Brooks Brown

Brooks Brown is a 1999 graduate of Columbine High School and a friend of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre. On the day of the shooting, he was smoking outside the school when he saw Harris drive into the parking lot. Brown walked up to him, called him a few names, and then asked why he was not in class that period. Harris replied, "Brooks, I like you now. Get out of here. Go home." [cite web | url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9658182 | title=Columbine Survivor With Words for Virginia Students | date=April 18 2007 | first=Brooks | last=Brown | publisher=NPR | accessdate=2007-08-06]

Brown had been good friends with Klebold since elementary school, but only met Harris in middle school. He and Harris suffered a falling out when Harris threw a snowball at his windshield and chipped the glass. When Brown complained to Harris' parents, Harris posted death threats against him on his website (however, the address of the site was supplied to Brown by Klebold). Brown's parents reported the death threats to police, as well as their belief that Harris was making bombs; however, the reports were allegedly never followed up. Despite these conflicts, in their senior year, Harris and Brown reconciled their friendship so Klebold would not be torn between them. [Brown, B. (2002). "No Easy Answers. The Truth Behind Death At Columbine. Page 107": Lantern Books. ISBN 1-59056-031-0]

After the Columbine shootings, Brown was initially seen as a suspect due to being friends with the perpetrators and because of the warning he had received from Harris. Many people apparently told him, and other friends of theirs, not to come back to the school. [Brown, B. (2002). "No Easy Answers. The Truth Behind Death At Columbine. Pages 170-171": Lantern Books. ISBN 1-59056-031-0]

With Rob Merritt, Brown co-authored a book, "No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind Death At Columbine" (ISBN 1-59056-031-0) about signs that were missed prior to the shooting, and the bullying atmosphere that was rampant at Columbine High School. He also assisted Michael Moore with some of the filming in Littleton for Moore's documentary "Bowling for Columbine", and serves as a public speaker on topics of school violence.

References

External links

* [http://www.lanternbooks.com/detail.html?id=1-59056-031-0 About No Easy Answers]
* [http://thebestd-fens.com/ Brooks' blog]