Audio recording of columbine library voice

On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shot and killed twelve students and one teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. During the incident, substitute teacher Patty Nielson placed a call to Jefferson County 911 emergency. She was in the library when she placed the call, hiding behind the circulation desk near the hall doors.

The phone call lasted 26 minutes. During the call, noises including gunshots, explosions, screaming, and yelling can be heard. The initial backround noises heard come from the hallway just outside of the library. Four minutes and ten seconds into the call, Harris and Klebold entered the Library and begin shooting. They left the Library eleven minutes and forty-five minutes into the call. The remaining gunshots and explosions heard on the tape occur in the Cafeteria, Science classroom area or the hallways of the school.

You can find the full audio here — as much as has been released to the public. The sound cuts out at 5:22 where the audio was redacted before it hit the public. It picks up again at 8:11. WARNING! The end includes the heart-wrenching screams of Valeen Schnurr which are incredibly disturbing to hear.

NOTE: The timestamps for this dispatch transcript are a little over 3 minutes faster than what is shown on the Columbine High security camera footage. For years, researchers (and this site) have used the security camera timestamps to specify event times. So, if you spot a discrepancy in the time the FBI documents state something happened and what the CCTV footage shows or what's listed in other references, try adding 3-4 minutes to those timestamps.

This portion of the transcript was pieced together from reports that leaked after the official declassified information.

11:27:47 911 operator Renee Napoli answers the call: Jefferson County 911.

11:27:51 NIELSON: Yes. I am a teacher at Columbine High School. There is a student here with a gun. He has shot out a window. I believe one student—uh. um. um. I've been— I don't know if it's. I don't know what's in my shoulder, if it was just some glass that went through it or what.

NAPOLI: Has anyone been injured, ma'am?

NIELSON: Yes! Yes! And the school is in a panic and I'm in the library. I've got— Students down! UNDER the tables, kids!! Heads under the tables!!

NIELSON: Um. Kids are screaming. The teachers, um, are, y'know, trying to take control of things. We need police here. We need—

NAPOLI: Okay. We're getting them there.

NIELSON: We need police here. We need them fast.

NAPOLI: Who is the student, ma'am?

NIELSON: I do not know who the student is. I saw a student outside, I was in the hall—

[distant explosion that shakes the floor]

0:43 11:28:34 NIELSON: Oh, dear God!

NIELSON: Okay! I was on hall duty. I saw a gun.

0:47 11:28:38 SHOT

NIELSON: I said, 'What's going on out there?' and this kid that was following me from Video Production said it was probably a joke, and I said 'Well, I don't think that's a good idea.' and I went walking outside to see what was going on. He pointed the gun straight at us and shot and—my God! The window went out and the kid standing there with me, I think he got hit.

NIELSON: I have something in my shoulder.

NAPOLI: Okay. We've got help on the way, ma'am.

1:06 12:28:57 TWO SHOTS [in the hall outside the library]

1:07 11:28:58 NIELSON: OH, God!

NAPOLI: Stay on the line with me.

[two more shots from the hall]

1:12 11:29:03 NIELSON: Kids, just stay down!

NAPOLI: Do we know where he's at?

NIELSON: I'm sorry?

NAPOLI: Do we know where he's at?

1:17 11:29:08 NIELSON: Okay. I'm in the library. He's upstairs. He's right outside of here.

NAPOLI: He's outside?

NIELSON: He's outside of this hall.

NAPOLI: Outside of the hall or outside—

NIELSON: He's in the hall.

NIELSON: I'm sorry. There are alarms and things going off… There's smoke… My God, smoke is, like, coming into this room.

NIELSON: I've got the kids under tables here. I don't know what's happening in the rest of the building.

NIELSON: I don't know— I'm sure someone else is calling 911.

NAPOLI: Yes, we’ve got a lot of people on. Okay. I just want you to stay on the line with me, I- we need to know what's going on.

1:40 11:29:31 NIELSON: Okay. I am on the floor—

NAPOLI: Okay. You've got the kids there?

NIELSON: —in the library. And I've got every student in this library—

1:48 11:29:39 NIELSON: ON THE FLOOR! You guys STAY ON THE FLOOR!

NAPOLI: Is there any way you can lock the doors?

