CNN.com
 MAIN PAGE
 WORLD
 ASIANOW
 U.S.
 LOCAL
 POLITICS
 WEATHER
 BUSINESS
 SPORTS
 TECHNOLOGY
 NATURE
 ENTERTAINMENT
 BOOKS
 TRAVEL
 FOOD
 HEALTH
 STYLE
 IN-DEPTH

 Headline News brief
 daily almanac
 CNN networks
 CNN programs
 on-air transcripts
 news quiz

  CNN WEB SITES:
CNN Websites
 TIME INC. SITES:
 MORE SERVICES:
 video on demand
 video archive
 audio on demand
 news email services
 free email accounts
 desktop headlines
 pointcast
 pagenet

 DISCUSSION:
 message boards
 chat
 feedback

 SITE GUIDES:
 help
 contents
 search

 FASTER ACCESS:
 europe
 japan

 WEB SERVICES:
US

Columbine shooter rejected by Marines because of anti-depressant drug, sources say

Harris
Eric Harris

related videoRELATED VIDEO
CNN has obtained an audio tape of Harris and Klebold from a court hearing they attended last year, and CNN's Tony Clark speaks to the judge about the boys (April 27)
Real 28K 80K
Windows Media 28K 80K

       Windows Media Real

       28 K 80 K
iconINTERACTIVE
Amid grief, moments of reflection

Audio and Images

Interactive Map: Recent school shootings in the U.S.

 ALSO:

Trauma scars hard to heal

Columbine teachers prepare for students' return

Parents of hospitalized Columbine students hope for best

Fatalities at Columbine High

 MESSAGE BOARD:

Listening After Littleton

Cafeteria video sent to FBI for analysis

April 29, 1999
Web posted at: 10:20 a.m. EDT (1420 GMT)


In this story:

Search warrants remain sealed

Trio detained near Columbine exonerated

Klebold's girlfriend provided 3 long guns

Crosses for all the dead

RELATED STORIES, SITES icon



LITTLETON, Colorado (CNN) -- Shooting suspect Eric Harris was rejected by Marine Corps recruiters just five days before the Columbine High School massacre because he had been prescribed an anti-depressant and was under a doctor's care. The medication prescribed for Harris was Luvox, sources who asked not to be named told CNN on Wednesday.

Luvox is most commonly prescribed to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Defense Department sources said earlier Wednesday that Harris had contacted Marine Corps recruiters and inquired about joining but was disqualified because of the prescription and the fact that he was under the care of a doctor at the time.

Jefferson County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Davis told reporters that he didn't have details about Harris' rejection from the Marine Corps.

He said the initial toxicology report indicated there was no drug or alcohol in any of those killed during the siege, including the gunmen, Harris and Dylan Klebold.

"The final reports from the coroner have not been made and given to us. However, like I've said, I'll have to revert to what they told us about the toxicology reports earlier, and that is that there weren't any drugs or alcohol in the blood, and, once again, I didn't hear her say illegal drugs or legal drugs," said Davis.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Mark Paulter also downplayed the importance of Harris' rejection by the Marines, saying "it wouldn't be particularly relevant to our investigation,".

Harris, 18, and Klebold, 17, both seniors at Columbine, are blamed for the deaths of 12 students and one teacher. They then both shot themselves, one in the mouth, the other in the side of his head, according to the coroner's office.

Search warrants remain sealed

Search warrants for Klebold's house and other sites will remain sealed, a state judge ruled Wednesday.

The Denver Post had asked Judge Henry Nieto to unseal the search warrants and related documents in the investigation of the massacre at Columbine High School, saying the material is a "matter of wide public interest."

The local prosecutor, District Attorney David Thomas, had asked that the documents be sealed.

three boys with hands up
Three young men, detained the day of the shooting, have been cleared from the investigation  

Trio detained near Columbine exonerated

Also Wednesday, Davis said three young men, dressed in black jackets and military fatigues, who were caught near Columbine High School the day of the massacre had been questioned and were not suspected of having played a role in the attack. Their arrest had been caught on camera during the coverage of the siege.

