Chris Morris

On April 20, 1999, Christopher Richard Morris, good friend of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, was identified as a suspect in the Columbine shooting by multiple witnesses.

Morris can be seen in news footage, in handcuffs, being escorted to an interview vehicle wearing a black South Park t-shirt. Morris called the police from his friend Cory Friesen's house, to tell them who he thought the shooters were, and they decided to come to the house to pick him up for questioning. Although it's been speculated that Morris was never arrested and was merely detained, page 10810 of his interview shows that he was arrested. The "Custody Classification" is marked "Arrest" and not "detention or "Welfare Placement."

Morris was cooperative with law enforcement and allowed them to search his bedroom, take his computer, and take his clothing. Nothing of evidentiary value was observed. (10809)

On April 24, 1999, Morris called Philip Duran on behalf of law enforcement to see if he could get him to admit to selling a gun to Harris and Klebold. Duran didn't confess during the call, but did confess later. A transcript can be found in Morris' interview on page 10813.

Interviews with Chris Morris

List of documents where Morris is interviewed

Details about Chris Morris:

Life details

• Born: June 9, 1981
• Brother: Marc Allen Morris
• Father: Gary Morris; a medical doctor since 1985.
• Mother: Darlene French; worked for the Cherry Hills Police Department. (11k, p.10804)
• Drove a 1985 red Dodge Lancer (11k, p.10802)

Legal details

• Attorney: John Richalano of Richalano and Ridley PC.

Work details

• Worked at Blackjack Pizza beginning in October 1996. (11k, p.10835)

School and Trench Coat Mafia details

• Met Harris and Klebold junior year. (10834)
• Claims to have started the Trench Coat Mafia (TCM) with Joseph Stair and Tad Boles. (11k, p.10834)
• Says he began wearing a trench coat his sophomore year. (11k, p.10834)
• Claims he stopped wearing his trench coat the previous school year. (11k, p.10804, 10840)
• Went to prom with his girlfriend, Nichole Markham and went to after prom with Markham and Harris. (11k, p.10836)

Personal details

• His AOL name was "Grunt257" and shared an AOL account with Chuck Philips. (11k, p.10807)
• Routinely wore a dark green beret that looked black, chains, a black trench coat, and sunglasses.
• He loved knives and was known to pull knives on people in fights and threaten people with chains.

Chris Morris on 4/20/99

Chris Morris' story

• Eric Harris was supposed to pick him up at 5:50 a.m. for bowling class, but never showed up and didn't call. (11k, p.10802)
• At 6:00 a.m., he gave up waiting for Harris and drove himself to the bowling alley. (11k, p.10802)
• The bowling lanes open at 6:30 a.m. and he likes to get there early to choose a good ball. (11k, p.10802)
• He never saw Harris and Klebold at the bowling alley. (11k, p.10802)
• He said his teammates were Nate LNU (Dykeman), Eddie Day, Terry Sabe (Carrie Sabey?), and Mike Paavilanian. (11k, p.10803)
• Nate Dykeman asked Morris where Harris and Klebold were and he said he didn't know.
• He and his team began bowling at 6:30 a.m. (11k, p.10837)
• Morris told different stories about how he got from bowling to the school. See: Testimony Discrepancies
• Had no first period class. (11k, p.10840)
• Skipped fourth hour acting class the day of the shooting. Told police (10837) and also Phil Duran he had been skipping that class for two weeks (11k, p.10824-5), but told a news crew in a video interview that he had been skipping that class for a month.
• After attending third period, at 10:15 a.m., (11k, p.10806) he drove to Cub Foods, bought a Mountain Dew and other items, and then drove to his friend Cory Friesen's house, arriving about 10:35 a.m. (11k, p.10803, 10807)
• Morris claims he and Cory played Nintendo for about 30 minutes to an hour, at which time, Cory's mother called and told him there had been a shooting at Columbine High School. (11k, p.10803)
• He and Cory tried to drive to the school and were blocked, so they went to IHOP to try to connect with friends. They didn't find anyone, so they drove back to Cory's house. Morris called his girlfriend, Nichole Markham, and she said she was at IHOP, so they drove back there. His girlfriend had already left, so they went to her house and found here there. She told them one of the shooters was "Dylan." They went back to Cory's house. (11k, p.10803)

What Morris told the 911 dispatcher

A portion of Chris Morris' 911 call contains crosstalk at a critical moment in the conversation. A researcher enhanced this audio and was able to make out most of what he said. The following is a transcript of what can be heard on this portion of Morris' 911 call.

