairs. ...She thought it was strange that the three were standing so calmly, when everybody else was so panicked. The adult in the white shirt was tall and thin."(6')
Kent Friesen, teacher(5873)
Was in restroom, then obesrved two suspects walking in a sourthern direction who has just exited the library. ID'ed Klebold("he is certain"); shorter one wearing 'pale colored clothes"--white t-shirt, light blue pants, 5'9". H&K had been to his house. (The implication is that this other shooter defintely wasn't Harris)
Joey Marcotte(10010)
Describes white male, 5'8"-6'0" tall, real skinny, blue ball cap, short blond hair, white t-shirt with blood on it, ammo vest, baggy blue jeans.
Others:
Heidi Johnson(443)
In the library, said shooter had tan, black, and white cami pants and brownish blond hair, very short, like a crew cut. (The pants are an oddity, but the haircut reminds one of 'dark hair with blond spikes and shaved sides')
Al Martin(991)
Sees gunman come out of west doors, suspect wearing white t-shirt under black long sleeve shirt with light blue pants. 5'7"-5'8", 15-17, thin.
Michael Bogacz(5596)
"...he added that as he existed the building he saw a guy near the baseball field to the west wearing a white t-shirt carrying something in his hand, but he couldn't make out what it was. The strange thing to Michael was that the subject was not too concerned about getting anywhere very fast."
Sally Hocker(7511)
Onlooker in Clement Park, hears big explosion from CHS at 11:30am. At 11:31, noticed male, 17-18, white t-shirt, blue jeans, walking down the hill from the soccer field, away from the school. He was very calm, walking in a nonchalant manner. "She then observed two, slightly older males(19+) walking northbound on a path leading out of a housing-area greenbelt." They were wearing all black with short black coats. The three met and talked briefly. "According to Hocker, the meeting appeared to be prearranged and very matter-of-fact. ... the three parties were very calm, showing no emotion."
JC-001-012984
Lisa(Armstrong) reported to Det. Demmel that on Tues. the 20th at about 7:15a.m. in the morning that she was driving by Columbine High School on Pierce St. when she observed a young man 19 to 20 years old, 6' -6'2" who was heavy and overweight with blue eyes, short brown hair--a buzz cut--and no hat. The party was wearing a trench coat, light(blue?) jeans, didn't look like a student and really stood out. Lisa observed the party as he walked west across Pierce St. with other students around him but she said he seemed to be in a daze and by himself.
[Comment: This sounds a lot like the white t-shirted bomber]
There were a couple of publicized interviews of students on 4/20/99, in which students claimed to have seen three suspects. The official report, which came out several months later, claimed that these people were confused. The report claims that they saw Eric Harris both before and after he took of his trench coat, and thus thought that he was two different suspects.
Now, the southwest side of Columbine is where the shooting began, and it is a jumble of corners, angles and hills. People near the West entrance would not be able to see around to the stairs. People by or down the stairs would not be able to see the West entrance. So, only the witnesses further away would have the best perspective on the unfolding events.
What do these witnesses say?
THE WITNESSES
Chris Wisher (page 1261 in the 11,000 pages of released files)
Chris states that he was behind the cafeteria about 100 yards away, and heard what he thought were fireworks. He turned and saw two kids wearing trench coats, and one kid wearing a white T-shirt who was throwing bombs onto the school. One of the trench-coated kids shot a shotgun at him, and then other kid in a trench coat had an automatic rifle. A little later, he and his friends also saw a person with a gun hiding in the bushes in Weaver Park.
Jake Apodaca (page 653)
He states that he saw 3 suspects, simultaneously. He was at the soccer field, heard firecrackers. He turned and saw two guys carrying shotguns, wearing black trench coats, black berets, black pants, black army boots, and black T-shirts. He had seen them at school before, but could not find them in the yearbook. A 3rd guy wearing a white T-shirt, jeans, light brown hair, that he had not seen him at school before, was seen throwing bombs onto the roof. It is not stated if the 3rd suspect had a gun or not. Jake also states that he saw a gunman with a shotgun hiding in the bushes in Weaver Park.
Jonathan Cole (page 749)
He states that he had met up with Jake Apodaca and Chris Wisher outside the main West entrance. There, he noticed two tall guys in black trench coats, no hats, one had on a ski mask, and one had "puffy" hair. One had a white T-shirt under his coat, the other had a black or dark T-shirt. These 2 walked over to top of the hill and looked down toward the cafeteria. He then saw a third male, wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, exit the school through the same door. This person looked over to the other two suspect, and yelled "GO!! GO!!". The two suspects pulled out guns and began shooting. Jonathan began running, looked back and saw the person in the white T-shirt throwing some bombs onto the roof, which exploded. Several days later, when students were allowed back into the school to claim their belongings, he saw the white-t-shirted bomb-thrower at the school. This person is described as being 5'10", wearing black glasses, and having collar length blondish brown hair. Jonathan was shown a photo lineup, but could not identify him as one of those suspects. Jonathan was about 73' to 75' away from the gunmen, but could not identify them.
