Police scour the Columbine campus for hidden explosives
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Bicycles sit behind police tape near the front entrance of Columbine High School
Clinton says $1.5 million in federal aid will help families in Littleton, Colorado, meet funeral and medical expenses

Clinton announces aid for victims; Gore plans trip

April 23, 1999
Web posted at: 11:18 a.m. EDT (1518 GMT)

In this story: Video could be 'crucial' Federal help Gore to attend Sunday memorial RELATED STORIES, SITES

Meanwhile, President Clinton announced $1.5 million in federal aid to help victims of the gun and bomb rampage that left 15 people dead, including the two teen-age killers.

Authorities have found no physical evidence against anyone but gunmen Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, but say the elaborate nature of Tuesday's attack in the Denver suburb of Littleton suggested the work of several people.

Officials returned to Columbine on Friday to continue scouring for hidden explosives. A day earlier, the discovery of a powerful bomb made from a 20-pound propane tank heightened suspicions that Harris and Klebold intended to destroy the school, and could have had help in assembling their arsenal.

Colorado Gov. Bill Owens, who toured the school on Friday, left saying investigators are all but certain the two gunmen had help.

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

Video could be 'crucial'

Time-lapse security cameras mounted throughout the school do not run continuously, though they record about a week at a time, said Lt. John Kiekbusch of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department.

A surveillance video from Saturday night, when there was an after-prom party at the school, "has the potential to be extremely important," he said.

"We don't know how much (of) that time period might turn out to be on those videos, but it certainly has the potential to be very, very crucial evidence in terms of movement of people throughout that school," Kiekbusch said.

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

Federal help

The $1.5 million in federal aid announced by Clinton would help victims pay for funerals, medical expenses, lost wages and counseling.

The money is an initial payment to help the students, teachers and parents in Littleton on "their long journey toward recovery. And we will do more," the president said.

"The images from Colorado have become painfully familiar: the terrified children, the racing ambulances, the grieving families," Clinton said outside the White House.

"Still, it is important to remember that the vast majority of schools are safe," he added.

The president also reminded school officials across the country of federal programs to help prevent violent eruptions of rage. Among them:

• Early warning guides sent to 200,000 schools in August will be reprinted and distributed next week to 150,000 additional schools.

• Schools have until the end of this month to apply for a portion of the $17 million available for school crime prevention programs.

• Local communities have until June 1 to apply for some $180 million in Safe Schools/Healthy Students grants, a federal anti-violence and anti-drug-abuse initiative.

• A total of $70 million is available from the Justice Department for stationing some 600 police officers for school security in 336 communities around the country.

Gore to attend Sunday memorial

Next to Columbine High School, in Clement Park, a Sunday afternoon memorial service is planned for the one teacher and 12 students gunned down before their two murderous classmates turned their guns on themselves.

Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, planned to attend. Clinton was staying in Washington for the three-day NATO summit which began on Friday.

With Columbine closed indefinitely, Principal Frank DeAngelis said students will resume classes at a building off campus next week. He told CNN that, despite the tragedy, students want to return to the building someday.

"They said, 'Mr. DeAngelis, don't let them take our building from us, no one is going to chase us out, we have too much tradition there, too much pride, it's a great high school, we want back in,'" the principal said.

The principal said there was little that could have been done to prevent the attacks. "One (law enforcement agent) made the comment that the National Guard could ... not (have) prevented this," he said.