LITTLETON — Jefferson County investigators are casting a wide net around several people who may have been connected to the bloody siege at Columbine High School that left 15 people dead one week ago.

Authorities are focusing on three camouflaged teenagers apprehended shortly after the Columbine High School shootings as possible conspirators who may have planned to join the carnage, Jefferson County Sheriff John P. Stone said late Tuesday.

It was also confirmed Tuesday that two of the guns used by Trench Coat Mafia members Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, in the April 20 siege were purchased by an 18-year-old female friend of Klebold's.

However no arrests have been made and no one has officially been labeled a suspect. Authorities have also upped the count of bombs found from 30 to more than 50. The bombs were found in the school, campus parking lot and bedroom of one of the shooters.

For the first time, sheriff Stone laid out the timeline for the attack and details of authorities' "best leads" on the three possible conspirators.

"They were in combat fatigues. They said they heard it on the radio. Well, it wasn't on the radio at that time," Stone told The Associated Press.

While the drama unfolded on national television, the three young men in dark jackets were stopped by deputies. They were frisked and taken off for interrogation. The men carried no weapons.

Inside the school, Harris and Klebold killed 12 classmates and a teacher before turning their guns on themselves.

The three young men, who knew the gunmen and had previously been associated with the "Trench Coat Mafia," have maintained their innocence. Investigators tested them for gun residue after the shootings and found no evidence that they had fired guns.

All three students were able to name the gunmen — before the names had been released, Stone said. One of them had been expelled from Columbine High School, he said.

Stone also said the two gunmen initially tried to escape through three separate exits, and killed themselves only after being turned back by deputies' gunfire each time.

Stone said a school surveillance camera captured "the entire carnage" in the cafeteria, where Klebold and Harris hurled homemade bombs and opened fire on terrified students.

Stone said the two gunmen then ran upstairs to the library where they caught many students studying during their lunch hour. The two then ran into the administration offices.

"They shot the hell out of the administration office, but apparently there was no one in there," he said.

A handwritten diary and detailed map found in Eric Harris' bedroom revealed the killing spree had been planned for year. The diary also indicated the gunmen planned to fly to Mexico or another country if they could escape, and kill themselves if they couldn't get out.

For a few brief moments Tuesday, a week after the shooting, time seemed to stand still as firemen, police, students, parents and people across Colorado paused at 11:21 a.m. to remember the day of carnage. Church bells tolled 15 times — one for each victim and the two gunmen. Televisions and radios fell silent for one minute.

Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson also visited the Columbine High School shooting scene on Tuesday.

Funerals for three more victims — Matthew Kechter and Kyle Velasquez, both 16, and Corey DePooter, 17 — were held. The Velasquez services drew 800 mourners, including Gov. Bill Owens.

Investigators, meanwhile, questioned Klebold's 18-year-old girlfriend, who is believed to have bought at least two weapons used by Klebold and Harris. Investigators want to know whether she knew how the guns were to be used.

Meanwhile, an employee of a local hardware store said he saw Harris purchase several barbecue containers of propane and bags of nails, screws and wires.

Investigators said the 18-year-old bought at least two of the weapons — a rifle and a semiautomatic TEC DC-9 handgun — at a Denver-area gun show in the fall. She has not been arrested, and authorities stopped short of describing her as a suspect. She has retained a lawyer and is said to be cooperating.

Generally, it is illegal to give a minor a pistol, and illegal to give anyone a gun with the knowledge that it will be used in a crime. Mark Paulter, chief deputy for the district attorney's office, said any arrest at this point would have to be made by an arrest warrant approved by his office.

It was also learned Tuesday that Columbine teacher and coach Dave Sanders, heralded as a selfless hero who may have saved his student's lives, died as two SWAT teams officers were carrying him out of the building in a chair.

Some have said Sanders would not have bleed to death had the SWAT team acted more quickly. A Westminster police officer who has been at the forefront of the criticism has been put on paid leave for a week and has since written an apology. The department's chief said the suspension is only meant to allow the officer time to cool off and that the time off is not meant as punishment.

Camera wire services contributed to this report.

April 28, 1999

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