William Arapkiles (page 660)
On 5/5/99, Billy states that he was at the soccer field, and heard firecrackers. He turned and saw 3 people near the West entrance. Two were wearing black trench coats, and carrying guns. The third was wearing a white T-shirt, and no visible gun. The person in the white T-shirt was pacing back and forth about 5' away from the two gunmen. He saw the gunmen shoot toward the ground and into the air. He saw them shoot one person near the top of the stair, and another at the bottom of the hill, then a third victim that was trying to run away across the parking lot. The shooter then shot at the witnesses on the soccer field. Billy observed actions of one shooter, which seemed to him to be a jammed gun.
Don Arnold (page 666)
Don states that he was on the soccer field, heard firecrackers, and turned toward the school. He saw a "short, pudgy" male in a white T-shirt that was throwing bombs onto the roof. He did not see this person having a gun. Don saw another male standing at the top of the hill, shooting toward the parking lot. Don had gone shooting with his father before, and knew the sounds of gunshots. He heard two different gunshot sounds -- one was a shotgun, and the other was not. This shooter then turned and shot 5 or 6 time toward the soccer field using a shotgun. He saw that this shotgun was a pump shotgun.
Pat Neville (page 1043)
On 5/6/99, gave an account much like Don Arnold's. He was by the soccer field, heard firecrackers, turned and saw two suspects. One in a black trench coat, tall, all in black, shooting people with a long gun. The other had a white T-shirt, blue jeans, no visible gun, and was throwing bombs onto the roof.
Arthur Curtis (page 765)
Arthur was also on the soccer field. He only saw 2 shooters. One was tall, with long hair, and wore a black trench, the other wore a white T-shirt. He saw the one in the black trench coat carrying a sawed-off shotgun. Arthur states that he could identify the one in the trench coat if given a picture. He saw them shoot at groups of people and at the soccer field witnesses. He reported that the one in the white T-shirt descended the stairs, fired a few shots, and went back up the stairs.
Mike Kenny (page 93
Mike was also on the soccer field when here heard a noise like firecrackers. He looked and saw two people about 100 yards away. One was in a black trench coat and black pants and was holding a TEC-9, the other was about 10 feet behind him and was wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans. They appeared to be together. The one in the trench coat was shooting, but Mike couldn't tell if the one in the white T-shirt was shooting or not. The trench coat shooter shot at the players on the soccer field, who ducked and ran. Mike looked back, and saw explosions on the roof. He did not see anyone throw a bomb up there, but either of the two suspects he did see could have thrown a bomb to that location.
Jason Brehm (page 71
On 5/5/99, Jason give the following information: Jason walked out the West main doors, and saw a figure in a black trench coat, leaning against a post outside the library North door. This person was a little shorter than 5'11", with a round face, and was not Eric or Harris. This person had a black hat turned backward, black boots, and one pants leg tucked into a boot. This person also has a large, full, black nylon bag with straps at his feet. Jason walked to the soccer field, heard firecrackers, and turned around. He turned, and saw the guy in the trench coat still there, with smoke rising beside him. He said this lone gunman walked down and back up the stair, shooting, then threw some bombs onto the roof, then ran back down the stairs and shot a different, louder gun, which Jason thinks was a shotgun. He thinks that was when Lance Kirkland was shot in the face. As Jason was running away, he saw a figure in a white T-shirt walking calmly from the parking lot towards the shooter.
J-u-s-t-i-n Woods (page 126
J-u-s-t-i-n was on the soccer field, and states that he was about 50 feet away, and saw two guys come out of the West entrance of the school. He identifies one shooter as Dylan, describes him as wearing a trench coat, a black hat, and no mask, carrying a handgun with a banana clip. He says that the other suspect wore a white shirt, black pants, boots, not hat, no mask, and more clean-cut that the other. This suspect had a shotgun, leaned against the fence and shot at people. Klebold was shooting at @#%$ and the other people on the soccer field as they ran away. He heard explosions, and saw smoke on the roof of the school.
Bryan Stepp (page 1179)
On 4/30/99, Bryan stated that he was playing soccer, and saw two guys near the West main entrance. One was wearing all black, black cargo pants, black trench coat, and a hat. The other suspect was wearing a black trench coat and a white shirt, and a hat. He saw the first suspect bend down and light fireworks or pipe bombs. When he stood up, Bryan could see he held a gun with a banana clip. He said that someone walked out of the West entrance door, and this suspect shot at this person, who then fell down. Bryan said that this suspect shot at students down the hill from him, and they all ran away except one, then the shooter shot at the student in the soccer field, who fled. When Bryan looked again, he heard explosions and saw smoke above the roof of the school. He also saw the banana-clip shooter shoot out the windows in the double doors of the West main entrance, then both shooters walked down the stairs toward the cafeteria, where they shot out a window.
