Austin Eubanks

{{short description|American shooting survivor and activist (1981–2019)}} {{Infobox person | name = Austin Eubanks | image = Dtec partners (cropped).jpg | caption = Eubanks in 2010 | birth_name = Stephen Austin Eubanks | birth_date = October 7, 1981 | birth_place = Oklahoma, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|05|18|1981|10|07}} | death_place = Steamboat Springs, Colorado, U.S. | death_cause = Heroin overdose | occupation = Motivational speaker | known_for = Injured survivor of the Columbine High School massacre | children = 2 | website = }} {{Columbine High School massacre}}

'''Stephen Austin Eubanks''' (October 7, 1981 – May 18, 2019) was an American motivational speaker on addiction and recovery. He was one of the best known survivors of the Columbine High School massacre, both in its immediate aftermath and in post-event commentary.

During the shooting, Eubanks's best friend, 17-year-old Corey DePooter, was killed and Eubanks was shot in his hand and knee. Eubanks struggled with opioid addiction and later heroin use for years after the shooting. He was the chief operations officer for the Foundry Treatment Center. Eubanks died of a heroin overdose in 2019.

==Early life and education== Stephen Austin Eubanks was born on October 7, 1981.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1999|title=Police Report|url=https://www.acolumbinesite.com/reports/cr/p0001-0100.pdf|url-status=live|website=acolumbinesite|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316004419/http://acolumbinesite.com/reports/cr/p0001-0100.pdf |archive-date=2013-03-16 }}</ref> When he was 11, his father, an engineer, moved the family from a small town in Oklahoma to Denver. After struggling to fit in at a larger school, Eubanks's parents allowed him to attend Columbine High School out of district.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fairbankscd.org/columbine-survivor-recovery-story/|title=Columbine Survivor Shares Recovery Story|date=2018-07-23|website=Fairbanks CD|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-22|archive-date=2019-12-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216054102/https://www.fairbankscd.org/columbine-survivor-recovery-story/|url-status=dead}}</ref> He met his friend Corey DePooter at the end of their freshman year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.westword.com/news/columbine-survivor-shares-story-of-addiction-on-tragedys-anniversary-7820999|title=Columbine Survivor Shares Story of Addiction on Tragedy's Anniversary|last=Prendergast|first=Alan|date=2016-04-20|website=Westword|access-date=2019-05-22}}</ref>

At age 17, Eubanks was in the library at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold attacked the school. Eubanks ducked under his table with DePooter, another student, Jennifer Doyle, and a second unidentified student. Harris and Klebold soon entered the library and after a while, approached their table. Harris shot and injured Doyle and DePooter. Klebold shot Eubanks in his hand and knee before killing DePooter, with Eubanks witnessing his friend's death.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thefix.com/columbine-survivor-finally-opens-about-oxycontin|title=Columbine Survivor Austin Eubanks Opens Up About His Addiction After the Shooting|date=2016-05-09|website=The Fix|language=en|access-date=2019-05-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gulfshorelife.com/2019/03/18/columbine-survivor-austin-eubanks-speaking-in-naples/|title=Columbine Survivor Austin Eubanks Speaking in Naples|last=Reed|first=Jennifer|date=2019-03-18|website=Gulfshore Life|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-19}}</ref> Harris and Klebold soon left the library and, fearing that they would return, Eubanks and other survivors fled through the library's emergency exit.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/columbine.cd/Pages/LIBRARY_TEXT.htm|title=Library_Text|access-date=2019-05-21|archive-date=2020-02-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222232149/http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/columbine.cd/Pages/LIBRARY_TEXT.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Harris and Klebold would go on to kill 12 students and one teacher, injure 24 others and then die by suicide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.insideedition.com/debunking-myths-around-columbine-high-school-shooting-51845|title = Debunking the Myths Around Columbine High School Shooting|date = 16 April 2019}}</ref> Eubanks did not return to Columbine High School after the shooting and was instead privately tutored at home three days a week until he graduated in 2000.<ref name=":1" />

Eubanks was prescribed multiple opioids to deal with the pain and mental anguish in the aftermath of the shooting.<ref name=":3" /> Within weeks, he developed an addiction that continued into his twenties.<ref name=":0" /> In 2006, Eubanks recognized that he had developed tolerance for prescription medications of Adderall, OxyContin, and Xanax. He then began using cocaine, ecstasy, and alcohol.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=http://www.healthwellnesscolorado.com/mending-lives/|title=Mending Lives|last=Scott|first=Kris|date=2016-08-07|website=Health & Wellness Colorado|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-21}}</ref> Starting in 2006, Eubanks entered residential treatment centers three times without success.<ref name=":3" />

