The Columbine High School massacre was like nothing America had ever seen when media coverage began rolling in April 1999. At the time, it was the deadliest school shooting in history, and the nation wanted answers about why the shooters killed 12 students, a teacher, and then themselves. But many details in early reports ended up being false.

One of the earliest misrepresentations was in profiling the two shooters and laying out their motives. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were initially reported as goths and loners who were part of the "Trench Coat Mafia." The media said they were bullied by jocks and sought revenge on classmates who treated them as social outcasts. Nineteen years later that profile still persists. But it's a myth.

Harris, the mastermind of the shooting, wasn't the depressed and bullied student reports initially pegged him. In reality, he was a psychopath. He expressed contempt for society, took pleasure in lying and manipulating others, and lacked empathy. His ability to manipulate resulted in his peers and teachers describing him as nice and well-spoken in the aftermath.

Klebold, by comparison, appeared more like the typical perpetrator of a mass shooter, according to Cullen. "Klebold is easier to comprehend, a more familiar type. He was hotheaded, but depressive and suicidal. He blamed himself for his problems."

The two weren't seeking vengeance against any particular group, but instead sought to be domestic terrorists of the same notoriety as Timothy McVeigh.

Read the full article about Columbine school shooter myths by Abby Jackson at Business Insider.