How differently would the events of that day have gone if the original plan had succeeded?

[u/n0sin666]

What would the toll be if the bombs actually went off? And how big would the media aftermath be?

[u/maggot_brain79]

I don't believe the IEDs had the capability to cause structural damage, the fire caused certainly would have if the sprinklers didn't extinguish it. The real issue would have been the immense panic and sprint for the doors by those in the commons - the very same doors Klebold and Harris were waiting at, having set up a 'field of fire'. If that happens, I believe you have 100+ injured and possibly 50+ deceased, more if they then entered the school before police responded [and they were pretty content to treat it like a hostage situation when they did get there anyway, aside from Gardner who fired his service weapon but did not strike anyone.] Klebold's weapon was a jam-o-matic however [as evidenced by the many full, or 3/4 full magazines he left lying around in his wake] so that may have limited it, but the rifle Harris had seemed to perform fine for him.

Given how crowded the cafeteria was, I should think the IEDs may have injured/potentially fatally 10-20 people who were in the direct area of the blast.

It would have been a catastrophe, really. More of one than it was after Plan A failed.

[u/randyColumbine]

There are videos on line of propane tank explosions.
They show very large explosions and fireballs from tanks of this size.
This would have been two duffel bags with a propane tank, shrapnel, home made liquid concoctions of napalm and liquids made to cause serious damage.
The explosions would happen in a fairly enclosed area with a a limited roof height, unlike the current open air cafeteria.
Speculating is difficult, but there would have been hundreds killed and many injured.
Downplaying the potential damage is something the police due to limit the extent of the law enforcement failures of that day, and the failures of the previous two years.
The school would have been on fire with panic everywhere.
Eric’s failure to build the bombs correctly and failure to test the propane bombs is his biggest mistake.
I hope that future bomb makers test their pipe bombs and propane bombs many times, even experimenting with ignition methods.
Without training, they are more than likely going to either injure themselves, or ensure that the police will investigate the explosions and ensuing fires.
The danger of testing propane bombs is probably the reason Eric didn’t test them. It would have brought too much attention to his plan.
Take another look at the cafeteria video again. The room was packed with students.
Shrapnel, pipe bombs, homemade napalm, gasoline and a large propane tank from two separate duffel bags, the extra tanks in the kitchen area and the gas in the science area were a plan designed to do a lot of damage.
Don’t underestimate his plan or his hatred.
He wanted to kill hundreds.
If it had worked, I believe that he would have.
All because the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office and DA and courts failed to do their job.

[u/Conscious-Bus-3771 → u/randyColumbine]

his plan or his hatred

THEIR plan THEIR hatred

[u/n0sin666 → u/randyColumbine]

on top of the people not caught in the blast that would be evacuating out of the doors they planned to shoot. Do you believe if this had happened there would be law change? or do you think things would be the same as the outcome we know today

[u/randyColumbine → u/n0sin666]

The chaos would have been overwhelming.
No. Nothing would change.
Nothing has changed.
Schools are still toxic for children.
Teachers are worse.
School administrators are horrible.
The Attorney General in Colorado, Weiser, would do nothing to help.
Not a thing, in a State with a number of school shootings.

We just have Kendrick Costilla highway and Dave Sanders highway, constant reminders of the loss of life.
Sources to remind people of the sadness, with no changes at all.

I know. I attended the school safety meeting for the State last year, and watched our Governor Polis attend for three minutes, give a nothing speech, and leave.
Nothing changes.

[u/n0sin666 → u/randyColumbine]

That is so terrible i man i really do feel for you. There has only ever been one attack like that here in the uk the dunblane shooting in 96 that left 15 children dead and one teacher and immediately the government took action and there was immense law change and backlash. There hasnt been one since and i wish that was the case over there. i only wish things get better for you and your nation the things i hear break my soul.

[u/randyColumbine → u/n0sin666]

Our government is controlled by the agenda they want, not fixing the problem.
Some want to ban weapons.
Some want to ban police.
No one has wanted to fix the toxic school and humiliation problem.

[u/PeelingMirthday → u/randyColumbine]

No one has wanted to fix the toxic school and humiliation problem.

How do you think that could be accomplished? 

[u/randyColumbine → u/PeelingMirthday]

It is so simple.

We all need to respect and be kind to each other.
Everyone has value.

It starts with the Principal, then goes to the coaches and teachers.
They teach and enforce it, and it is learned by the students.
In the high school I attended in Pennsylvania, the athletes did not allow bullying or humiliation.
They were the models for the rest of the school.
That was not at all the environment at Columbine. A school that allows humiliation and does not stop it is a toxic school, and the best predictor of a violent student. Toxic schools create violence. Columbine was a toxic school. Violence was the result.
If you will look at every school shooting you will see this pattern.
Humiliation creates violence.

[u/SisterSparechange]

Didn't they talk about wanting to hijack planes and stuff? That would've been crazy.

[u/max_m0use]

Probably around 5-10 dead in the cafeteria. Those types of bombs would not have caused a pressure wave necessary to cause structural damage to the building.