== Career == Eubanks accomplished longer-term sobriety at the age of 29<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/columbine-survivor-austin-eubanks-found-dead-at-his-home-in-steamboat-springs-coroner-confirms|title=Columbine survivor found dead at his Steamboat Springs home|last1=Larson|first1=Jace|last2=Contreras|first2=Óscar|date=2019-05-18|website=The Denver Channel|publisher=KMGH|language=en|access-date=2019-05-20}}</ref> after experiencing rock bottom on April 2, 2011. He had attended a Colorado Rockies game with friends the previous day, and blacked out at a restaurant after taking high doses of OxyContin and alcohol. When paramedics arrived, it was ascertained that Eubanks had a warrant out for his arrest, and he woke up in jail the next morning with no memory of what took place.<ref name=":3" /> Eubanks became a motivational public speaker.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/18/us/columbine-survivor-found-dead/index.html|title=Columbine survivor Austin Eubanks found dead at 37|last=Vera|first=Amir|date=May 20, 2019|website=CNN|access-date=2019-05-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tristatehomepage.com/news/local-news/in-depth-with-brad-byrd-columbine-survivor-austin-eubanks-talks-about-journey-to-recovery/1625848003|title=In-depth with Brad Byrd: Columbine survivor Austin Eubanks talks about journey to recovery|last=Taylor|first=Britney|date=2019-01-04|website=TriStateHomepage|publisher=WEHT|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-19|archive-date=2018-12-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203224214/https://www.tristatehomepage.com/news/local-news/in-depth-with-brad-byrd-columbine-survivor-austin-eubanks-talks-about-journey-to-recovery/1625848003|url-status=dead}}</ref> From 2015 to 2019, he was the chief operations officer for the Foundry Treatment Center in Steamboat Springs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/23/health/school-shooting-survivors-profile/index.html|title=School shooting survivor: 'There's so many of us now'|last=Howard|first=Jacqueline|date=February 23, 2018|website=CNN|access-date=2019-05-20}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> He was a member of nonprofit boards and was the operations director of NorthStar Transitions in Boulder, Colorado. Eubanks was the executive director of Quiet River Transitional Recovery Community in Denver.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.denverpost.com/2019/05/19/columbine-survivor-austin-eubanks-dead/|title=Columbine survivor Austin Eubanks found dead at his home in Steamboat Springs, coroner confirms|last=Hindi|first=Saja|date=2019-05-19|website=The Denver Post|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-20}}</ref> On May 2, 2019, sixteen days before his death, Eubanks spoke at the 2019 Connecticut Opioid and Prescription Drug Prevention Conference.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-columbine-survivor-opioid-conference-20190520-gkcys6vnhbgjrloxwxc5meyewe-story.html|title=Columbine and addiction survivor Austin Eubanks made his last speech at a Connecticut opioid conference. He was found dead in Colorado last weekend.|last=Altimari|first=Dave|date=May 20, 2019|website=Hartford Courant|access-date=2019-05-21}}</ref>

== Personal life == Eubanks married at the age of 25 but divorced four years later.<ref name=marriage>{{cite news |last1=Shenfeld |first1=Hilary |title=Columbine Shooting Survivor: 'The Shooting Derailed Me, I Became an Addict' |url=https://people.com/human-interest/austin-eubanks-columbine-shooting-survivor-on-addiction-and-recovery/ |access-date=18 December 2020 |work=People |date=12 May 2016}}</ref> He had two sons from his marriage,<ref name=marriage/> and was engaged to Alex Dooley.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/human-interest/austin-eubanks-columbine-shooting-survivor-on-addiction-and-recovery/|title=Columbine Shooting Survivor: 'The Shooting Derailed Me, I Became an Addict'|last=Shenfeld|first=Hilary|date=May 12, 2016|website=People|language=en|access-date=2019-05-20}}</ref> On April 2, 2016, he celebrated five years of sobriety.<ref name=":3" />

==Death== On May 18, 2019, Eubanks's body was found during a welfare check at his residence in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He was 37.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48330318|title=Columbine shooting survivor found dead|date=2019-05-19|access-date=2019-05-19|language=en-GB}}</ref> His family confirmed that he died of an overdose.<ref name=":2">{{cite news|url=https://people.com/human-interest/austin-eubanks-died-apparent-overdose/|title=Austin Eubanks, Columbine Shooting Survivor and Public Speaker, Died of Apparent Overdose|newspaper=People|access-date=May 21, 2019}}</ref> It was later confirmed the overdose was heroin.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/13/us/columbine-survivor-austin-eubanks-heroin-overdose-trnd/index.html |title=Columbine shooting survivor Austin Eubanks died of a heroin overdose |last1=Weisfeldt |first1=Sara |last2=Vera |first2=Amir |website=CNN |date=14 June 2019 |access-date=2020-01-06}}</ref>

=== Charity === Eubanks's family set up a memorial fund in his name to collect tax-deductible donations. In partnership with The Onsite Foundation, a nonprofit that provides counseling and emotional health education, the family launched a therapeutic program for survivors of mass violence.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hindi|first=Saja|date=2019-06-13|title=Columbine survivor and addiction recovery speaker Austin Eubanks died of heroin overdose, autopsy shows|url=https://www.denverpost.com/2019/06/13/columbine-survivor-austin-eubanks-death-heroin-overdose/|url-status=live|access-date=2020-04-14|website=The Denver Post|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190614131025/https://www.denverpost.com/2019/06/13/columbine-survivor-austin-eubanks-death-heroin-overdose/ |archive-date=2019-06-14 }}</ref> The program, called Triumph Over Tragedy, was created to honor the life of Austin Eubanks, a champion for trauma-based causes and programs. His girlfriend, Laura Hutfless, helps lead the effort as a member of the foundation board.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/life/2020/03/16/triumph-over-tragedy-survivors-mass-shootings-heal-nashville/4643945002/|title=Triumph Over Tragedy: Survivors of mass shootings come together for first-of-its-kind workshop in Nashville to process and heal|website=The Tennessean|language=en|access-date=2020-04-14}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:1981 births Category:2019 deaths Category:American chief operating officers Category:American motivational speakers Category:Columbine High School alumni Category:Columbine High School massacre Category:Crime witnesses Category:Deaths attributed to Xanax overdose Category:Deaths by heroin overdose in the United States Category:Drug-related deaths in Colorado Category:Motivational speakers from Oklahoma Category:People from Denver Category:People from Steamboat Springs, Colorado