-Caveat Lector-
Colorado Suspects Called Outcasts
By ROBIN McDOWELL
.c The Associated Press
LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) -- They are called the ``Trench Coat Mafia,'' a group
of about 10 students who wear long black coats, keep to themselves and follow
shock rocker Marilyn Manson.
Despite their dark lifestyle, they had not shown an inclination for violence
before Tuesday, according to some of their fellow students at Columbine High
School.
Authorities and school district officials said they had never heard of the
group. ``We were not aware of the Trench Coat Mafia until today,''
Superintendent Jane Hammond said Tuesday.
A reference to the group in last year's Columbine yearbook reveals nothing
more than general teen-age exuberance.
Even so, some students said they believed the two gunmen who went on a
shooting rampage at Columbine were members of the group.
Classmates and Denver media identified the gunmen as Eric Harris and Dylan
Klebold. Police refused to identify them.
Sean Kelly, a 16-year-old student, said Harris and several members of the
group made a video in class about guns they had. He also said that several
members recently bragged about getting new guns.
Some students said the killers targeted minorities and athletes. Kelly said
he heard Trench Coat Mafia members making ``generally derogatory remarks''
about blacks and Hispanics.
Student Andrew Beard, said Harris and Klebold often said they ``hated the
jocks'' ``because they thought they could do anything they wanted, walk
through life smoothly.''
Beard said members of the group often came to school in steel-toed combat
boots, some of them wearing Nazi crosses.
A dedication to the Trench Coat Mafia in the 1998 Columbine yearbook lists 13
members and carries the following message: ``Who says we are different?
Insanity's healthy! Remember rocking parties at Kristen's, foosball at Joe's
and fencing at Christopher's! Stay alive, stay different, stay crazy. Oh, and
stay away from CREAM SODA!!! Love always, the chicks.''
But other students had developed a less innocent image of the group.
``They're really dark people,'' said Wes Lammers, a 17-year-old junior.
``There were a lot of jokes that one day they might snap or something.''
Casey Brackley, 15, said she was very aware of the group even though it was
small.
``I never saw them threaten anybody or bully anybody, but we avoided them
because they were different,'' she said. ``Anyone dressed in black you're
scared of because it signifies gothic or death.''
Added Josh Nielsen, a 17-year-old junior: ``They're not well-liked in the
school and no one treated them well.''
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