Some officers wonder whether Harris shot partner in left temple

By Kevin Vaughan
and Dan Luzadder Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writers

Some investigators in the Columbine High shooting still have questions about whether one of the gunmen actually took his own life or was killed by his partner.

The questions revolve around the death of Dylan Klebold, 17, who died in the Columbine library during the April 20 assault on the school.

Klebold was shot once in the left side of the head, apparently by one of two 9 mm weapons -- either a semiautomatic assault pistol or a carbine rifle -- that he and fellow gunman Eric Harris carried, said a source close to the investigation.

But the wound's location puzzles some investigators.

They believe that if the right-handed Klebold had shot himself, the wound should have been on the other side, the source said.

There is little question that the other gunman, Harris, 18, killed himself with a shotgun, the source said.

Harris and Klebold are responsible for the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. Before they died, the teens killed 13 people and wounded 21 others.

Division Chief John Kiekbusch of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, one of the officers heading the investigation, acknowledged that questions remain about the deaths of the two gunmen.

"We are looking at that whole situation," Kiekbusch said. "There are no witnesses that have been able to describe their deaths. When we get the ballistics evidence, we'll compare that with the coroner's evidence and other crime scene evidence to make as clear a determination as possible."

Dr. Nancy Bodelson, Jefferson County's coroner, said shortly after the shootings that the wounds suffered by Harris and Klebold were "consistent" with suicide. She later said that she had ruled both deaths suicides.

Coroners can rule a death one of five ways: homicide, suicide, natural, accidental or undetermined.

Bodelson could not be reached for further comment on the questions raised last week by some investigators.

"The coroner is talking to this point of self-inflicted wounds," Kiekbusch said. "We're not disputing that right now."

The autopsy report for Klebold could shed some light on the question. However, it, along with those for the other 14 people who died at the school, were sealed by a judge.