Daniel Steepleton

Daniel Steepleton

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Witness Location:

LIBRARY, INJURED

11k page report – Columbine witness testimony

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Steepleton, Daniel

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LAKEWOOD POLICE DEPARTMENT SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT

REPORTING AGENT: GEORGE MCGLYNN

CASE NUMBER: 99-39958

VICTIM: STEEPLETON, DANIEL

DATE OF REPORT: 04-21-99

OFFENSE: ASSIST OTHER AGENCY

INVESTIGATION:

On 04-20-99, Detective Hal Shucard and I were responding to the area of Columbine High School. We were requested by Sgt. Miller to respond to Swedish Hospital and interview victims of the shooting that had occurred at the school. Prior to our arrival at Swedish Hospital, we were diverted to Littleton Hospital. We arrived there at 1300 hours and were advised that three victims were currently in the emergency room.

Detective Greenwell was already on scene and was interviewing one of the victims, Stephanie Munson. Detective Shucard and I were directed to one of the emergency room care units where we met with Daniel­ Steepleton, DOB: 01-30-82. We observed that Steepleton’s clothing had already been cut off of him and that he suffered an injury on his left knee. Daniel Steepleton is a junior at Columbine High School.

Daniel Steepleton told us that he had been in the library at Columbine High School when he heard several loud bangs. He said that a teacher then came running into the library yelling, “they have guns.” Steepleton said that he then heard more shots. He said that all of the students either tried to run or hid under tables.

He said that two suspects then came into the library. They demanded that kids with white ball caps stand up. He said that he was then shot in the knee and fell to the ground. After he fell to the ground, he heard the students throwing, “bombs at people.” He said that he heard someone yell “get out” and he got up and ran out of the library.

Steepleton said that he knew the people involved, not by name, but by a gang they are associated with known as the “Trench Coat Mafia.” He said that one of the students that was shooting was Dylan. He described the two suspects as wearing long trench coats, with baseball caps on backwards. He said that he thought one had long hair. He said he believed he was shot from about a distance of 15 ft. and that he was shot with shotgun.

As Steepleton was taking cover in the library, he heard one of the suspects yell as they came in, “’this is for the four years of bull shit we had to put up with.” He said then one of them yelled, “everyone with a white hat stand up.” He said that they were both shooting at people in the library and couldn’t identify the person that shot at him, but he thought it was Dylan.

Steepleton said that after he was shot, he had gone down and was laying down with his head down and he heard one of the suspects yell, “stand up nigger boy.” Steepleton again said that he didn’t look up to see what was going on but then heard a gunshot. He then heard one of the suspects say, “I always wanted to do this” and then he heard them mention something about a knife. He didn’t look up to see what was going on. He said that

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throughout the course of time in the library, he heard the suspects yelling, “die… get on the floor.”

Steepleton said that the weapons that he saw included a shotgun, some type of automatic or semiautomatic machine pistol, hand-made bombs that had a fuse and duct tape that needed to be lit before they were thrown at people, and both suspects were carrying backpacks, which he believed they were getting the bombs from. Daniel Steepleton’s clothing was seized by the Lakewood Police Department.

The injury to his knee turned out to be a shotgun blast and three pellets were removed during surgery and turned over to the Arapahoe County Criminalistics unit. No photos were taken of Mr. Steepleton because he was taken to surgery prior to the arrival of Arapahoe County Criminalistics.

Other students and faculty that were on scene at the hospital were identified as Jennifer Doyle, Nick Foss, Steven Eubanks, Makai Hall, Stephanie Munson, and Joyce Jankowski. Jennifer Doyle and Stephanie Munson were interviewed by Detective Mike Greenwell. Makai Hall and Joyce Jankowski were interviewed by Detective Hal Shucard.

The other victims were interviewed by representatives of Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Department. Clothing recovered by the Lakewood Police Department and booked, came from Jennifer Doyle, Daniel Steepleton and Stephanie Munson. See Detectives Greenwell’s and Shucard’s reports for further information.

WITNESS LIST:

1. Steepleton, Daniel (01-30-82)

[REDACTED] Mother: Susan Steepleton                    

Father: David Steepleton, pager [REDACTED]

2. Investigator James Rasmussen

Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office,

5686 So. Court Pl.,

Littleton, CO 80120,

303-734-5101

3. Investigator Kevin Heaton

Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office,

5686 So. Court Pl.,

Littleton, CO 80120,

303-734-5101

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4. Investigator Paul Goodman

Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office,

5686 So. Court Pl.,

Littleton, CO 80120,

303-734-5101

5. Investigator Bruce Isaacson

Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office,

5686 So. Court Pl.,

Littleton, CO 80120,

303-734-5101

6. Lab Technician Laura Delong

Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office,

5686 So. Court Pl.,

Littleton, CO 80120,

303-734-5101

7. Lab Technician Diane Cloys

Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office,

5686 So. Court Pl.,

Littleton, CO 80120,

303-734-5101

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WITNESSES:

Dan Steepleton, DOB: 01-30-82

[REDACTED]

INVESTIGATION:

On 05-06-99, at about 1100 hours, Special Agent John Elvig of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and I interviewed Dan Steepleton at his residence. Steepleton is a student of Columbine High School. This interview is connected with lead sheet #DN1893.

