Documents By Type:
Original documents > Shooters’ words
William Atchison · Aztec High School
Atchison Note #1 [1 p, 38 Kb]
Atchison Note #2 [1 p, 304 Kb]
William Atchison Online [61 pp, 249 Kb]

This document contains a selection of forum posts, comments, and journal entries believed to have been written by William Atchison, ordered chronologically and annotated. (Special thanks to Aysha Lonich, M.Ed.)

William Atchison’s FBI Interview (version 1.1) [37 pp, 630 Kb]

[SS.I 4.0] Early in 2016, William Atchison posted a comment in an online forum about “where to find cheap assault rifles for a mass shooting” (reported somewhat differently in different sources). This comment was flagged, and on 24 March 2016, two FBI agents visited Atchison’s home in Aztec, New Mexico. They spoke primarily with Atchison, but also with others, presumably his parents (as can be seen at the start and end of the transcript). Atchison admitted to his interest in school shooters but denied any intent to commit a violent act. Approximately twenty-one months later, on 7 December 2017, Atchison went to his former high school and shot and killed two people. This transcript has been newly edited and annotated for School Shooters .info. The attribution of speech may be unreliable (for instance, the first few speeches assigned to Atchison were probably spoken by one of his parents). For the text of Atchison’s online posts, see the document “William Atchison Online.”

Pekka-Eric Auvinen · Jokela High School
Pekka-Eric Auvinen Online [5 pp, 129 Kb]

This file contains three documents that Auvinen posted online regarding his likes and dislikes, his philosophy, and the justification for his school shooting. Though he never mentions Eric Harris, his writing quotes, echoes, and refers to Harris. In fact, his focus on “natural selection” is an imitation of Harris’s own writings.  

Pekka-Eric Auvinen’s YouTube Profile [3 pp, 219 Kb]

This contains some of Auvinen’s ideology, along with favorite books, movies, hobbies, and other information. 

Kenneth Bartley · Campbell County High School
Kenneth Bartley Note [1 p, 343 Kb]

This note was discovered approximately eight years after Bartley’s shooting. It is included in the document “Tennessee v. Bartley 2014.” The date the note was written is unknown.

Bastian Bosse · Geschwister Scholl
Sebastian Bosse’s Journal [5 pp, 48 Kb]

This includes his entries from 10 August 2006 until 20 November 2006 (the day of his attack).

Sebastian Bosse’s Online Journal [13 pp, 75 Kb]

This is Bosse’s LiveJournal page. It includes entries from 2 September 2004 through 15 August 2005 (in reverse chronological order).

Sebastian Bosse’s Website [3 pp, 422 Kb]

This is a translation from German of the content of Bosse’s website, consisting of his rant against the world.

Transcript of a Video by Sebastian Bosse (version 1.1) [1 p, 27 Kb]

This is a transcription of video Bosse made of himself ranting against the world (in English).

Sky Bouche · Forest High School
An Interview with Sky Bouche [4 pp, 419 Kb]

This is a transcipt of Sky Bouche speaking to reporters at the Marion County Jail on 20 April 2018, the day of his attack.

Robert Butler, Jr. · Millard South High School
Robert Butler, Jr.’s Final Message [1 p, 26 Kb]

In this brief message Butler blames the city of Omaha and his school for sending him down the wrong path.

Alvaro Castillo · Orange High School
Alvaro Castillo’s Journal [8 pp, 586 Kb]

This document contains excerpts of Castillo’s journal, in facsimile.

Seung Hui Cho · Virginia Tech
“Mr. Brownstone” [11 pp, 188 Kb]

This play was written by Seung Hui Cho while a student at Virginia Tech. The title is from a song by Guns 'N Roses and the play quotes the lyrics.

“Richard McBeef” [10 pp, 328 Kb]

This play was written by Seung Hui Cho while a student at Virginia Tech.

Seung Hui Cho’s Essay and Professor’s Letter [3 pp, 2.17 Mb]

In 2005 Cho wrote an essay and read it aloud in class, causing distress among the students and professor. This document includes the essay along with the professor’s letter to Cho in response to the essay.

