In the 10 days since the shootings, police have changed their minds about how many bombs were in the school (first 30, now 50), how long the killers fired inside the school (first an hour, now as little as 15 to 20 minutes) and how many propane-tank bombs they found in the kitchen (first two 30-pounders, then one 15-pounder). Dissatisfaction about the performance of the SWAT team has not been dispelled because of the sheriff's department's failure, despite earlier promises, to provided an authoritative time line of the attack. On the talk shows, in the schools and across kitchen tables, Americans are searching desperately (and often blindly) for a way to explain the Columbine High massacre. Unfortunately, the swarm of investigators -- more than 150 at last count -- appears to have added to the confusion.
Another JonBenet for Colorado's Keystone Kops?
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LITTLETON: JonBenet. It was first the name of a tragedy, then became a catchword for cold trails, tangled-up leads, bumbling small-town detectives and unsolved mysteries. Is the same thing happening in nearby Littleton? The latest embarrassment: Due to "scheduling" problems, police have still not interviewed the parents of the gunmen, admitted Jefferson County chief deputy district attorney Mark Pautler on Thursday. Police still haven't received final autopsy reports on the 15 dead, leaving open the question of whether Harris and Klebold did all the killing, or whether police crossfire killed anyone. And that "imminent arrest" of the TEC-9 seller that D.A. Dave Thomas was bragging about Thursday on the "Today" show? Pautler now says Thomas hadn't been briefed in a while -- no arrests are coming anytime soon.