I asked Steepleton to describe the events of 04-20-99. He stated he arrived at school at about 0725 hours. He parked in the junior lot, and then entered the school through the lower main entrance, which goes into the commons. His first class was at 730 hours, in Mr. Kritzer’s history class. His second period was math with Ms. Moore. Steepleton stated Ms. Moore is very picky about them paying attention when the announcements are aired. Steepleton remembers that there was a phrase of the day, but he didn’t notice what it was.

He asked a fellow student, who he believes was Cheryl Dell, what the phrase of the day was. She told him it was something along the lines of “You don’t want to be here.” Steepleton said, “That’s true.” Steepleton’s third class was chemistry with Ms. Miller. Fourth class was weights with Mr. Lowery. Steepleton said the class let out at 1105 hours. At fifth hour, Steepleton had lunch. For his lunch time, he went to the library.

Steepleton met Makai Hall in the Library. I showed Steepleton a diagram of the library. He indicated that he and Hall both sat at table #15. This was at approximately 1115 hours. Also sitting at that table were Corey DePooter and Austin Eubanks. Steepleton remembers saying hi to Crystal Woodman in the hallway outside the library prior to entering.

Steepleton stated they were sitting at table #15 for approximately ten minutes when he heard a couple of loud bangs. He said it sounded as if the librarian was hammering something into the wall. He could not tell the area the noise was coming from. He looked towards the librarian’s desk.

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Steepleton heard a woman yell, “Get down, they have guns.” As he began to get underneath the table, he looked out of the window. He could see a small group of perhaps five to six people running from the school grounds past the soccer field. Steepleton got under the table with Makai Hall, Patrick Ireland, and an unknown female described as being Chinese, with dark hair past her shoulders. He thought she might be a freshman.

Steepleton said the banging sounds were getting closer. He could feel the floor shaking. Directly underneath him is the cafeteria. He thought perhaps somebody was shooting at the ceiling of the cafeteria. Underneath the table, Steepleton was kneeling on his left knee, and to his left was Hall, and to his right was Ireland, and to Ireland’s right was the unknown female. Steepleton stated he was facing North and could see the Northwest section of the Library. Steepleton said Hall was looking down and continued to look down the entire time.

Steepleton looked around while underneath the desk. He could hear sounds getting closer. He thought the sounds were coming from the library doors and hallway. He said the sounds began to intensify. He began to hear yelling. He heard a male voice yell, “This is for the four years of bullshit you’ve given us.” Steepleton said bombs were going off at the same time, but no alarm had sounded yet. He heard voices, but he could not make out the words.

Steepleton heard a male asking a female, “Do you believe in God?” There was a short pause and the female said, “Yes.” There was an immediate gunshot and people began screaming. Steepleton stated he did not know the area that the two individuals were in when he heard the comments. He thought perhaps they were standing to the East of the library. Steepleton stated after people began screaming there were guns firing. Steepleton could hear a shotgun being fired and an automatic weapon being fired at the same time.

The first time Steepleton had a visual on the two suspects was when the two suspects were on the North end of the library. The two were standing at the East end of the computer tables. They then walked to the West. Steepleton described the gunmen as walking with a bounce and appearing very happy. I asked him to describe the gunmen.

He described the first gunman as being tall, wearing a long black coat, black boots, and a black hat on backwards. The gunman had fairly long hair, possibly blond. He was a white male, carrying a shotgun and a royal blue backpack slung over one of his shoulders. Steepleton stated he could not tell me which hand the gunman held the shotgun in. Steepleton recognized the gunman as a member of a group on campus

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known as the Trench Coat Mafia. He had seen this group around school but did not have classes with any of the members and stated he did not know them well enough to pick them out.

Steepleton described the second gunman as a white male, who was shorter than the first gunman. The second gunman had a long black coat on, black boots, a black baseball cap on backwards, short hair (unknown color), carrying an automatic handgun. The second gunman also carried an identical royal blue backpack slung over one of his shoulders. Steepleton could not remember which hand the second suspect held his automatic handgun in.

Steepleton stated it was his impression that the second gunman, who was shorter, was in charge of what was going on. I asked him how he got that impression. He stated that it appeared as though the shorter suspect took the lead, and the taller suspect would follow him.

Steepleton stated both gunmen put their backpacks on the East end of the computer table. He could not tell me if this was the North Computer table or the South one. The two suspects began firing their weapons for perhaps 10 to 15 seconds. The shorter suspect the said, “The cops are outside.” He then ran to the window and was followed by the taller suspect. The two began shooting out the West windows. Steepleton stated as the suspects were walking, they ignited some bombs and threw them.