Seung Hui Cho’s Fiction and Poetry [79 pp, 1.74 Mb]

This document contains short stories by Cho, along with his poem titled “a boy named LOSER.”

Seung Hui Cho’s “Manifesto” [4 pp, 42 Kb]

Cho sent what has been described as a “multimedia manifesto” to MSNBC on the day of his attack at Virginia Tech. This included 23 pages of photographs and text. This document contains the text. Cho identified himself in this document as Ax Ishmael, which is what was also found written on his arms in red ink (initially this was reported in the media as “Ax Ismail” or “Ismail’s Ax.”)

Ethan Crumbley · Oxford High School
Ethan Crumbley Journal Pages [1 p, 1.77 Mb]
Nikolas Cruz · Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Nikolas Cruz: Online Searches and Comments
Nikolas Cruz: Online Searches and Comments (Part 1) [22 pp, 8.09 MB]
Nikolas Cruz: Online Searches and Comments
Nikolas Cruz: Online Searches and Comments (Part 2) [12 pp, 4.58 Mb]
Wellington de Oliveira · Escola Municipal Tasso da Silveira
Wellington de Oliveira’s Suicide Note [1 p, 27 Kb]

This is a translation from Portuguese that appeared on many websites.

Dorothy Dutiel · Independence High School
Dorothy Dutiel's Suicide Notes [4 pp, 2.25 Mb]
Valery Fabrikant · Concordia University
Fabrikant 2009 Homepage [1 p, 34 Kb]

This was the homepage to Fabrikant’s website as of 2009 and perhaps later. The homepage is still there but it has been changed. 

Valery Fabrikant: “Am I Sorry?” [16 pp, 121 Kb]

Fabrikant defends his actions and presents himself as unrepentant for committing murder.

What Really Happened

Fabrikant wrote two versions of this document—a brief one and an expanded one.

Valery Fabrikant: "What Really Happened" (Brief Version) [2 pp, 30 Kb]
What Really Happened at Concordia University and How the Media Lied About It [85 pp, 299 Kb]

This document combines three files from Fabrikant’s website.

Robert Flores · University of Arizona
Robert Flores: Final Letter [22 pp, 524 Kb]

This is the letter Flores mailed to the Arizona Daily Star prior to his attack. 

Kimveer Gill · Dawson College
Kimveer Gill Online

This document contains Gill's pages from the site VampireFreaks.com. This material includes the results of online questionnaires he completed as well as his postings. There has been ongoing controversy regarding whether or not Kimveer Gill played the video game Super Columbine Massacre. Gill lists this as one of his favorite games on page 15 of this document. 

Kimveer Gill Online (scans of printed pages) [68 pp, 4.8 Mb]

These are scans of printed pages; the stray markings on some pages are mine (P.L.). In addition, in some cases words at the edges of the pages did not print and I have written them in.

Kimveer Gill Online
Kimveer Gill Online (electronic version) [52 pp, 446 Kb]

This document contains the text of Gill's postings. I found the document online and though the content is accurate, the format is not the same as in his actual postings. This document contains most of the same material as the scanned version, but with the advantages that it is easier to read and the content is searchable.

Eric Hainstock · Weston High School
Eric Hainstock: Letters [6 pp, 188 Kb]

After the attack, Hainstock wrote letters from prison to a journalist in which he claimed he did not intend to kill John Klang, discussed his father, identified as gay, and provided other information.

James Hancock · Madison Junior-Senior High School
James Hancock Note [1 p, 41 Kb]
Chris Harper-Mercer · Umpqua Community College
Eric Harris / Dylan Klebold · Columbine High School
Dylan Klebold’s Journal and Other Writings Transcribed and Annotated (version 1.2) [16 pp, 159 Kb]

Dylan maintained a handwritten journal. This document is a transcription of the journal and miscellaneous other writings that were found after his death, along with explanatory comments. 

Eric Harris Online [53 pp, 2.2 Mb]

This is a collection of pages from several Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) documents, including the 1997 and 1998 pre-attack records, as well as the massive collection of post-attack materials. There is some redundancy in these sources, but I have chosen to include different versions of the same content rather than choose one version over another. Note: immediately after the attack, someone posted a fake webpage claiming to be Eric Harris. As far as I know, any online content that is not included in the JCSO material is fraudulent. 