"Apparently, last night when the sheriff was speaking to you, he hadn't been updated on the very latest, and these three people ... the three that we see the picture of with their hands on their head in black, have now been cleared," said Davis.

He said it was his understanding that they did know Harris and Klebold.

"How well, I don't know," said Davis.

 American Psychiatric Association President Rodrigo Munoz, M.D.:

"Despite a decade of research, there is little valid evidence to prove a causal relationship between the use of anti-depressant medications and destructive behavior.

"On the other hand, there is ample evidence that undiagnosed and untreated mental illness exacts a heavy toll on those who suffer from these disorders, as well as those around them."

Klebold's girlfriend provided 3 guns

Davis said Klebold's 18-year-old girlfriend bought three, not two, of the four guns believed to have been used by Harris and Klebold.

"Those three being the long guns, the two shotguns and the rifle," he said. "The handgun, or the Tec-9, we've been talking about, right now we still don't know and they're still working on that one."

The young woman has been cooperating with the investigation is not considered a suspect. However, Davis said one still unanswered question was: "Did she supply those weapons to them with full knowledge, or not, of what they intended to do with them."

Davis also said a videotape taken of the Columbine High cafeteria the afternoon of the attack could provide what he called "good footage." But a first look at the cafeteria tape did not show additional suspects.

"It may be a tremendous help later on , or it may just be a small part in a large amount of evidence," said sheriff's department Sgt. Jim Parr.

A number of explosives were found in the cafeteria, and authorities suspect Harris and Klebold may have had help in carrying the munitions into the building.

Authorities are still checking into claims that a hardware store clerk sold some of the ingredients for those explosives.

Gary Sowell, 50, an employee at a hardware store in Littleton, told investigators he saw Harris and Klebold buy propane tanks, wire, screws, nails and duct tape -- material believed used in the bombs.

crosses on hilltops
On a hilltop near Columbine, crosses have been erected for those who died  

Crosses for all the dead

On a hill overlooking Columbine, 15 crosses have been raised, one for the slain teacher and 14 for the dead students, including the dead gunmen.

A funeral was held Wednesday for yet another victim, 14-year-old Steven Curnow. The teenager was remembered as a "Star Wars" movie fan who wanted to become a fighter pilot.

"Now I don't have anybody to have fights with over who ... fills the ice cube tray or brings in the groceries," Curnow's 20-year-old sister Nancy said. "Now I can't tease you about your first girlfriend or even when you start to shave."

The last service for slain students will be held Thursday for Isaiah Shoels. The 18-year-old senior had wanted to attend an arts college and become a music executive.

Shoels was shot in the head execution-style in the school library, because he was African-American and because of his athletic interests, witnesses said.

Correspondent Tony Clark and Charles Zewe contributed to this report.


CNN INDEPTH SPECIAL:
Are schools safe?

RELATED STORIES:
Columbine shooter rejected by Marines because of anti-depressant drug, sources say
April 28, 1999
Trauma scars hard to heal

Columbine song reaffirms life and hope
April 28, 1999
More funerals held for school shooting victims
April 27, 1999
Columbine teachers prepare for students' return
April 27, 1999
Parents of hospitalized Columbine students hope for best
April 27, 1999
Investigators: Gun traced to shooter's girlfriend
April 26, 1999
Fatalities at Columbine High
April 23, 1999

RELATED SITES:
Swedish Hospital (patient conditions)
Littleton Adventist Hospital - Important Phone Numbers
Denver Health Medical Center - Home
Mile High United Way - The Healing Fund DonorNet APA HelpCenter
Violence Policy Center
  • Fact Sheet on Littleton, Colorado School Shooting
Columbine High School
Jefferson County Sheriff's Office
Jefferson County Public Schools
KUSA
  • Breaking News
KMGH Denver
School violence
GUN-FREE SCHOOLS ACT OF 1994
CDC: Facts About Violence Among Youth and Violence in Schools
Violence and Discipline Problems in U.S. Public Schools: 1996-97 / 98-030
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

 LATEST HEADLINES:
SEARCH CNN.com
Enter keyword(s)   go    help

Back to the top   © 2001 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.