On April 20th, 1999, the small town of Littleton, Colorado was in disbelief to find out that their very own school, Columbine High School, had the attention of all United States. Two high school students, Eric Harris (senior) and Dylan Klebold (junior) came to school and killed 13 of their classmates, then committed suicide directly afterward. The massacre that occurred at Columbine High School provoked the United States thoughts on what teens should be exposed to, safety in schools, and gun control.
The cynical act that took place by Harris and Klebold was premeditated and their motivation to kill was quite significant. The boys had “planned the massacre for months. The day chosen for the attack was the birthday of Nazi dictator Adolf
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Hilter” (“Massacre at Columbine High (Special Report)” 1). According to classmates of Harris and Klebold, the boys were not popular, on the contrary they “were widely portrayed as lonely outcasts, bullied by more popular and athletic boys and shunned by girls” (“FBI Summit Investigates Myths Surrounding 1999 Columbine Shooting” 2), causing them to develop a hatred for most kids at the school and vengeful to get payback for the bullying. While being outcasts, the boys were not into the normal high school kid activities such as football and hanging out with friends but “[t]hey reportedly wore swastikas on black shirts, spoke German in the halls, re-enacted World War II battles, played the most vicious video games, talked about whom they hated, whom they would kill” (Gibbs 2) and had very malevolent personalities. Since the boys were into very violent video games, after the massacre occurred, Americas thoughts on violent video games and movies took a sharp turn. An immense number of people believed that teenagers should not have access to such violent video games because they assumed that the boys motivation behind the shooting was contrived from witnessing violent acts themselves. America responded to the complaints about the video games and movies and “ Clinton called on the film industry to voluntarily cut back on violence in movie ads and previews, limit the violence contained in movies rated PG-13, and enforce existing restrictions embodied in the R rating (“Massacre at Columbine High (Special Report)” 2), which hopefully impacted kids in a beneficial way. Although the malignant occurrence left 15 dead, the amount of kids they were planning on killing was much higher.
They were not out to kill any specific classmates, but “according to a journal later found in Harris’s bedroom, the shooters wanted to kill as many as many five hundred, the maximum number of students who might be present during the first lunch period in the cafeteria” (Tran 2). Their original plan was to set up bombs in various places throughout the school where they knew the most amount of people would be at a certain time and there “were also annotated maps of the school showing the best places to hide and where and when the most students gathered.” (Gibbs 8) in Eric Harris’ journal. Luckily, the “bombs that the two teenagers had made and planted throughout the school were duds. Only when the bombs failed to detonate did Klebold and Harris begin to shoot” (“FBI Summit Investigates Myths Surrounding 1999 Columbine Shooting” 5) or there would have been an overwhelming number of deceased students. Evidently, the shooters were ruthless when it came to killing their classmates. Since they did not have many friends, it was not hard for them to shoot their classmates since most were kids that they did not like. The only mercy that is known that the shooters showed is that “one student, an acquaintance of Klebold, was allowed to leave the library” (Tran 2), before they started killing the other students. The boys walked into the school numerous times with duffel bags …show more content…
with bombs inside, and nobody blinked an eye. When the shootings first started going off, a teacher on the floor above said that he thought it was an explosion in a science lab and it was not until he heard screaming that he realized there were shooters in the school. Many people across the United States had opinions concerning gun control after the incident at Columbine.