Eric Harris: Writings on His Childhood [7 pp, 170 Kb]

This document contains three school assignments in which Harris wrote about his childhood, highlighting the many fun times and pleasant memories he had of his younger years. 

Eric Harris’s Journal Transcribed and Annotated [11 pp, 83 Kb]

Eric kept a handwritten journal that was discovered after his death. This document is a transcription of the journal with explanatory comments.

A Short Story by Dylan Klebold [2 pp, 420 Kb]

This was written several weeks before the attack at Columbine. Dylan’s English teacher was concerned about the content and addressed this with him, his parents, and a guidance counselor, but Dylan argued that it was just a piece of fiction. The narrator in the story recounts witnessing a man kill multiple students. The killer is described as 6’4”, left-handed, and wearing a black trenchcoat. Dylan himself was approximately 6’4”, left-handed, and wore a black trench coat.

Themes in the Writings of Eric Harris (version 1.7) [8 pp, 91 Kb]

This document is a collection of quotes from Harris's writings, organized by theme. The themes include his preoccupation with being original and beyond all influence, his grandiose (at times god-like) self-image, his fascination with natural selection and destroying humanity, and more.

Transcript of the Columbine “Basement Tapes” [9 pp, 75 Kb]

In the weeks leading up to the attack at Columbine High School, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold filmed themselves talking about their violent intentions. The videos have been shown to a few people, but never released to the public. This description of them, along with some quoted passages, was compiled and posted online. It has been reformatted for this site. 

James Holmes · Century 16 Cinema
James Holmes Notebook [36 pp, 10.9 Mb]

This is a fascinating window into the perpetrator’s mind. It includes musings about life and death, self-diagnosis and description of mental and physical problems, preoccupation with killing, and plans for his attack.

Alex Hribal · Franklin Regional High School
Alex Hribal’s Letter [4 pp, 490 Kb]

Hribal cites Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold as influences. He also mentions Julius Caesar and Lenin.

Kip Kinkel · Thurston High School
Kip Kinkel’s Writings [3 pp, 53 Kb]

This document contains several pieces of Kinkel’s writings.

T.J. Lane · Chardon High School
2011: T.J. Lane’s Facebook Post [1 p, 449 Kb]

Lane posted this on 30 December 2011, approximately two months before his attack. 

Adam Lanza · Sandy Hook Elementary School
Adam Lanza: Two Personal Messages [6 pp, 439 Kb]

This document provides crucial information from Lanza himself regarding what appears to have been his first psychotic episode.

Adam Lanza’s Audio Recordings (version 1.1) [101 pp, 3.34 Mb]

This is an annotated transcript of Lanza’s recordings that he posted on YouTube in 2011–2012, but which were not discovered until 2021.

Adam Lanza’s Call to AnarchyRadio [4 pp, 428 Kb]

On 20 December 2011, Adam Lanza called in to John Zerzan’s talk radio program AnarchyRadio to discuss a domesticated chimpanzee that turned violent. 

Adam Lanza’s “Shocked Beyond Belief” Posts [38 pp, 559 Kb]

This document contains the text of every surviving post made by Adam Lanza to the forum “Shocked Beyond Belief,” under the username “Smiggles,” with commentary by Reed Coleman. To see these posts in the context of the complete discussion threads, see the document “Shocked Beyond Belief”: Complete Threads. (Special thanks to Reed Coleman.)

Adam Lanza’s Spreadsheet of Killers [4 pp, 62 Kb]

This is the spreadsheet (or part of it) that Lanza created where he documented information about killers. The file name as it was released to the public was colgam01. According to Reed Coleman, this is an abbreviation of “Columbine Game.” See “Adam Lanza’s ‘Shocked Beyond Belief’ Posts.”

Miscellaneous Writings by Adam Lanza

The following are assorted writings by the perpetrator.

