The Survivors
Hear the stories of those who survived, how they were involved, and how they continue to move forward after Columbine.
Brooks Brown
Brooks was a childhood friend of Dylan Klebold. He met and befriended Eric Harris in middle school. The three of them became good friends, but throughout their high school years, Brooks and Eric’s friendship gradually became more aggressive and hostile, culminating in Eric throwing a huge chunk of ice at his car. After nearly a year of not speaking to each other, on that fateful day of April 20th, when Brooks confronted Eric about missing a test that morning, Eric said “Brooks, I like you now. Go home.” Those words would haunt Brooks for several years. To this day, he still doesn’t understand why Eric spared his life. He published his book, No Easy Answers, in 2002. Today, Brooks is managing his own video game company, NOR, which is making great advancements in the field of virtual reality.
Patrick Ireland
Often remembered as “the boy in the window,” Patrick’s escape from the Columbine library was captured on live television; as he dragged himself across the floor with several bullet wounds, the SWAT team outside was quickly able to catch him as he fell out a broken window. He stayed at a hospital the entire summer for spinal and cerebral rehabilitation. Had we waited for SWAT to enter the library, he most likely would have died. One of the bullets from the shooting is still in his brain. Today, he is happily married and has two daughters.
Greg Barnes
Greg was in the science room with Dave Sanders as he was bleeding out. As a student, he took the same creative writing class as Eric and Dylan. He was on the Columbine basketball team and was best friends with Matthew Kecther, one of the deceased students. The shooting took an immense emotional toll on him. On May 4th, 2000, Greg committed suicide in his garage. He is often considered to be the fourteenth victim of the Columbine shooting.
Austin Eubanks
Austin was in the library at the time of the attack, hiding next to Corey DePooter. He was treated for his wounds and was released from the hospital later that day. In the decades after the shooting, Austin struggled with opioid addiction as a result of his medication to treat his trauma. In his highs and lows, he traveled the country to speak about drug addiction and mental health treatment, giving his famous TED Talk in July 2017. Unfortunately, his addiction caught up with him, and Austin died of an accidental overdose in May 2019.
Kacey Ruegsegger
Kacey had just transferred to Columbine a few months beforehand, as her parents wanted her to be part of a “more positive environment.” She was in the library at the time of the shooting and was shot in the shoulder. When she cried out in pain, one of the shooters told her to “quit your bitching.” She laid down and pretended to be dead. She was part of the small group that escaped the library when the shooters briefly left; and was nearly trampled by other students who were in a rush to leave the area. A steel plate was put into her shoulder and she went through extensive physical therapy sessions. Today she is happily married and published her book Over My Shoulder: A Columbine Survivor’s Story of Resilience, Hope, and a Life Reclaimed in 2019.
Craig Scott
Craig is the younger brother of Rachel Scott. He was in the library next to Isaiah Shoels and Matthew Kechter. He led the initial escape from the library when the shooters briefly left to check on their propane bombs. On learning about his sister’s death, he became withdrawn and angry; their last conversation that morning was an argument that ended with him slamming a car door in her face. He doesn’t remember what that argument was even about. When he went on a mission trip to Africa the following summer, the one his sister was supposed to go on, he learned to let go of his anger and use this tragedy as a teachable moment for future generations. He helped found the organization Rachel’s Challenge, and, with the rest of his family, travels the country to talk to students about the life of his sister and the effects of bullying. To this day, Rachel’s Challenge has spoken to thousands of schools, and the organization has saved countless lives and prevented other school shootings.
Richard Castaldo
Richard was sitting next to Rachel Scott outside the school when the first shots were fired. He distinctly remembers Rachel crying before he blacked out. He was shot eight times and permanent damage was done to his vertebrae, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. He was the last of the injured survivors to be released from the hospital. He remains in a wheelchair to this day. He is featured in the 2002 documentary film Bowling for Columbine, in which he and fellow survivor Mark Taylor successfully convince K-Mart to stop selling ammunition. He later moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in game design. However, when his handicapped-enabled home was foreclosed in 2012, Richard became homeless for several years. Struggling with bouts of homelessness for nearly a decade, a Kickstarter campaign was finally started in 2021 to give Richard a permanent home.
Amanda Duran
Amanda was in the library at the time of the shooting. Though she wasn’t physically injured, the emotional scars left a toll on her. Her brother, Joe Stair, was also in the school at the time and was part of the infamous Trench Coat Mafia. While Joe was questioned by the police for years, his good name and reputation was tarnished and he committed suicide in 2007. Amanda loved her brother deeply; they bonded over video games and anime. She has detailed her experiences in the library and the years afterward on her YouTube series “Testimony of a Columbine Library Survivor.”
Andrew Robinson
Andrew was a senior at Columbine High. He wrote and directed the play that Rachel Scott starred in, The Smoke in the Room, that was put on two weeks before. He acted as a mentor and a role model to Rachel and her death affected him deeply. In 2009, he wrote and directed the film April Showers, a fictionalized version of the shootings based on his own experiences. He later went on to make two more films before retiring from the industry to focus on other creative projects. Today, Andrew runs a YouTube channel where he reviews current gadgets, TVs, smartphones, and computers.
Moving Forward
"What happened after the bullets stopped flying and the shooters were dead? Officials had to examine the evidence. The damages to the school needed repair. Healing was supposed to happen but for a lot of the people involved in the tragic shooting at Columbine, healing hasn't been an easy road--or a fast one. Some individuals have gone on to turn a tragedy into personal triumph while others never were able to put back together the fragments of their shattered lives." ("Life After Columbine")
​
Here, you can hear from the survivors and how they have healed over time. We recommend exploring the "Ripples of Columbine" series by Rocky Mountain PBS
