LITTLETON, Colo. -- As police began yesterday to remove the bodies of the victims of Tuesday's deadly rampage at Columbine High School, a picture began to emerge of a chillingly calculated killing spree by two heavily armed teen-agers.

Police said the scheme was so elaborate that they suspect the killers -- identified as Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17 -- had accomplices in carrying out their apparent "suicide mission."

When the shooting and bombing were over Tuesday, 14 students, including the two killers, and one teacher were dead -- a total 10 lower than initial police estimates.

Twenty-eight people were taken to hospitals.

"This is not something they did overnight. They did a lot of planning," said Jefferson County Sheriff John Stone.

About 30 explosive devices have been found in and around the school, leading investigators to suspect that more youths may have been involved, possibly helping to carry the bombs.

Ammunition clips suggest nearly 100 rounds were fired by the killers.

"I have concerns about whether two people could carry all that stuff in there," Stone said.

Dave Thomas, Jefferson County's district attorney, said investigators are pursuing leads about other students who might have had advance knowledge of the shootings.

Two students dressed in paramilitary garb at the school were detained for questioning but released. No arrests had been made as of last night.

Students, parents and area residents made pilgrimages yesterday to Columbine High School, a modern, light building set in a residential neighborhood.

Some visitors wore blue and white lapel ribbons -- the color of the Columbine Rebels athletic teams. Many brought flowers, which they piled up against yellow police tape that marked the perimeter, beyond which only authorities where allowed.

Family 'devastated'

Harris' family released a statement "expressing our heartfelt sympathy to all the victims and to the community. The Harris family is devastated by the tragedy and is mourning the loss of their son."

Klebold's family had not been heard from.

Police said evidence they uncovered at the scene and in searches of the suspects' homes reveals a careful plan involving homemade bombs and semiautomatic weapons, designed to kill not only classmates but also possibly rescue workers responding to the scene.

Harris and Klebold were part of a clique of computer-savvy students known as the "Trench Coat Mafia," readily identifiable by their preference for dark clothing, black nail polish and long duster trench coats.

A number of Web pages and Internet chat rooms have been discovered, police said, some of which reportedly made reference to something that would occur Tuesday.

The two were arrested early last year for breaking into a car. They successfully completed a juvenile intervention program for wayward youths in February.

School officials say Columbine High, which suffered significant damage from the explosions and gunfire, probably won't be opened again this school year. Arrangements will be made for the students to complete the semester elsewhere.

Meanwhile, outside Columbine High, visitors were creating a shrine.

While authorities were carrying out bodies, Missy Michalek, 17, led a delegation of friends from nearby Chatfield Senior High School. Though they couldn't get close to the scene, they came to leave notes and flowers.

Construction worker Ray Rauh came with his daughter, Jessica, a Columbine student. She was heading outside with her gym class Tuesday and saw the gunmen heading in.

Her teacher first corralled the students back in the gym, then told them to run to safety.

Jessica Watson, a 16-year-old sophomore at Columbine, was in a math class when the shooting began and managed to escape to a nearby home. "It's going to be hard for anyone to go back in that school," she said.

Ben Martin, a youth pastor at the nearby Colorado Community Church, said teen-agers can have an especially hard time healing from such tragedies.

"It steals their innocence. A lot of adults have seen stuff. They have seen the damage from when people do selfish things. Now you have freshmen who have seen things that many adults never will see," said Martin, who runs a youth group whose members include two Columbine survivors.

"A kid who has held another kid who has been shot will never forget that."

Meeting and vigil

More than 1,000 people came to a meeting for parents and students yesterday morning at a neighborhood church. Grief counselors were on hand. A community vigil was held last night in a Denver park. Lines stretched for blocks around blood banks.

Littleton is an upscale suburb southwest of Denver that has experienced rapid growth in recent years. It is on the leading edge of the city's sprawl, and small farms can be seen along the road, boxed in by strip malls.

Columbine High, which draws its 1,800 students from throughout the county, ranks among the state's most academically advanced.

With the area's growth has come an increase in crime and congestion -- but never violence such as what occurred Tuesday, Omholt said.

The massacre began about 11 a.m. when a pipe bomb was set off in a field about a mile from the school. The explosion was apparently designed to distract police from the main event, said Jefferson County Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Davis.