“Adventures of Granny” (Adam Lanza) [29 pp, 1.73 Mb]

This document contains stories that Adam Lanza and a peer wrote in fifth grade at Sandy Hook Elementary School. 

Miscellaneous Writings by Adam Lanza
“Granny's Clubhouse of Happy Children” (Adam Lanza) [8 pp, 503 Kb]

This document contains stories by Adam Lanza written in fifth grade at Sandy Hook Elementary School. 

Miscellaneous Writings by Adam Lanza
“Lovebound” (Adam Lanza) [6 pp, 37 Kb]

This consists of notes and sketches of a screenplay. 

Miscellaneous Writings by Adam Lanza
“Me” (Adam Lanza) [8 pp, 45 Kb]

These pages contain Lanza’s writing on a variety of topics. 

Miscellaneous Writings by Adam Lanza
“Tomorrow” (Adam Lanza) [13 pp, 41 Kb]

These pages include daily schedules, Lanza’s comments about eating and weight, and a long list of words. 

Miscellaneous Writings by Adam Lanza
“Babies” (Adam Lanza) [2 pp, 21 Kb]

This is a strange piece about fear of babies attacking. 

Miscellaneous Writings by Adam Lanza
Transcript of Online Chat (Adam Lanza) [26 pp, 1.12 Mb]

This is a social media conversation between Lanza and an online friend. Lanza posted under the name “Smiggles.”

Miscellaneous Writings by Adam Lanza
Essay on Pedophilia (Adam Lanza) [35 pp, 355 Kb]

Lanza wrote a college application essay about pedophilia. 

Miscellaneous Writings by Adam Lanza
Marriage (Adam Lanza) [3 pp, 100 Kb]

Lanza’s comments on love, sex, and marriage. 

Miscellaneous Writings by Adam Lanza
Script (Adam Lanza) [23 pp, 674 Kb]

A script Lanza wrote involving six characters. 

Miscellaneous Writings by Adam Lanza
“Selfish” (Adam Lanza) [3 pp, 188 Kb]

Lanza’s comments about the selfishness of women. 

“Shocked Beyond Belief”: Complete Threads [1355 pp, 6.4 Mb]

This searchable document contains the entirety of every (extant) thread on the forum “Shocked Beyond Belief” to which Adam Lanza posted (under the name “Smiggles”). The threads are ordered chronologically by the date when Lanza first posted to each one; but keep in mind that he sometimes returned to threads again later on. To read his individual posts in order, please see the companion document Adam Lanza’s “Shocked Beyond Belief” Posts, which contains cross-references to this document. Version 2.0 includes newly discovered posts. (Special thanks to Reed Coleman.)

Marc Lépine · École Polytechnique
Marc Lépine’s Suicide Note [2 pp, 39 Kb]

I have not found any reproductions of Lépine's suicide note, but this document contains the text of the note in the original French and an English translation.

Gang Lu · University of Iowa
Myron May · Florida State University
Myron May’s Final Writings [25 pp, 892 Kb]

This document consists of pages extracted from the document “Florida State University Shooting: Police Report.” These pages include May’s account of himself as a “targeted individual,” a letter he mailed to multiple people, and other related materials.

Myron May’s Resignation Letter [1 p, 267 Kb]

This is May’s letter to his employer, dated 6 October 2014 (the day before his former girlfriend contacted the police out of concern for May’s condition).

Anthony McRae · Michigan State University, East Lansing
Anthony McRae Note [2 pp, 2.56 Mb]
Duane Morrison · Platte Canyon High School
Bryan Oliver · Taft Union High School
Karl Pierson · Arapahoe High School
Karl Pierson’s Journal [3 pp, 30 Kb]

Pierson’s entire journal has not been made public. These are the excerpts included in the “Investigative Report: Arapahoe High School” — also available on this site.

Anthony Polito · University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Content of the Envelopes [16 pp, 196 Kb]
Evan Ramsey · Bethel High School
Two Notes by Evan Ramsey [1 p, 28 Kb]

Evan Ramsey wrote two notes with the expectation that he would die in his attack. As it turned out, however, he decided not to kill himself. These notes were found after the shooting. 

