Austin Eubanks, Injured Columbine Survivor And Addiction Recovery Speaker, Found Dead

Eubanks, who was shot twice by the two Columbine gunmen who were students at the school and who saw his best friend die before his eyes, battled an opioid addiction for years after the massacre. He became a public speaker on addiction recovery after becoming sober in 2011.

Doctors had prescribed Eubanks an assortment of pills, including opiates, for the injuries he sustained during the shooting and, as he told WTHR-TV in April, “almost immediately, I started medicating that underlying emotional pain.” 

Eubanks said he used drugs and alcohol for 12 years to dull the trauma and grief before finding recovery.

“When people ask how I found recovery, I tell them it’s because I… figured out every way that doesn’t work and fortunately I was able to stay alive long enough to do that, which isn’t often the reality today with the toxicity of the substances that are available,” he told WTHR. 

Eubanks also opened up last month in an interview with The Associated Press about the fears he has for his two young sons, aged 13 and 9, in this era of active-shooter drills and armed guards at schools.

“We are so unwilling to actually make meaningful progress on eradicating the issue,” Eubanks said.

“So we’re just going to focus on teaching kids to hide better, regardless of the emotional impact that that bears on their life. To me, that’s pretty sad.”