Chris, prior to the crosstalk: "I hang out with them and I've never heard about this."

Also Chris, prior to the crosstalk: "I heard them talk about it once before. I thought they were my friends."

Dispatcher: "Did they tell you what they were gonna do?"

Chris: "No... (unintelligible) (says a word that ends with an "S" sound) they're gonna blow up the school and that was two weeks ago, and I, I didn't think anything of it, I thought they were kiddin' around."

Morris mentions the shooters having an AK-47. This might be because Phil Duran had told Morris they were all shooting an AK-47 at Rampart Range. Morris may have assumed this was the gun they bought from Duran. (10806) However, Morris also states he overheard two Blackjack employees - James and Billy LNU - talking about Harris and Klebold having purchased "an AK-47 or a TEC" from Duran. (11k, p.10839)

Testimony discrepancies

How did Morris end up in police custody?

Morris told a story that contradicts how law enforcement say they took him into custody.

Story #1: According to law enforcement, at 2:08 p.m., after being connected to a deputy by his mother, Morris made contact with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and was picked up at Cory Friesen's house by deputies from the Sheriff's Office and was interviewed. (11k, p.10797)

The investigator Morris spoke to (Acierno) told him to stay at Friesen's house and police would come talk with him. Morris told investigators the police arrived and told him to remove all of his property from his pockets. He did as he was asked, was placed in handcuffs, and was brought to Clement Park where he was taken to a van for questioning. After that, he was brought to the Sheriff's Office. (11k, p.10805)

Story #2: Morris told another investigator he tried to contact the Jefferson County Police Department multiple times and was unsuccessful, so he decided to go to Clement Park to tell them what he knew. When he arrived at Clement Park, he was detained by JCSO and later debriefed. (11k, p.10838, 10840, 10841)

Which is it? Did Morris drive to Clement Park and was detained? Or did police pick him up at Cory Friesen's house?

Was Morris at bowling? Did he bowl?

• Morris was marked absent during bowling class the morning of 4-20-99.
• Multiple witnesses saw Morris in bowling class.
• An average score was entered for Morris that day, indicating he was absent and did not bowl.

Knowledge of Harris and Klebold's activities

General knowledge

• Knew Harris and Klebold had been in the Diversion Program. (10807)

Knowledge of pipe bombs

• Knew Harris and Klebold had been making bombs for some time, and were reading the Anarchist's Cookbook. (11k, p.10841)
• Saw Harris and Klebold in possession of a pipe bomb and saw them blow things up at work. (11k, p.10804, 10805, 10836)
• Participated in detonating pipe bombs.
• Stated that a month before the shooting, Harris showed him the CO2 trip bomb he wanted to use behind Blackjack Pizza, but wasn't sure if he ever set it up. (11k, pp.10805-6, 10835)
• In a different interview, Morris said Harris had, indeed set up the trip bomb and he told him to take it down. In this version of events, the incident in question happened 6 months before the shooting, not one month. (11k, p.10841)

Knowledge of firearms

• Knew Harris and Klebold went shooting at Rampart Range with bowling pins as targets. (11k, p.10804)
• Knew Harris was trying to get someone to buy him a gun from a gun show. (11k, p.10806)
• Knew Philip Duran furnished one of the guns used in the shooting. (11k, p.10806)

Foreknowledge of the attack / condoning the attack

Did Chris Morris have foreknowledge about what Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were going to do on 4/20/99?