Evan Vitale (page 1243)
On 4/20/99, Evan stated that he was in the Sr. parking lot, in a car that was about to leave school. He heard a "pop pop pop" and looked, and saw a kid on the top of the hill, shooting a rifle, about 30 shots. This gunman was wearing a white T-shirt, a trench coat, black pants, had dark hair and dark skin. He saw another individual in a dark trench coat, a black ball cap worn backwards, and long, blond hair, who was running up and down the stairs outside the West side of the cafeteria. As the car began pulling out, Evan noticed a third suspect. This person was stand by the wall next to the West side of the cafeteria. This suspect was holding a pump shotgun, and wore a white shirt and black pants. He was very sure this was not Dylan. Evan did not believe it possible for this suspect to be the same as the shooter on the hill, as it seemed that this would have required this person to move too far too fast.
Trent Karnes (page 911)
Trent was the driver of the car Evan Vitale was riding in. He was in the parking lot when he heard what he thought was someone roofing. It was 6 or 7 rapid gunshots. He turned and saw a person at the top of the outside stairs, holding a rifle, leaning on a fence, shooting down the hill at people. He was wearing a white dress shirt, black dress pants, and a thin black vest. Trent saw another person, about 6'2" or 6'3" tall, in a black trench coat, black pants, medium brown shoulder length hair, a black leather hat, and sunglasses. He saw this person running up and down the stairs, apparently looking at the victims between groups of shots by the first person. Trent estimated the distance at between 100 and 200 yards. He also mentions that there was a kid wearing a white T-shirt and faded blue jean shorts, standing, watching and smiling. He thinks this kid was not part of it, only that he thought it was a joke, as apparently did the other people he saw smiling as they ran.
Mindy Pollock (page 1093)
On 4/26/99, she gave this information to the FBI: She was about to get into Trent's car with Evan, where she heard firecrackers. She looked, and saw a man running up and down the stairs, and another standing at the top of the stairs shooting people. She thought is a skit. She described the running man as wearing black pants, black shirt, a black hat backwards, a black trench coat, and carrying a silver handgun, which she did not see him shoot. She described the shooter as wearing black pants, a white shirt, black suspenders, a red hat backwards, and a huge black gun.
THE CONCLUSIONS
Summary table deleted here. I'll edit in a reformatted version later.
We know Harris was wearing a white T-shirt, but did the investigators come to the correct conclusion that every sighting of a suspect in a white T-shirt was Harris? Of the 15 sightings listed above, only 7 are consistent with Harris. Even with these 7, 3 are clearly inconsistent with the official timeline. (See detailed analysis of the witnesses' accounts below.) Put another way: of the 14 people that witnessed these events, only 4 gave statements consistent with the description and activities of Eric Harris, as seen in the Sheriff's Report.
Most telling however, is that no less than 4 witnesses saw 3 suspects AT THE SAME TIME. These 4 witnesses were Chris Wisher, Jake Apodaca, Jonathan Cole, and William Arapkiles. This is very, very strong corroboration - corroboration that was either overlooked or ignored. Two others had strong evidence of a third suspect. These two were Don Arnold and Evan Vitale.
It is certainly reasonable to assume that not every witness will see every suspect. So, for the sake of argument, lets suppose that there was a third, T-shirt wearing bomb thrower, and see how well the witnesses' statements support this. Please note we will not be counting the failure to notice a suspect as an anomaly. This could easily be accounted for by a bad angle, or by the witness focusing on the more immediate threat rather than surveying the scene carefully.
Since we know that Harris wore a white shirt as well, how can we tell the two apart? Well, Harris wore black pants, had a gun, and spent all of his time outside the school at the top of the hill, shooting people (according to the official report). The possible 3rd suspect, as reported by the 4 witnesses who saw 3 suspects at once, wore blue jeans, had no gun, and threw bombs onto the roof.
Do any of the other witnesses report a shooter that more closely matches our hypothetical bomber? Lets examine each:
Don Arnold: The description of the trench-coated shooter with a pump shotgun, shooting from the top of the hill, much more closely fits Harris that Klebold. Since the suspect in the white T-shirt does not match Klebold at all, he must be a 3rd suspect. Don hears two distinct weapons, but the suspect in the white T-shirt did not have a gun, which also strongly indicates a 3rd suspect.
Pat Neville: The description of the trench-coated shooter much more closely fits Harris that Klebold. Which means the suspect in the white T-shirt must be a 3rd suspect.
Arthur Curtis: The description of this suspect in a white T-shirt fits Harris very well.
Mike Kenny: This report has little information, but Mike did notice the explosion, and since the suspect in the white T-shirt was wearing blue jeans and had no visible gun, it does give more support to the white T bomber theory.
Jason Brehm: This muddled account is mostly likely a combination of Harris and Klebold.
J-u-s-t-i-n Woods: A sighting of Harris without a gun seems most likely. Who threw the bombs is unclear.
Bryan Stepp: Given the sparse details, it is most likely Harris
Evan Vitale: The 3rd suspect could possibly have been Harris. Even if it was not, this suspect is not the white T-shirt bomber as described above.
Trent Karnes: The shooting suspect in a white T-shirt is consistent with Harris. The other person mentioned seems most likely to be uninvolved
Mindy Pollock: This suspect also is consistent with Harris.
