The white t-shirt bomber
Several witnesses reported seeing a male in a white t-shirt and blue jeans tossing bombs onto the roof of the school's library at the beginning. Many people believe this was Eric Harris because at one point, Eric took off his trench coat and was wearing a white shirt underneath. While this seems to make sense, it doesn't fit what witnesses saw.
There are several good reasons to think the white t-shirt bomber was an accomplice and not Eric:
1. When the person in the white t-shirt was seen tossing bombs onto the roof, Eric was seen shooting.
2. Two suspects in trench coats were seen at the same time as the suspect wearing the white t-shirt tossing bombs onto the roof.
3. Eric was wearing a black bandolier with webbing over his white t-shirt and carrying bombs. Not one person who saw the white t-shirt bomber described anything over the white t-shirt. On the contrary, after Eric took off his coat, plenty of people noticed he was wearing something black over his shirt, including some of the people who witnessed him take off his coat.
4. Two key witnesses - Jacob Apodaca and Chris Wisher - related that they saw a total of 3 suspects, not 2. Police inaccurately summarized their original statements by making it sound like they only saw 2 suspects. Wisher stated two wore black trench coats while one wore a white t-shirt.
5. Wisher identified Chris Morris as possibly being the suspect he saw wearing a white t-shirt throwing bombs onto the roof. Morris was seen wearing a white t-shirt the day of the shooting and changed into his black South Park t-shirt at some point.
Morris was seen leaving the school from the teacher's parking lot at 11:40 a.m.
At 11:30 a.m., a suspect wearing a white t-shirt and jeans was seen walking away from that area of the school by two people, over the hill, into Clement Park, which is the exact path Morris would have needed to take to get to his car in the parking lot. The suspect coming over the hill was smiling, carrying a long, empty nylon duffel bag, and didn't seem concerned about the gunshots coming from the school.
Chris Morris is not a credible witness. His entire story is full of contradictory and irreconcilable holes.
Photos of where the bombs landed on top of the roof:
People who witnessed a shooter drop his coat:
Adam Thomas [11k., pp.1209-1219]
John Cook [11k., pp.754-759]
Dick strange [11k., pp.1193-1195]
Here are the witness statements related to this topic.
- Witnesses who saw a suspect in a white t-shirt and/or blue jeans
- Witnesses who potentially saw this suspect leaving the scene of Columbine High School
Witnesses who saw a suspect in a white t-shirt and/or blue jeans
List coming soon!
Witnesses who potentially saw this suspect leaving the scene of Columbine High School
Nancy Lindsey [11k, pp.976-980]
From Lindsey's interview:
"She told me that it was no later than 11:00 a.m. Nancy started walking around the lake telling me that she had a headset radio on and she was listening to KHOW radio station and it was about 11:15 a.m. when the radio station reported that there were two gunmen on the roof at Columbine High School with grenades."
"Nancy told me that she had just started up the walk path, which is just to the West of Columbine Hill where she stopped in amazement over the news report. After stopping, she turned her radio off and told me that she heard the sound of three gunshots coming in the direction of Columbine High School."
"While Nancy was facing East toward Columbine Hill, she observed a white male in his late teens, early 20's with brown hair, fair complexion, telling me he was average height, about 5'10", anywhere from 160 to 170 pounds, wearing blue jeans. She stated that the individual was about fifty yards away from her. She made eye contact with him and that he smiled at her."
"She said that in one hand he was carrying a large duffle bag, in the other hand he had a smaller type nylon bag about four feet in length, telling me that she had no idea what was contained inside the bags. I asked Nancy if she ever observed any type of firearm associated with this individual. She stated she did not. I told her that Special Agent Traver had documented in his report that the individual was carrying some type of a tripod and a canvas bag."
"She told me that she never saw a tripod, she just took it for granted that he was probably a photographer and he had camera equipment inside the bags. Nancy stated that the individual appeared to be walking toward the top of Columbine Hill, at which time Nancy turned and started walking back toward her van. I asked if she could tell me where the individual went. She told me that after she started back toward her van, she lost sight of the individual and has no idea where he went."
"Nancy was asked if she could provide any additional information reference a clothing description on this party. I specifically asked her if she observed this party wearing a duster or trench coat, dark in color. She told me that she would have remembered that and this individual was not wearing any type of a trench coat."
Sally Hocker [11k, pp.7510-7513]
From Hocker's interview:
"At approx. 11:30 a.m., as she was walking on the lower trail near Columbine Hill, she heard an extremely loud noise, and thought to herself the school's science lab had blown up. Approx. one minute later, she noticed a white male with dark hair, dressed in a white t-shirt and light colored blue jeans, walking down the hill from the soccer field, away from the school. (W)Hocker stated the male looked to be high school age, 17-18, and appeared very calm, walking in a "nonchalant" manner. She then observed two, slightly older males, walking Northbound on a path leading out of a housing area greenbelt. Both of these males were dressed in all black, with short black coats and black pants. She watched as all three individuals met and talked briefly. According to (W)Hocker, the meeting appeared to be pre-arranged and very matter of fact. She stated all three parties were very calm, showing no emotions. They paid no attention to her and were not bothered by her presence or the activity surrounding them at the school.
(W)Hocker stated she continued her walk, following a path away from the trio. After a short distance, she turned to see where they were and observed they had walked partially up the hill, toward the soccer field and were standing together looking toward the school. Shortly thereafter, she was advised by a park worker of the shootings at the school and returned to her vehicle and left the area.
(W)Hocker stated she never got close enough to the three males to distinguish any identifying characteristics. She did not see any of the individuals carrying objects, including weapons or duffel bags, but felt their calm, unemotional demeanor was very suspicious in light of the activities surrounding them."
Did Lindsey and Hocker encounter one of the Splatter Punks?
Both Nancy Lindsey and Sally Hocker seem to have seen the same young man walk over Columbine Hill toward Clement Park, although their recollection of the time differs and only Hocker reported seeing this young man interact with two other young men matching the description of the Splatter Punks.
Three young men who called themselves the Splatter Punks (Matt Nalty, Jim Brunetti, and Matt Akard) were arrested in a field adjacent to Columbine High School around 2:00 p.m. One was seen on the news being interviewed in a car next to Chris Morris.
They were initially considered suspects, but were cleared by law enforcement. However, many details about their story don't add up. For instance, they claim to have heard about the shooting on the radio, so they drove over to the school from the Broomfield area, which is a 30-40-minute drive. However, the two individuals Hocker saw around 11:30 a.m. match the Splatter Punks' description ("dressed in all black, with short black coats and black pants"). If those individuals were the Splatter Punks, and they took a 30-minute drive, they left long before the shooting was reported on the radio.
For information concerning the controversy around these individuals, visit the Splatter Punks page.
From Hocker's interview:
"She then observed two, slightly older males, walking Northbound on a path leading out of a housing area greenbelt. Both of these males were dressed in all black, with short black coats and black pants. She watched as all three individuals met and talked briefly. According to (W)Hocker, the meeting appeared to be pre-arranged and very matter of fact." (11k, p.7512)
From Lindsey's interview:
"While Nancy was facing East toward Columbine Hill, she observed a white male in his late teens, early 20's with brown hair, fair complexion, telling me he was average height, about 5'10", anywhere from 160 to 170 pounds, wearing blue jeans. She stated that the individual was about fifty yards away from her. She made eye contact with him and that he smiled at her.
I asked Nancy if the individual was carrying anything. She said that in one hand he was carrying a large duffle bag, in the other hand he had a smaller type nylon bag about four feet in length, telling me that she had no idea what was contained inside the bags." (11k, p.979-980)