[another explosion in the hall]

NIELSON: Um, smoke is coming in from out there and I'm a little—

1:50 11:29:41 SHOT

1:51 11:29:42 2 SHOTS

1:52 11:29:43 3 SHOTS

1:53 11:29:44 NIELSON: The gun is right outside the library door, okay? I don't think I'm going to go out there. Okay? I've got—I've got three children of my own. Okay?

NIELSON: Um. I'm not going to go to the door. He just shot towards the door. Okay? I've got the kids on the floor, um. I got all the kids in the library on the—

[dispatcher on another call assures the male caller they have fire and police heading to the scene]

NIELSON: Okay. Okay. It's just that— I mean he's—He's— I—I can't believe he's. not out of bullets! He just keeps shooting and shooting and shooting!

NAPOLI: Okay. We've got a police officer on scene.

NIELSON: —I went out to talk to him. I thought it was.

NAPOLI: Okay. Just try and keep the kids in the library calm.

NAPOLI: Is there any way you can block the door so no one can get in?

NIELSON: I—I do—I do not—

2:26 11:30:17 SHOT

2:30 11:30:21 NIELSON: I. yeah. I guess I can try to go but, I mean, like, he's right outside that door. I'm afraid to go over there.
NAPOLI: That's okay.

NIELSON: That's where he is.

NIELSON: I'm afraid to go there. Okay?

NAPOLI: That's okay.

2:45 11:30:36 NIELSON: Okay. I told the kids to get on the floor. I told them to get under the tables. All of the children are on the floor under the tables. Um. um. Yeah, they're all under the tables.

NAPOLI: Okay. As long as we can just try and keep—

NIELSON: And— and I just— everyone is staying calm. No one is saying a word.

NAPOLI: Okay. As long as we can keep everyone there as calm as we can.

2:54 11:30:45 YELLING

NIELSON: I hear some yelling out there going on right now.

NAPOLI: Yeah, we've got alarms going off now as well.

3:00 11:30:51 NEILSON: Yeah. There's alarms. This room is filled with smoke.

NAPOLI: Keep everyone low to the floor.

3:05 11:30:56 NIELSON: Yeah. Yeah. Everyone's. um. Everyone stay on the floor! Stay on the floor. Stay under the tables. Um. I. I don't know. I—

NAPOLI: Okay, I know. Just—

NIELSON: I don't know. I didn't.. I said "What— what has that kid got?" He was outside at the time. And— and— and— um. I was on hall duty. And a student c—

3:28 11:31:19 LOUD EXPLOSION/GUNSHOT

3:30 11:31:21 NEILSON: Oh, God! Um. He— he was crying, he was, like, going: "Woo-hoo-hoo!"

3:37 11:31:28 NIELSON: —are getting shot off. I do not know who the student was. I don't even think I saw him—

3:40 11:31:31 SHOT

3:42 11:31:33 NIELSON: He was wearing black. He didn't look very large. Um. Male student. Um. He was out there shooting.

3:34 11:31:40 EXPLOSION

NIELSON: It looked like he was climbing out shooting and somebody— I said "What is that?".

NIELSON: I said "What's going on out there?" They brought a cap gun. Probably for a video production, you know, they do these videos.

NIELSON: And the kids. Well. That's not, you know, a play gun, a real gun. I was goin' out there to say "No.". And I went walk—

4:05 11:31:56 EXPLOSION

4:06 11:31:57 NIELSON: Oh, my God!! That was really close! That just rattled me.

4:08 11:31:59 DYLAN KLEBOLD: GET UP.

4:10 11:32:01 SHOT [Eric Harris fires his shotgun at Evan Todd]

NIELSON: [whispering] Oh, God. I'm really. frightened. [Unintelligible]

4:12 11:32:03 SHOT [Eric's second shot at Evan]

NIELSON: I think he's in the library.

NAPOLI: What's your name, ma'am?

NIELSON: [whispering] My name is Patti Nielson.

ERIC HARRIS: Everybody get up! NOW!

NIELSON: [whispering] He's yelling "Everybody get up" right now.

HARRIS: Stand up right NOW! Or we'll blow your fucking heads off!

4:22 11:32:13 SHOT [Dylan shoots Kyle Velasquez with his shotgun]

NIELSON: He's in the library. He's yelling everybody get up right now.

4:26 11:32:17 SHOT [Dylan shoots Kyle again]

NIELSON: [continues to speak but her words are lost under the gunfire and alarms]

4:31 11:32:22 NAPOLI: Okay. [She then radios out to officers] I have him in the library shooting at students and the lady that I have in the library on the phone.