So, let's try these groupings:
Arthur Curtis, Jason Brehm, J-u-s-t-i-n Woods, Bryan Stepp, Trent Karnes, Mindy Pollock, and Evan Vitale do not report seeing this white T-shirt bomber. The person in a white T-shirt that they do see conforms well to Harris's description. If we assume that the official timeline is erroneous in not having Harris go down the stairs, then they are very consistent.
Don Arnold, Pat Neville, and Mike Kenny saw a suspect that very strongly supports the account of the bomber seen by Chris Wisher, Jake Apodaca, Jonathan Cole, and William Arapkiles.
SUMMARY:
There was a third accomplice, the White T-shirt Bomber.
Switching to this theory instead of a two-shooter theory, the number of anomalous testimonies falls from 11 to 4. (Evan, Jason, Trent and Mindy all reported a shooter that may not have been Eric or Dylan).
Of the 14 witnesses, four witnesses saw him simultaneously with Eric and Dylan, and 3 other witnesses saw him with one of the two shooters.
Put in percents:
No white T-shirt bomber: Anomalous reports: 73%
With white T-shirt bomber: Anomalous reports: 28%
If we factor out the anomalies that do not directly relate to the white T-shirt bomber, we have:
No white T-shirt bomber: Anomalous reports: 50%
With white T-shirt bomber: Anomalous reports: 0% None. Zip.
Seven corroborating witnesses, four of whom saw 3 suspects simultaneously. Furthermore, none of the seven reports about the white T-shirt bomber contradict each other. And the theory much more closely aligns with the actual witnesses' reports than does the official report.
Could it be any plainer than that?
There was a third accomplice, the White T-shirt Bomber.
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etailed witness analysis
Chris Wisher (page 1261)
On 4/20/99, he gave a quick written statement. He saw 3 people simultaneously, 2 in black trench coats and one in a white T-shirt. Chris and his friends were about 100 yards away, and were shot at. He saw the person in the white T-shirt throw a bomb on the roof. A little later, he and his friends also saw a person with a gun hiding in the bushes in Weaver park.
Later on 4/20/99, he gave a longer statement. Chris states that he was behind the cafeteria and heardwhat he thought were fireworks. He turned and saw two kids wearing trench coats, and one kid wearing awhite T-shirt who was throwing bombs onto the school. He says he believes one of the kids is [redacted] (ie, not Eric or Dylan).
One of the trench-coated kids shot a shotgun at him, then other kid in a trench coat had an automatic rifle.
Also on 4/20/99, he talks to the media, recounting the same facts as above.
On 4/27/99, FBI agent Harris records a slightly different account. On his way to the soccer field from the cafeteria, he hears what he thinks are fireworks and turns around. He sees a tall guy, all in black, with a black trench coat, a black hat, and sunglasses. He thinks it is someone that is redacted (ie, not Dylan or Eric), who is a member of the Trench Coat Mafia. This person shoots a shotgun at people nearby 3 times, then turns and shoots 4 or 5 times at Chris and his friends, who duck. This shooter then moves towards the SW cafeteria entrance. Chris then sees a person in blue jeans and a short-sleeved white T-shirt, who throws a silvery object onto the roof, which explodes. Chris hears very rapid gunfire from within the school, while simultaneously seeing the trench-coated shooter and the T-shirted bomber.
Finally, on 10/12/99, Chris is asked again about his redacted ID. Chris says that this was his impression, that one of the gunmen was [Redacted], but that he was not sure. Chris says he is positive that it was NOT [different Redacted]. Chris is shown a photo from the cafeteria tape, and Chris states that these two guys are indeed the people he saw outside.
So - how many suspects did Chris see? In all three accounts on 4/20, the number is 3 (well, 4 if you count the gunman in the bushes in Weaver park). On 4/27, one of the gunmen has apparently has moved into the school, firing a weapon. And on 10/12, it reads like he only see two, except for the "one of the gunmen" statement -- the white T-shirted figure was never said to have a gun, so there is still room for 3.
Why didn't the FBI officer seek to clarify the numbers? Surely he would have to account for the discrepancy, but he does not.
Why didn't any of the follow-up interviews ask ANY questions about a gunman in the bushes in Weaver park?
If the suspect in the white shirt were Harris, then the person shooting at Chris would have to have been Klebold. The official story says that Klebold only fired 5 shots outside the school -- but Chris counted 7 or 8 shots.
Jake Apodaca (page 653)
On 4/20/99, he states that he saw 3 suspects, simultaneously. He was at the soccer field, heard firecrackers. He turned and saw two guys carrying shotguns, wearing black trench coats, black berets, black pants, black army boots, and black T-shirts. He had seen them at school before, but could not find them in the yearbook. A 3rd guy wearing a white T-shirt, jeans, light brown hair, that he had not seen him at school before, was seen throwing bombs onto the roof. It is not stated if the 3rd suspect had a gun or not. Jake also states that he saw a gunman with a shotgun hiding in the bushes in Weaver park.
