No Columbine

The Columbine High School massacre was a tragic school shooting which occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado. In addition to shootings, the complex and highly planned attack involved a fire bomb to divert firefighters, propane tanks converted to bombs placed in the cafeteria, 99 explosive devices, and bombs rigged in cars. Two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered a total of 12 students and one teacher. They injured 21 additional students, with three other people being injured while attempting to escape the school.

Point of Divergence
On April 20, 1999, Harris encountered Brooks Brown, a classmate with whom he had recently patched up a longstanding series of disagreements. Brown was surprised to see Harris and noted that he had been absent from an important class test that morning. Harris seemed unconcerned, commenting, "It doesn't matter anymore." Harris said, "Brooks, I like you now. Get out of here. Go home." Brown, feeling uneasy, walked away. In OTL, Brown didn't contact the police. However, this timeline postulates what would have happened if instead, he notified the police immediately.

The police, led by the school resource officer Neil Gardner, found Harris and Klebold just as they were walking away from their vehicles. They asked to search the vehicle. Harris reached for his weapon, but Klebold stopped him. Suspicious, the police officers drew their guns and demanded to examine their vehicle. Reluctantly, the two teenagers let them. The cops found their stash of weapons and explosives. Harris and Klebold were arrested immediately and taken away.

Imprisonment
The two boys were in violation of many state and federal laws, including the National Firearms Act and Gun Control Act of 1968. Harris was tried as an adult and got a sentence of ten years in a federal prison.

To be continued...