Brooks Brown

Brooks Brown is a 1999 graduate of Columbine High School and a sometime-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 had not been to class that day (and had missed a test as a result). Harris replied, "Brooks, I like you now. Get out of here. Go home."
Brown had been good friends with Klebold since elementary school, but did not meet Harris until middle school. He and Harris suffered a falling out when Harris threw a chunk of ice at his windshield and chipped the glass. When Brown complained to Harris' parents, Harris got in trouble. Brooks Brown then became Eric's nemesis, and Eric vandalized his home and posted numerous death threats against Brooks on his website. Brooks' parents complained to Harris' father, who concluded that the parents had a personal grudge, and he largely ignored their complaints. The Browns also complained to police, but were ignored. However, when Dylan Klebold told Brooks about Harris' website, Brooks told his parents, who then reported the death threats to police, as well as reporting their belief that Harris was making bombs. The police followed up by drafting a search warrant for the Harris home, which they never filed. Despite these conflicts, in their senior year, Harris and Brown reconciled their friendship so Klebold would not be torn between them.
After the massacre, Brown was initially seen as a suspect due to being friends with the perpetrators and because of the warning he had received from Harris when the gunman had told him to go home. Many people, especially from school, told him and other friends of Eric's and Dylan's not to come back to the school.
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 a bullying atmosphere that Brown claims 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.

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