On 4/27/99, Jake tells the FBI that he and his friends were walking from the cafeteria toward the soccer field, heard what they thought were firecrackers. They turned, and Jake saw two guys crouched down by the NW corner of the cafeteria. One was wearing a white short sleeved T-shirt, blue jeans, and had no visible weapon, the other was all in black, with a black trench coat, a black beret, and a black mask. Jake saw the guy in the white T-shirt throw two bombs onto the roof. Then he saw the guy in the black trench coat shoot at three people with a shotgun, then turned and shot 4 or 5 times at Jake and his friends, about 40 or 50 yards away, who ducked.
Again, why did the FBI agent (agent Harris) fail to clarify the numbers from Jake's previous statement? And why is there no mention of the gunman in the bushes?
Again, if the person in the white T-shirt is Harris, then Klebold has to have shot at least 7 rounds outside, not 5 as the official story claims.
But more ominously, this is the second witness who claimed to have seen 3 suspects, but in the reports filed by FBI agent Harris, it reads as two suspects.
Jonathan Cole (page 749)
Interestingly, the only report released from Jonathan Cole was the interview he gave on 6/1/99 to FBI agent Holloway. In it, he states that he had met up with Jake Apodaca and Chris Wisher outside the main West entrance.There he noticed two tall guys in black trench coats, no hats, one had on a ski mask, one had "puffy" hair. One had a white T-shirt under his coat, the other had a black or dark T-shirt. These 2 walked over to top of the hill and looked down toward the cafeteria. He then saw a third male, wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, exit the school through the same door. This person looked over to the other two suspect, and yelled "GO!! GO!!". The two suspects pulled out guns and began shooting. Jonathan began running, looked back and saw the person in the white T-shirt throw some bombs onto the roof, which exploded. Several days later, when students were allowed back into the school to claim their belongings, he saw the white-t-shirted bomb-thrower at the school. This person is described as being 5'10", wearing black glasses, and having collar length blondish brown hair. Jonathan was shown a photo lineup, but could not identify him as one of those suspects. Jonathan was about 73' to 75' away from the gunmen, but could not identify them. Agent Holloway notes in the report that the interviews of Jake and Chris only show one trench-coated gunman.
Jonathan's parents do not allow him to be interviewed again.
First, why was this the only interview released? Almost all the other student who saw shooters had had two or three interviews by this time. I would be very surprised if Jonathan had not. Yet, they were not released.
Second, Holloway's note about the interviews of Jake and Chris not corroborating Jonathan's account of three suspects is outrageous. That is NOT what they say! Did Holloway only read Harris's report? Did Harris intentionally bury the 3rd suspect aspect of their prior statements, knowing that Holloway would only read the FBI reports?
Third, the Official Report makes mention of the "GO!! GO!!" statement, but attributes it to Harris. Yet Jonathan is the only witness to have recounted someone yelling this. Ironic that LE would give that much weight to this single aspect of his statement, yet completely reject the corroborated statement of seeing 3 suspects simultaneously.
William Arapkiles (page 660)
In the released information, there is a brief undated statement, which can safely be assumed to be given on 4/20/99. In it, he states that he saw two guys with guns and grenades. One had a black trench coat, was 6' tall, and shot at William (Billy) and his friends.
On 5/5/99, Billy states that he was at the soccer field, and heard firecrackers. He turned and saw 3 people near the West entrance. Two were wearing black trench coats, and carrying guns. The third was wearing a white T-shirt, and no visible gun. The person in the white T-shirt was pacing back and forth about 5' away from the two gunmen. He saw the gunmen shoot toward the ground and into the air. He saw them shoot one person near the top of the stair, and another at the bottom of the hill, then a third victim that was trying to run away across the parking lot. The shooter then shot at the witnesses on the
soccer field. Billy observed actions of one shooter, which seemed to him to be a jammed gun.
No other interviews have been released, if they were conducted.
Why would the investigators leave it at this?
Don Arnold (page 666)
Only one interview with Don Arnold was released, dated 5/11/99, with the FBI. In it, Don states that he was on the soccer field, heard firecrackers, and turned toward the school. He saw a "short, pudgy" male in a white T-shirt that was throwing bombs onto the roof. He did not see this person having a gun. Don saw another male standing at the top of the hill, shooting toward the parking lot. Don had gone shooting with his father before, and knew the sounds of gunshots. He heard two different gunshot sounds -- one was a shotgun, and the other was not. This shooter then turned and shot 5 or 6 time toward the soccer field using a shotgun. He saw that this shotgun was a pump shotgun.
Given the FBI's previous track record in Wisher's and Apodaca's interviews, I wonder what Don's earlier statements may have said.
Even granting that Don may have only seen two suspects, he still strongly indicates the presence of three participants.
Also, the official story has Eric Harris using the pump shotgun, but also as the white T-shirt bomb thrower. In this account, he clearly cannot have been both.