NAPOLI: Okay. Try to keep as many people down as you can.

Rapid-fire gunshots and dispatch noise drown out Patti's whispered words.

NAPOLI: Do you know who he is?

NIELSON's words are lost in the chaos and gunfire.

4:36 11:32:27 YELLING "WOO"

4:40 11:32:31 SHOT

4:44 11:32:35 SCREAM

5:04 11:32:55 SHOT [distant]

5:10 11:33:01 SHOT [close]

5:15 11:33:06 SHOT

5:29 11:33:20 SHOT

5:30 11:33:21 SHOT

5:34 11:33:25 SHOT

5:34 11:33:34 YELLING "YEAH"

F.B.I. 07/16/99 DECLASSIFIED 01/15/02

6:09 1134 HRS
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6:15 SHOTS FIRED-HARRIS SHOOTING BERNALL [Though this is what the transcript said, forensics later showed this is when Klebold shot at table 15]
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6:23 SHOTS FIRED-HARRIS SHOOTING AT TABLE 15 [This is when Harris shot and killed Steve Curnow]
6:24 11:34:15 YELLING "YAHOO"
---
7:09 1135 HRS
7:10 11:35:01 DISPATCH ADVISES THEY LOST RP [reporting party]
---
7:17 11:35:08 SHOT
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7:23 11:35:14 UNKNOWN NOISE
7:24
7:25
7:26 11:35:17 SHOT
---
7:38 11:35:29 SHOT
7:39
7:40 SHOT "OH" KLEBOLD SHOOTING
7:41
7:42 11:35:33 SHOT KLEBOLD SHOOTING SCHNURR
7:43
7:44 SHOT "REB" VOICE KLEBOLD
7:45 "YEAH" VOICE HARRIS
7:46
7:47 11:35:38 "SHIT YEAH"
---
7:50 EIGHT CONTINUOUS SHOTS PLUS ONE SHOT- KLEBOLD SHOOTING TOWNSEND
7:51
7:52
7:53 11:35:44 "WHOO"
7:54
7:55 SHOT(SCREAM)
7:56 TWO SHOTS
7:57
7:58 SHOT
---
8:01 11:35:52 SHOT
8:02
8:03 SCREAMS
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8:07 11:35:58 "OH MY GOD HELP ME"(SIMILAR PHRASES
8:08 REPEATED FOR SEVERAL SECONDS)
8:09 1136 HRS
---
8:41 SHOT-HARRIS SHOOTING NOWLEN
8:42
8:43 11:36:34 SHOT-HARRIS SHOOTING AT TOMLIN
8:44
8:45 THREE SHOTS-HARRIS AND KLEBOLD SHOOTING TOMLIN
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8:48 11:36:39 SHOT-KLEBOLD SHOOTING TOMLIN
---
8:54 SHOT
8:55 11:36:46 TWO SHOTS [SCREAMS] SHOTS FIRED AT TABLE TWO
8:56 SHOT
8:57 11:36:48 FEMALE SCREAMS
---
9:00 11:36:51 SHOT
9:02 11:36:53 OH GOD [female]
9:04 11:36:55 NO [female]
9:55 11:37:46 SHOT-HARRIS SHOOTING MAUSER WITH HI-POINT
---
10:09 1138 HRS
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10:14 11:38:05 THREE SHOTS-KLEBOLD SHOOTING DEPOOTER WITH TEC-9
10:15 SHOT
10:16 11:38:07 SCREAM
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10:44 11:38:35 "REB COME HERE" VOICE OF KLEBOLD
---
10:55 11:38:46 "REB"(INAUDIBLE) VOICE KLEBOLD
10:56 "YEAH"
10:57 "GO"
10:58 "GO"
10:59 (INAUDIBLE)
---
11:04 (INAUDIBLE)"FUCKING TROUBLE." VOICE KLEBOLD
11:05 " I DON'T WANT."
11:06 "I DON'T WANT TROUBLE." VOICE OF EVAN TODD
11:07 (INAUDIBLE)
11:08
11:09 1139 HRS
11:10
11:11 "YOU LITTLE FUCKING FAT PIECE OF SHIT." VOICE KLEBOLD
---
11:14 "HEY,HEY."
---
11:20 SHOT
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11:25 "LET'S DO IT THEN"
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11:32 "REB YA READY?" VOICE KLEBOLD
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11:39 SMASHING SOUND- KLEBOLD THROWING CHAIR