Eric Harris

Eric David Harris was born on April 9, 1981 in Wichita, Kansas and died on April 20, 1999 in the Columbine High School library. Eric was the youngest of two sons born to Kathy and Wayne Harris. At the time of his death, Eric's older brother, Kevin Harris, was 21 years old.

On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 13 students and one teacher at Columbine High School and directly injured twenty-one people. Their plan was to explode two 4.5-gallon LPG (propane) canisters in the cafeteria and shoot survivors as they fled. When their bombs failed to detonate, they stormed the school with two sawn-off shotguns, a 9mm semi-automatic Hi-Point rifle, and an Intratec DC9M semi-automatic pistol.

Eric's father was an Air Force pilot, which meant his family had to move frequently. These frequent moves had a negative impact on Eric and he lamented in his writings about always having to start over as the new kid in school.

In 1993, while stationed in Plattsburgh, New York, Wayne Harris was forced to retire because of cutbacks. A Colorado native, Wayne moved his family to Littleton, Colorado in July.

Eric's life before moving to Colorado

Eric played Little League baseball in Plattsburgh, NY, but he was an exceptionally timid player. His coach, Terry Condo, said, "he was afraid to strike out and let his teammates down. It struck me as him really wanting to fit in."

Eric's new life begins in Colorado

Eric began attending Ken Caryl middle school in 1993, where he met Dylan Klebold long before the pair had plans to blow up the school.

While attending Columbine High School, Eric would walk to school with his neighbor and classmate, Sarah Pollock. She remembers him being a nice kid, very polite, but a bit "preppy" and a "dork."