Pat Neville (page 1043)
On 5/6/99, gave an account much like Don Arnold's. He was by the soccer field, heard firecrackers, turned and saw two suspects. One in a black trench coat, tall, all in black, shooting people with a long gun. The other had a white T-shirt, blue jeans, no visible gun, and was throwing bombs onto the roof.
Again, we must wonder about the lack of earlier statements.
Arthur Curtis (page 765)
Arthur was also on the soccer field. He only saw 2 shooters. One was tall, with long hair, and wore a black trench, the other wore a white T-shirt. He saw the one in the black trench coat carrying a sawed-off shotgun. Arthur states that he could identify the one in the trench coat if given a picture. He saw them shoot at groups of people and at the soccer field witnesses. He reported that the one in the white T-shirt descended the stairs, fired a few shots, and went back up the stairs.
So, why wasn't he given the opportunity to make an ID? Or was he, but that report was not released?
And, if we assume that this white T-shirted shooter is Harris, we must note that this contradicts the official timeline, which never has Harris descending the stairs.
Mike Kenny (page 93
Mike was also on the soccer field when here heard a noise like firecrackers. He looked and saw two people about 100 yards away. One was in a black trench coat and black pants and was holding a TEC-9, the other was about 10 feet behind him and was wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans. They appeared to be together. The one in the trench coat was shooting, but Mike couldn't tell if the one in the white T-shirt was shooting or not. The trench coat shooter shot at the players on the soccer field, who ducked and ran. Mike looked back, and saw an explosion on the roof. He saw other explosions on the roof. He did not see anyone throw a bomb up there, but either of the two suspects he did see could have thrown a bomb to that location.
Knowing that both Harris and Klebold wore a trench coat for at least some of the time, and having no other characteristics than a media-hyped gun description, it could quite easily have been either of them in the trench coat.
The white T-shirt and blue jeans suspect is not seen with a gun, but is present when the bombs explode on the roof.
Jason Brehm (page 71
On 5/5/99, Jason give the following information: Jason walked out the West main doors, and saw a figure in a black trench coat, leaning against a post outside the library North door. This person was a little shorter than 5'11", with a round face, and was not Eric or Harris. This person had a black hat turned backward, black boots, and one pants leg tucked into a boot. This person also has a large, full, black nylon bag with straps at his feet. Jason walked to the soccer field, heard firecrackers, and turned around. He turned, and saw the guy in the trench coat still there, with smoke rising beside him. He said this lone gunman walked down and back up the stair, shooting, then threw some bombs onto the roof, then ran back down the stairs and shot a different, louder gun, which Jason thinks was a shotgun. He thinks that was when Lance Kirkland was shot in the face. As Jason was running away, he saw a figure in a white T-shirt walking calmly from the parking lot towards the shooter.
Interesting that he got such a close look at the figure by the post, and identifies him as someone other than Eric and Dylan. Yet this merits no follow-up interviews, or photo lineups, or any interest whatsoever from the investigators.
Sure, this person saw after the "firecrackers" may not have been the same person he walked right by. But it could have. More importantly, this person may have been at least an accomplice, helping to carry in the explosives or something.
That said, the investigators probably saw this testimony as hopelessly muddled, in that Jason ascribes to one shooter all the activities that the other witnesses ascribe to two or more shooters.
But, again note the appearance of a person in a white T-shirt.
J-u-s-t-i-n Woods (page 126
J-u-s-t-i-n was on the soccer field, and states that he was about 50 feet away, and saw two guys come out of the West entrance of the school. He identifies one shooter as Dylan, describes him as wearing a trench coat, a black hat, and no mask, carrying a handgun with a banana clip. He says that the other suspect wore a white shirt, black pants, boots, not hat, no mask, and more clean-cut that the other. This suspect had a shotgun, leaned against the fence and shot at people. J-u-s-t-i-n and the other people on the soccer field were being shot at by Klebold as the ran away. He heard explosions, and saw smoke on the roof of the school.
So, while he did not indicate a third suspect, he does corroborate that bombs were thrown onto the roof, and does not indicate that Eric or Dylan did it.
Bryan Stepp 1179
On 4/30/99, Bryan stated that he was playing soccer, and saw two guys near the West main entrance. One was wearing all black, black cargo pants, black trench coat, and a hat. The other suspect was wearing a black trench coat and a white shirt, and a hat. He saw the first suspect bend down and light fireworks or pipe bombs. When he stood up, Bryan could see he held a gun with a banana clip. He said that someone walked out of the West entrance door, and this suspect shot at this person, who then fell down. Bryan said that this suspect shot at students down the hill from him, and they all ran away except one, then the shooter shot at the student in the soccer field, who fled. When Bryan looked again, he heard explosions and saw smoke above the roof of the school. He also saw the banana-clip shooter shoot out the windows in the double doors of the West main entrance, then both shooters walked down the stairs toward the cafeteria, where they shot out a window.
While there is no mention of a 3rd suspect, it is quite interesting to note that the official story does not have a casualty for a person being shot as they exit that door. Nor does it have Harris going down the stairs with Klebold. The official story also has Harris as the person shooting down the hill, and shooting out the door windows.