• He admitted to a reporter that two weeks before the shooting, he joked with Harris and Klebold about blowing up the school by detonating pipe bombs in the hallway. (video citation needed)
• He says one morning in bowling class, Eric asked him, "wouldn't it be fun to kill all the jocks?" Then, Eric suggested they should blow up the school's generators. (11k, p.10841)
• Two weeks before the shooting, he was seen with Harris and Klebold at the bank. While Harris and Klebold cashed their paychecks, Morris withdrew all the money from his bank account. Morris made a series of withdrawals that brought is balance from around $600 to $7. The last withdrawal occurred four days prior to the attack when he withdrew all but $7 from his account.
• Dylan joked about standing on the soccer field and shooting all the jocks.

Did Eric try to recruit Chris Morris, or was he 'leaking'?

Some people have speculated that Harris was attempting to recruit Morris to participate in the shooting by joking about blowing up the school and killing the jocks. Others have speculated that Harris was simply 'leaking'. Both phenomena are present in many mass shooting cases. However, Harris wasn't joking to Morris - he was joking with Morris. They were participating in the conversation as equals on the same page about how fun it would be to blow up the school.

Morris joked about blowing up the school

In a video interview, Morris admitted that he, Harris, and Klebold joked together about detonating pipe bombs in the school's hallways just two weeks before the massacre. (Citation). Laughing about blowing up the school and killing jocks was something many of the TCM associated did on a regular basis.

It's hard to believe that Morris wasn't also initiating these 'jokes' and laughing with the same desire to follow through. Morris was far more violent and threatening than Harris or Klebold had ever been. (Info here, swinging chains at people, putting Perry in a headlock threatening with a knife). He even told a driver's ed classmate that he wanted to run over his parents. (Tips, 13082).

Morris had a reputation for being violent, threatening, angry, and scary. Although, that's not how Morris was portrayed by the media, including in the book Columbine by Dave Cullen. According to the media, he was an innocent, naive kid who was just as shocked and upset as everyone else.

Chris Morris, according to Dave Cullen

According to Cullen, a month before the shooting, Eric decided he needed more manpower to expand his plans to include land mines and trip wire bombs to make his attack "bolder." This claim that Eric was trying to expand his plans or include land mines and trip wires in the attack against Columbine is unsubstantiated and is pure speculation.

From Cullen's book, Columbine:

"Expansion would require additional manpower. Eric began recruitment plans. Around the end of March, Eric approached Chris Morris. What if they strung up a trip bomb right there behind Blackjack? That hole in the fence would be perfect-- kids crawled through there all the time.

Chris was unenthusiastic. A bomb for pesky kids? Sounds a little extreme, he said.

Eric backpedaled. The bomb would not actually hit the kids, just scare the shit out of them.

No, Chris said. Definitely not."

Cullen's account of the trip wire bomb incident is problematic for three reasons:

1. There is no evidence that Harris and Klebold suddenly decided they wanted to use land mines in the attack a month before the shooting and needed more manpower to accomplish this goal.
2. In his timeline of events, Cullen lists March 20, 1999 as the date Harris tried to 'recruit' Morris into the attack. How did he get this specific date? Morris doesn't mention any dates. This date has been fabricated.
3. Cullen's presentation of the trip wire scenario is contextually twisted. Morris never said Harris approached him to see if he wanted to set up a trip wire bomb to stop kids from climbing through a hole in the fence behind Blackjack Pizza. Morris also never said Harris 'backpedaled' and said the bomb wouldn't hit anyone and would only scare them. This account is pure fiction. Morris tells two versions of this event, and neither match Cullen's account. Story #1: In his first story, Morris said Harris alone showed him the trip bomb and he told him not to put it up. (11k, 10806) Story #2: In his second story, Morris said Klebold and Harris had already set up the trip bomb and Morris told them to take it down. (11k, 10841) Although contradictory, neither of these statements support the idea that Harris tried to recruit Morris for the attack.

Which version of Morris' trip bomb story is true? Although it can't be proven, based on the vast discrepancies in Morris' two accounts, the most likely scenario is that Morris was involved in setting up the trip wire bomb with Harris and Klebold and told two different stories to investigators because he was hiding the fact that he participated. This is a common theme with members of the TCM.

Why does Dave Cullen insist on painting Chris Morris to be an innocent, naive kid who was swindled by people he thought were his friends? Why doesn't he mention any of the violence or behavioral issues regarding Morris?

