Security videotapes at school may show whether gunmen had help

By KATHERINE VOGT
Associated Press

LITTLETON — The governor toured Columbine High School today and emerged saying investigators were all but certain that the two gunmen had help from others. Police said security cameras may provide crucial evidence of a conspiracy.

"There are backpacks with bombs in there everywhere," Gov. Bill Owens said. "The officers in there are convinced there had to be more people involved. There's just too much stuff in there."

Time-lapse security cameras mounted throughout the school do not run continuously and each tape goes back about a week, said sheriff's Lt. John Kiekbusch. He said authorities had not yet reviewed the tapes and did not know if the cameras were running during the shooting.

"Ideally they would show the movement and also the actual placement perhaps of some of the explosive devices, prior to the incident," Kiekbusch said. "If that's the case we have got just very important evidence."

Officials returned to campus today to continue scoelp in assembling their arsenaent Clinton announced $1.5 million in federal aid to help victims pay for funerals, medical expenses, lost wages and counseling. In Littleton, students stayed away, frightened and mourning.

A total of 15 people, including gunmen Harris and Klebold, died in Tuesday's attack. Fourteen students remained hospitalized, including eight in critical or serious condition.

Explosives expert Sid Woodcock said propane explosives of the type found are "fairly sophisticated." Just one bomb "probably would have destroyed a good part of the school," he said.

"These subjects were not only on a killing rampage," said Sheriff John Stone. "They were going to burn the school up."

The bomb was set up with an egg timer, matches and a model rocket fuse, said Lawrence Bettendorf, an Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent. When the timer went off, it would trigger the match, which would light the fuse and ignite a gas can next to the propane tank, He said he didn't know why it didn't work.

Aside from the large bomb, searches have turned up more than 30 homemade explosives, including pipe bombs and crude hand grenades. More may still remain hidden, authorities said.

Two sawed-off shotguns, one 9mm semi-automatic rifle and one semi-automatic handgun also have been found.

hem, Bettendorf said.

Meanwhile, documents said court-ordered evaluations of the suspects, compiled three months ago after they were caught breaking into a van last year, called Harris "a bright young man who is likely to succeed in life" and found Klebold had "a great deal of potential."

Klebold and Harris, members of the disaffected "Trenchcoat Mafia" at Columbine High, finished a juvenile court program successfully in February, clearing their records. The county district court released copies of the documents, but blacked out the officer's name.

District Attorney Dave Thomas today said he was worried about the court officer who handled the evaluation, though he believed he did the best job he could do.

"He's anguishing over what happened here," Thomas said. "He's a very dedicated, committed public servant."

Columbine will be closed indefinitely. Other schools in the district reopened Thursday to tight security.

At rival Chatfield High School, jittery staff and students walked past armed guards to enter as classes reconvened. At one point, two bomb squad trucks sped to the school after an unattended backpack was found. Students needed parental permission to leave.

"You can't even go to the bathroom without permission, and then they time you," lamented Holly Bernside, 15.

Jefferson County school administrators began trying to return normalcy to Columbine students' lives by scouting for alternative class sites and planning events like graduation.

"The students are saying, 'We want to be back together. We want to be in school. We want to be with our teachers,'" said Superintendent Jane Hammond. Hammond said students will return to the same school building next fall.

Investigators were questioning would ju crisis lifting. Teachers trickled in to retrieve their cars; an investigator rescued 30 baby chicks and a lizard from a science lab.

A mile away, Attorney General Janet Reno commiserated with relatives and community leaders as family members prepared for a weekend of memorials.

"This is not something that is dealt with in a day or a week or a month," Reno said. "This, as we have learned from Oklahoma City and other tragedies, is something that must be dealt with over time, and we are in this for the long haul."

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