The suspects, dressed in black trench coats and armed with a semiautomatic handgun, a semiautomatic assault rifle and two pistol-grip shotguns, fired some shots from the school's parking lot, police said. They entered the school through the cafeteria, then moved through the hallways and to a second-floor library.

Along the way they reportedly fired weapons, sometimes point-blank, at classmates. They also threw pipe bombs, some duct-taped to propane tanks and rigged with nails for shrapnel. Other bombs were left behind at the scene, set to detonate when moved or when a timer expired.

A county policeman assigned to the school was inside at the building and responded to the sound of explosions, exchanging shots with the suspects, police said. Other officers soon arrived, entered the school and also fired at the youths. As of last night, investigators said they did not believe the suspects had been hit by police fire.

500 police responded

An impromptu SWAT team was formed about 1 p.m. and entered the building, escorting huddled teens out the door. Other police quickly arrived: In all, nearly 500 officers from 24 jurisdictions and federal agencies responded.

Students who couldn't get out barricaded themselves in rooms and tried to attract help with cell phones, hand-made window signs and even the Internet, via school computers.

One student held up a sign in a broken window of the library, saying he was bleeding to death. He then leaned out the jagged window, looking as though he was preparing to jump.

Police moved an armored car under the window and climbed on top, reaching up and grabbing the youth's arms and hauling him down to safety.

"He was in shock from the loss of blood. He was graying out," said Lakewood Police Sgt. George Hinkle. The boy survived and was recovering yesterday in an area hospital.

Hinkle, a SWAT team supervisor, said his officers faced a difficult challenge moving around inside the school. They weren't sure where the shooters were and were receiving reports of booby-traps.

Adding to the uncertainty were accounts from students who said they saw at least one of the suspects exchanging clothes with one of his classmate hostages, raising the possibility of an armed gunman hiding among the victims.

Explosions could be heard, as well as periodic gunfire. The fire alarm was blaring and water sprinklers throughout the building were spraying.

"We were operating through about four inches of water. It was very difficult," Hinkle said. "We had to be very careful about where we stepped."

The youth hauled from the window was the last to get out of the library alive. Of the 15 dead, 12 were found in the library, including the suspects.

So horrific was the carnage, Hinkle ordered members of his unit who didn't need to be in the room to avoid it -- and the emotional trauma the scene was sure to inflict.

The body of a teacher, apparently a popular computer instructor, was found down the hall in a closet. Two more students were found outside the school.

The dead assailants were not discovered until after 4 p.m. Denver time, though no shots were heard after about 1 p.m. Remote-controlled robots and dogs trained in detecting explosives were brought in to search for booby-traps. The work delayed investigators from identifying the dead.

That process began at midday yesterday as the first bodies were removed.

Meanwhile, Colorado Gov. Bill Owens signed several executive orders, forming a task force to explore ways of preventing such crimes and making $1 million in aid available to people affected by the tragedy.

Concealed-guns legislation

The Littleton shootings changed the shape of politics in Colorado's legislature, which has been considering three measures sought by the National Rifle Association and other supporters of gun rights.

Yesterday the sponsors of two of the bills -- one to make it easier to carry concealed weapons, the other designed to revoke some local gun control laws -- asked the legislature to postpone its deliberations indefinitely. Debate on the concealed-carry bill had been scheduled for yesterday.

"While this legislation would not have had any effect on the terrible tragedy experienced Tuesday by all Coloradans, nonetheless, this is not the time to engage in a political discussion of this issue," said state Rep. Doug Dean.

"The effect of that statement is to put off consideration of these bills until next year," said Sam Mamet, associate director of the Colorado Municipal League.

The legislature has passed a bill that would prevent municipalities in Colorado from suing gun manufacturers. Owens had been expected to sign it, but yesterday he said he would veto the bill, citing constitutional issues.

Earlier in the day, he had said that to even think about the legislation after such a tragedy would be "inappropriate."

The National Rifle Association, which will hold its annual convention in Denver next week, said it would scale back its meeting in sympathy for the victims, but it urged members to show "unshakable unity in this time of anguish."

Sun staff writer Joe Mathews and wire services contributed to this article.

Pub Date: 4/22/99