Jose Reyes · Sparks Middle School
Jose Reyes’s Letters [2 pp, 1.43 Mb]

Reyes left behind two letters: one to his parents, and one to the teachers and students at his school.

Elliot Rodger · University of California at Santa Barbara
Elliot Rodger’s Journal (version 1.3) [56 pp, 696 Kb]

[SS.I 4.0] Elliot Rodger’s handwritten journal, covering the years 2010 through 2014, transcribed and edited.

Elliot Rodger’s Journal (Scans) [198 pp, 28 Mb]

Scans of Elliot Rodger’s handwritten journal, covering the years 2010 through 2014, in two volumes. For the edited text of the journal, please see “Elliot Rodger’s Journal Transcribed.”

“My Twisted World” [137 pp, 6 Mb]

This is Elliot Rodger’s autobiography. The document is exactly as he created it, except that we have added page numbers.

Matti Saari · Seinajoki University
Michael Slobodian · Centennial Secondary School
Randy Stair · Weis Market
“Andrew Blaze — Early Years Information” [3 pp, 10 Kb]

Stair created an identity for himself as Andrew Blaze. This document describes his social difficulties in childhood. 

“Please Read” (Randy Stair) [5 pp, 73 Kb]

This describes the cache of materials Stair left behind him, as well as some comments about his life and beliefs about what will happen to him after death. 

Randy Stair’s Journal [237 pp, 89.58 Mb]

Stair kept a journal from 23 November 2016 through 5 June 2017.

Randy Stair’s Website [2 pp, 437 Kb]

Stair created an alternate identity for himself as Andrew Blaze. This is the homepage of his website. 

Jeffrey Weise · Red Lake High School
Jeffrey Weise Online

These three documents are copies of Weise's online writings. “Thoughts of a Dreamer” contains journal-like entries. The other two contain his fiction. These two have overlapping, but not identical, content. These pages are included in the document that consists of printed pages scanned, but have the advantage that they can be searched. (The scanned pages, however, include material beyond these three files.)

“Thoughts of a Dreamer” [5 pp, 158 Kb]
Jeffrey Weise Online
“Blades 11” [59 pp, 424 Kb]
Jeffrey Weise Online
“Writer’s Coven” [19 pp, 264 Kb]
Jeffrey Weise Online (scans) [93 pp, 4.8 Mb]

This document contains Weise’s webpages, postings, and fiction. These are scans of printed pages; the stray markings on some pages are mine (P.L.).

Charles Whitman · University of Texas
Notes to Self, Letters to Family

Before his sniper attack from the tower on the campus of the University of Texas on 1 August 1966, Whitman murdered his mother and then his wife. He left letters for his brothers John and Patrick, and notes about killing his mother and wife. He was also in the habit of writing notes and inspirational thoughts to himself. A sample of this, along with a later comment (perhaps added the night of the murders) is included.

Letter After Killing Mother [1 p, 123 Kb]
Notes to Self, Letters to Family
Letter About Killing Wife [2 pp, 98 Kb]
Notes to Self, Letters to Family
Letter to Brother Pat [1 p, 82 Kb]
Notes to Self, Letters to Family
Note to Brother John [1 p, 57 Kb]
Notes to Self, Letters to Family
Notes to Self [2 pp, 54 Kb]
Jiverly Wong · American Civic Association
Jiverly Wong’s Suicide Note

Wong’s suicide note is dated 18 March 2009, but it was not postmarked until 3 April, the day of his attack. It is addressed to the news program “News Ten Now,” where it was received several days after the incident.

Jiverly Wong’s Suicide Note (facsimile) [2 pp, 5.5 Mb]
Jiverly Wong’s Suicide Note
Jiverly Wong’s Suicide Note (transcript) [2 pp, 411 Kb]
Luke Woodham · Pearl High School
Luke Woodham’s Writings [3 pp, 440 Kb]

This document collects several pieces of Woodham's writing. WARNING: this includes a graphic description of extreme cruelty used in killing his pet dog.

Aaron Ybarra · Seattle Pacific University
Aaron Ybarra’s Journal [7 pp, 4 Mb]