And, he does corroborate that bombs were thrown onto the roof, and does not indicate that it was Eric or Dylan.
Evan Vitale (page 1243)
On 4/20/99, Evan stated that he was in the Sr. parking lot, in a car that was about to leave school. He heard a "pop pop pop" and looked, and saw a kid on the top of the hill, shooting a rifle, about 30 shots. This gunman was wearing a white T-shirt, a trench coat, black pants, had dark hair and dark skin. He saw another individual in a dark trench coat, a black ball cap worn backwards, and long, blond hair, who was running up and down the stairs outside the West side of the cafeteria.
On 5/11/99, he is interviewed again. The officer notes that Evan mentions being interviewed before, but the office is unable to find that interview using the FBI's Rapid Start tracking system.
Evan gives a little more detail -- the gunman on the hill is now stated to be a white male, whose face he could not see. This shooter was resting his long gun on the fence as he shot it toward the grassy areas by the cafeteria. He was wearing a white shirt, black pants, and had dark hair or a dark hat. The other suspect, who was running up and down the stairs, was wearing black pants, a black shirt, a black trench coat, and a black ball cap, backwards. He did not see this person carrying a gun, but states that this person was Dylan Klebold. Then, as the car began pulling out, Evan noticed a third suspect. This person was stand by the wall next to the West side of the cafeteria. This suspect was holding a pump shotgun, and wore a white shirt and black pants. He was very sure this was not Dylan. Evan did not believe it possible for this suspect to be the same as the shooter on the hill, as it seemed that this would have required this person to move too far too fast.
Between 10/18/99 and 11/9/99, Evan missed 5 interview appointments.
On 11/16/99, Evan was interviewed again, because he had described a possible third shooter. Evan recounts the exact same events and details. Evan says that third shooter may have been Eric Harris, having since seen photos of him. The officer points out that Evans account leaves time for the uphill shooter to have moved down hill. Evan agrees that this could be possible. The investigator, apparently satisfied with Evan's answers, ends the interview.
So, could that third, shotgun-wielding shooter have been Harris? Conceivably, but the official timeline does not place Harris in that location -- then, or at other time. So, either it WAS a 3rd shooter, or the timeline is wrong. Or BOTH! How, exactly, does this make for a satisfactory conclusion for the investigator?
Trent Karnes (page 911)
Trent was the driver of the car Evan Vitale was riding in.
On 4/21/99, he was in the parking lot when he heard what he thought was someone roofing. It was 6 or 7 rapid gunshots. He turned and saw a person at the top of the outside stairs, holding a rifle, leaning on afence, shooting down the hill at people. He was wearing a white dress shirt, black dress pants, and a thin black vest. Trent saw another person, in a black trench coat, black pants, long hair, and sunglasses. He saw this person running up and down the stairs, apparently looking at the victims between groups of shots by the first person. Trent estimated the distance at between 100 and 200 yards.
On 4/27/99, he gave another statement. He described the second figure as above, adding that he was about 6'2" or 6'3", his hair was medium brown and shoulder length, he was wearing a black leather hat, and possibly a white shirt. Trent says he does not believe this was one of the suspects shown on television, and that he had seen this suspect at school before, but not this year. He now estimates his distance as about 80 yards.
On 5/6/99, he gives another statement. He further describes the black leather hat as "either an English style leather cap with the kind of short visor that snaps or a ball cap. He did not see this suspect holding a gun. He does mention that the shooter was the shorter of the two. And, he now mentions that there was a kid wearing a white T-shirt and faded blue jean shorts, standing, watching and smiling. He thinks this kid was not part of it, only that he thought it was a joke, as apparently did the other people he saw smiling as they ran. Trent is shown a photo lineup, and he picks "#4" as possibly the taller guy with the hat and sunglasses.
Okay, Trent's description of the shooter with the thin vest is a very accurate description of Eric Harris's clothes. Very few other witnesses describe him in a white shirt, black pants, with a black vest. But is the second shooter Dylan Klebold? While he mentions a ball cap, it seems he really thinks it was a different type of leather cap. And, this person does not appear to have a gun.
More importantly, the photo lineup suspect "#4" is not named -- but everywhere else that a witness names Eric or Dylan, the officer notes that in the report. This can only mean that he ID'ed someone other than Dylan and Eric.
He mentions a guy on a white T-shirt and blue jeans, but shorts, not long pants, and he does not see him, or anyone else, throw any bombs. Is this the same person? It's hard to tell, but it does seem congruent.
Mindy Pollock (page 1093)
On 4/26/99, she gave this information to the FBI: She was about to get into Trent's car with Evan, whereshe heard firecrackers. She looked, and saw a man running up and down the stairs, and another standing at the top of the stairs shooting people. She thought is a skit. She described the running man as wearing black pants, black shirt, a black hat backwards, a black trench coat, and carrying a silver handgun, which she did not see him shoot. She described the shooter as wearing black pants, a white shirt, black suspenders, a hat, and a huge black gun.