Steepleton stated that the taller of the two suspects made the statement, “All the jock with white hats, stand up.” Steepleton was wearing a white hat. He stated he began to stand up because he thought the gunmen had seen him. He said he wanted to stand up so that the gunmen would not shoot the others at his table. Hall placed his hand on Steepleton’s shoulder and told him, “Don’t move.” Steepleton remained under the desk.

I asked Steepleton to describe the position people were in underneath the desk. He said Hall had his back against the East side of the desk and was facing inward. Ireland was facing North as Steepleton was. The unknown Chinese girl had her back against the West side of the desk and was facing inward. Steepleton described that there is an approximately 18” board running underneath the desk which separates the two sides.

He could see under that board. The individuals under that desk were mostly exposed. He could not remember exactly where the chairs were, but he stated that no chairs hampered his view of the suspects.

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Steepleton stated the fire alarm was now going off. People became very quiet and there was no screaming. He could hear the suspects laughing. After shooting out the window, the suspects began shooting at people and throwing bombs. He said both suspects returned back to the backpacks they had placed on the computer desk. He thought it was because they wanted to reload their guns.

Steepleton observed the taller suspect was in the desk area of the West side of the library. He stated this was Dylan Klebold. Although he had not known Klebold previously, he could tell from the news reports that the taller individual was identified as Dylan Klebold. He stated Klebold looked directly at him and smiled. Klebold then lifted up the sawed-off shotgun he had in his hand and shot directly at Steepleton’s table. Steepleton could not remember if the shotgun had one or two barrels.

After the shotgun was fired, Steepleton stated he noticed his left knee was warm. He realized then that he had been shot. Hall had an injury to his right leg. Steepleton described Hall’s leg as being “torn up.” At this point, Ireland reached over to help Hall. As Ireland tried to help him, Ireland’s head went above the desk. Steepleton heard another shot ring out, and saw Ireland go down. Steepleton could see that Ireland had been shot in the head. Steepleton did not know if Ireland had been shot with a shotgun or the automatic handgun. He stated both weapons were being fired at this time.

Steepleton stated that all the individuals under his desk were trying to play dead. As they laid there, a small bomb rolled underneath their desk. It landed on Steepleton’s upper right thigh. The fuse was burning, but Steepleton did not want to move for fear the gunmen would come over and shoot them. Hall saw the bomb that was on Steepleton’s thigh. Hall grabbed it and threw it toward the South wall.

While the bomb was in mid-air, approximately four feet from them, it exploded. Steepleton said the noise was so loud, the floor shook. I asked Steepleton to describe the bomb. He stated it was silver colored. The middle of it was thicker than the ends of it. There was a lit fuse on one end, and you could see that duct tape was on it. He described it as being a few inches long. After the bomb exploded, Steepleton shut his eyes and did not see anything more. He stated bombs were going off regularly during all these events.

Steepleton then heard one of the suspects say, “Stand up nigger boy.” The suspects were laughing. Steepleton then heard

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gunfire immediately after this statement. He could hear the suspects laughing. One suspect said, “Let me see your knife. I’ve always wanted to do this.” Steepleton stated when he heard the comment. He thought the suspect was cutting up a dead person because he heard no screaming after the statement. He then heard one of the suspects say, “Oh, that’s gross.” The two suspects then laughed. Steepleton could not say which suspect made which comment.

Steepleton said it became quiet in the library. He said there were still bombs going off, but they sounded further away, possibly in the hallway. He looked up and began seeing people getting up and walking towards the West door. He could still hear gunshots in the distance. Hall told him, “Let’s go.” Steepleton, Hall and the Chinese girl got up and walked through the tables to the West exit door.

Steepleton stated he felt bad that he did not help Ireland. He knew Ireland was still alive when they got up to leave the library. As Steepleton was walking through the library he stated he saw a dead person under a computer table. He dated when they got to the West door, it was congested with students trying to get out. He stated some were talking and some were quiet. I asked Steepleton if he could hear the different school bells because of the fire alarm being too loud. Steepleton estimated that the total amount of time that the suspects were in the library were 15 to 20 minutes.

Once outside the library, all the students ran behind a police car. He stated there were possibly 30 students behind the car with guns drawn, but he does not recall them shooting their guns. Another patrol car came up and began to evacuate them. He stated it took four or five trips to evacuate all the students. Steepleton stated they had also been behind a building in the field after having been initially behind the patrol car. I asked him if he could remember what students might have been behind the building with him.

He stated that Crystal Woodman, Austin Eubanks, and Steve Greenwood were behind the building. The students were taken to Clement Park and to a cul-de-sac in a nearby neighborhood. He stated Woodman saw Cassie Bernall being murdered.

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Steepleton stated the backpack he had with him on the floor by table #15 is a green Jansport backpack with side panels and a padded strap. Inside he has a calculator, model #TI83. His backpack also contained books, papers, and his reading glasses. Steepleton’s lock is #1472 near the gym. Steepleton stated that when he was taken to the hospital, medical personnel took his sandals, and he would like to get them back. He stated his sandals are a tan pair of Birkenstocks.

Steepleton’s injuries consisted of five gunshot pellets in the left knee and one shotgun pellet in the right shin.

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