According to Cullen, "Eric made at least three attempts to recruit Chris Morris, though Chris did not grasp that at the time. Some of the overtures came in the form of 'jokes.'"

“This is a standard recruitment technique for aspiring mass murderers, Fuselier explained. They toss out the idea, and if it’s shunned it’s a ‘joke’; if the person lights up, the recruiter proceeds to the next step.”

Although recruiting does happen, the problem with this assessment is that it paints Morris as an innocent bystander who was against violence and explosives, when he was actually an instigator and was the most violent of all the TCM members. You don't have to look too deeply to see that Morris was not being honest about his involvement in making and detonating bombs with Harris and Klebold.

There are numerous problems with Cullen's account of the shooting that are outlined on the Dave Cullen page.

Where did Morris go after bowling?

Morris told three different stories regarding his whereabouts after bowling class. Note that bowling ends around 7:20 a.m.

• Version #1: After bowling, he drove directly to Clement Park just before 8 a.m., and his car overheated. (11k, p.10803)
• Version #2: After bowling, he went to McDonald's and then ate his breakfast at the smoker's pit. Then, he drove to Clement park and his car overheated. After it cooled down, he drove closer to the school so he didn't have to walk so far. (11k, p.10803, 10837)
• Version #3: He went to McDonald's, drove to Clement Park, spoke with an unknown person next to him, then gave this person a ride to the Columbine parking lot. (11k, p.10837)

Unanswered questions and oddities

What was Morris wearing on 4-20-1999?

According to witnesses, Morris showed up to bowling class wearing a white t-shirt and flannel. People thought it was odd because he usually wore all black.

By the time he was arrested, he was wearing a black South Park t-shirt.

Witnesses who saw Morris in bowling class wearing a white t-shirt and flannel:

• Kristi Held, scheduled to play against Morris' team (11k, p.1922)
• Carrie Sabey, scheduled to play against Morris' team (11k, p.2150)

If these witness statements are accurate, that means he changed his clothes (at least his shirt and flannel) from a white t-shirt and flannel to a black South Park t-shirt without going home.

Morris emptied his bank account before the shooting

• Two weeks before the shooting, he was seen with Harris and Klebold at the bank. While Harris and Klebold cashed their paychecks, Morris withdrew all the money from his bank account. Morris made a series of withdrawals that brought is balance from around $600 to $7. The last withdrawal occurred four days prior to the attack when he withdrew all but $7 from his account.

Witnesses who mention Chris Morris

Witnesses who mention Morris in other contexts

Jean Christie - "...a party identified as Jean Christie, telephone [redacted], has a daughter who takes driver's education training from Master Drive. The daughter sits next to a male subject named "Chris" who apparently is a member of the "Trench Coat Mafia" and whose picture was in the Denver Post paper on this date, 04/22/99. The lead information further indicates that Chris has mentioned that he was going to run over his parents." (Tips, p.13082)

Unanswered questions and oddities:

• The Cub Foods receipt he claimed to have at Friesen's house to support his story was never recovered. (11k, p.10807)
• It's been said that Morris was adopted at age 5, but the police reports list Gary Morris as his natural father.
• Morris told law enforcement Klebold may have gotten his shotgun from his father because his father had numerous guns and was a hunter. This contradicts what Sue Klebold says about their family being anti-gun with no guns in the house.

Interesting tidbits about how the police obtained evidence from the Morris residence:

• Chris' mother already had his computer unplugged and waiting by the door for police when they arrived at their home to perform a search.(11k, p.10808)
• Morris' brother provided the police with the clothing Chris was wearing that day and told police that every bit of Chris Morris' clothing he was wearing this date was in the paper sack. (11k, p.10808)

Additional tidbits

Although it has been reported that Chris Morris has a long rap sheet full of arrests beginning at age 7, it's not true. This belief came from misreading someone else's arrest records that were included in Morris' testimony.

The Chris Morris from Columbine has the middle name of "Richard," while the subject of the arrests dated 3/31/89, 8/28/89, 4/16/92, 10/23/93, and 2/22/94 has the middle name of "Andrew."