On 5/4/99, she names gives additional information. For the running gunman, she identifies him, but the name is redacted. She states here certainty as an 8-9 on a scale of 10, and mentions knowing him from last year but not seeing him since. She describes the trench coat as black, mid-shin length, made of cloth, with no patches. The hat was a black baseball cap, backwards. She describes his face as long, with a pointed nose, looked like "a giant rat", and had a light complexion and a moustache. He wore black boots. She describes the other gunman as wearing looser black pants and black boots, a white dress-type shirt with front buttons, a red hat on backwards, and a long black gun.
On 10/8/99, she is interviewed regarding the ID of the gunman as "Redacted". The officer shows her more current photos of Dylan Klebold, and she agrees that this is who she saw, and that the handgun matches Klebold's weapon as well.
It seems rather odd that she can go from near-certainty that it was a "Redacted" to sure that it was Klebold. The description is very detailed, and matches Klebold except for the mustache, and perhaps the subjective facial descriptions. But the description of a silver handgun does not come very close to either the dark TEC-9 or the sawed-off shotgun that Klebold carried. Her description of the shooter that has tobe Harris is fairly accurate too, if you count the suspenders as a near miss on the black vest. The red hat is an odd note, though.
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Here are some other references to a suspect in a white t-shirt and/or blue jeans:
Loni Brown(724)
"Loni said that she saw a guy running up the hill during the shooting, and he was wearing a white t-shirt that possible had a design on the back, and maybe blue jeans. She said he had dark blonde/light brown hair with light streaks, cut short." (If she was right about the blue jeans, this definitely could not have been Harris, though she was unsure if he was one of the suspects.)
Tony Doty(777)
"He then saw a male in a white t-shirt and blue jeans holding a handgun walk from a corner near the cafeteria. ...he fired the handgun at him, and he heard the bullet 'whiz' by his head." Not Harris.
Autumn Hettinger( )
Before the attack "saw Klebold and Harris with a third party wearing a white t-shirt, talking. This individual stayed in the lot down between the cars during the incident.
Stefanie Haney(829)
Sees H&K and one other entering south, main cafeteria entrance at 11:10-11:15am. "Haney also described a third male walking with Harris and Klebold. The white male looked older than a high school student and she did not recognize him from any of the four years she has attended CHS. The unknown male was about the same height as Harris, his hair was dark in a kind of bowl cut and shaved on the sides. He was wearing a white t-shirt or v-necked shirt... with its sleeves rooled up one or twice."
Jessica Guertz(3134)
"Jessica said she saw two guys dressed in trenchcoats, and a guy in a white t-shirt possibly with them standing near the cement stairs. ...She thought it was strange that the three were standing so calmly, when everybody else was so panicked. The adult in the white shirt was tall and thin."(6')
Kent Friesen, teacher(5873)
Was in restroom, then obesrved two suspects walking in a sourthern direction who has just exited the library. ID'ed Klebold("he is certain"); shorter one wearing 'pale colored clothes"--white t-shirt, light blue pants, 5'9". H&K had been to his house. (The implication is that this other shooter defintely wasn't Harris)
Joey Marcotte(10010)
Describes white male, 5'8"-6'0" tall, real skinny, blue ball cap, short blond hair, white t-shirt with blood on it, ammo vest, baggy blue jeans.
Others:
Heidi Johnson(443)
In the library, said shooter had tan, black, and white cami pants and brownish blond hair, very short, like a crew cut. (The pants are an oddity, but the haircut reminds one of 'dark hair with blond spikes and shaved sides')
Al Martin(991)
Sees gunman come out of west doors, suspect wearing white t-shirt under black long sleeve shirt with light blue pants. 5'7"-5'8", 15-17, thin.
Michael Bogacz(5596)
"...he added that as he existed the building he saw a guy near the baseball field to the west wearing a white t-shirt carrying something in his hand, but he couldn't make out what it was. The strange thing to Michael was that the subject was not too concerned about getting anywhere very fast."
Sally Hocker(7511)
Onlooker in Clement Park, hears big explosion from CHS at 11:30am. At 11:31, noticed male, 17-18, white t-shirt, blue jeans, walking down the hill from the soccer field, away from the school. He was very calm, walking in a nonchalant manner. "She then observed two, slightly older males(19+) walking northbound on a path leading out of a housing-area greenbelt." They were wearing all black with short black coats. The three met and talked briefly. "According to Hocker, the meeting appeared to be prearranged and very matter-of-fact. ... the three parties were very calm, showing no emotion."
JC-001-012984
Lisa(Armstrong) reported to Det. Demmel that on Tues. the 20th at about 7:15a.m. in the morning that she was driving by Columbine High School on Pierce St. when she observed a young man 19 to 20 years old, 6' -6'2" who was heavy and overweight with blue eyes, short brown hair--a buzz cut--and no hat. The party was wearing a trench coat, light(blue?) jeans, didn't look like a student and really stood out. Lisa observed the party as he walked west across Pierce St. with other students around him but she said he seemed to be in a daze and by himself.
[Comment: This sounds a lot like the white t-shirted bomber]
Labels: Columbine
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