It caused many families and schools to become apprehensive due to the fact that it can happen at any school on any given day. Furthermore, the “shooting not only inspired a number of films, works of fiction and nonfiction, songs, plays, and video games but also inspired a number of copycat killings in schools across the United States and in Canada” (Tran 3). Since it was the worst school shooting to take place during that time period, the United States was in utter disbelief to see all of the havoc happening. Some people wanted to put all the blame on guns and some all the blame on the boys. In a newspaper article after the shooting there were many different opinions regarding Columbine, one saying that “This time, we can’t allow ourselves to simply scowl at the National Rifle Association. Or at disintegrating families and bleak, cynical television that trivializes life. We can’t simply rage at bloody video games.... This time we cannot just duck our tongues and, when the wailing is done, simply walk away” ("Monitor: Columbine High School massacre - Armed and trigger-happy kids; American comment on the shooting dead of of thirteen people in a Colorado school by two teenage pupils, members of the self-styled `Trenchcoat Mafia'." 1). The person who said this is wanting change but does not believe that change is going to come from blaming every organization that happened
to have affiliation with the shooting. While another person wrote that there will never be a specific solution to solve a problem that nobody knows the answer to, and that the “reasons behind this act of mindless, senseless violence eludes us now and, perhaps, will elude us forever. Nor will any answer ever be acceptable” ("Monitor: Columbine High School massacre - Armed and trigger-happy kids; American comment on the shooting dead of of thirteen people in a Colorado school by two teenage pupils, members of the self-styled `Trenchcoat Mafia'." 2). Although Columbine happened almost 20 years ago, the quotes are still relevant and school shootings are a problem throughout the United States. It is difficult to accommodate to every individuals opinion when the opinions differentiate significantly, but the matter of gun safety will forever be a dilemma. The massacre at Columbine High School sparked a nationwide debate on how kids should grow up, what they should be accessible to, and how to treat one another. Since then, the nation has faced many similar incidents, which all lead back to Columbine, being that it was the first major mass shooting to take place at a high school. Although Columbine was a great tragedy, it has helped the US find ways to try and prevent other occurrences like this one from happening again.
Two boys by the names of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris walked into Columbine High School around 11:19 A.M. with 99 home-made explosives, a 9mm carbine, a pump shotgun, and a double barrel shotgun. As well as being accompanied by four knives. Both managed to murder thirteen innocent people in total, twelve students and one teacher.
"Columbine High School Shootings." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2015. Eighteen year old Eric Harris and seventeen year old Dylan Klebold were two boys with a fascination of violent video games and music. These young men were known to be “goth” and were bullied all throughout their high school careers because of their different interest. In 1999, on April 20th these boys went into their high school with mixed emotions and a devious plan to get revenge. The two teens went into the high school with handguns and killed both students and faculty members, before they turned the guns around on themselves. This is a reliable source because it informed us of both previous emotion, and the aftermath of the tragedy with detail about the boys, the school and the lives affected. This source was relevant for me because of how thoroughly it described the shooting, and gave me background information as to why and how it happened.
Hysteria. Terror. Paranoia. All words used to describe feelings after a school disturbance. Reports of such emergencies from mainstream media outlets cause some to conclude extraordinary security breaches happen on an almost daily basis. However, schools are actually safeguarded; in recent years, protocols have been installed in schools across the United States to ensure safety. The catalyst: nationwide panic and suffering after an act of terror at a high school in Littleton, Colorado. Journalist and author Dave Cullen, in his book, Columbine, narrates the horror surrounding this shooting. Cullen’s purpose is to inform readers by captivating their attention utilizing emotional language. He establishes contrasting characters and alludes to significant
But Harris and Klebold planned for a year and dreamed much bigger. The school served as means to a grander end, to terrorize the entire nation by attacking a symbol of American life. Their slaughter was aimed at students and teachers, but it was not motivated by resentment of them in particular. Students and teachers were just convenient quarry, what Timothy McVeigh described as "collateral damage."” Harris and Klebold could’ve chosen any place to stage their bombing as it wasn’t about the school. The school had absolutely nothing to do with their intentions, it was just an opportunity to do what they dreamed of doing. They had no intention of starting a school shooting as was stated in the same article as above, “The killers, in fact, laughed at petty school shooters. They bragged about dwarfing the carnage of the Oklahoma City bombing and originally scheduled their bloody performance for its anniversary. Klebold boasted on video about inflicting "the most deaths in U.S. history." Columbine was intended not primarily as a shooting at all, but as a bombing on a massive scale…. It wasn 't just "fame" they were after… they were gunning for devastating infamy on the historical scale of an Attila the Hun. Their vision was to create a nightmare so devastating and apocalyptic that the entire world would shudder at their power.”
On the morning of April 20, 1999, Eric Davis Harris and Dylan Bennet Klebold went into the Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, and went on a rampage killing spree leaving 12 students and 1 teacher dead and over 20 people injured before killing themselves. This crime is known as one of the most deadliest school massacres in the United States history (Pittaro).
At 11:19 in the morning of April 19, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold stood at the west entrance of Columbine High School preparing for the deadliest shooting in American school history. One of them yelled, "Go! Go!," and then the two pulled out their shotguns and began firing, killing two students almost immediately (Jefferson County 3). Harris and Klebold began moving through the school randomly shooting students, detonating pipe bombs, and yelling about how much fun they were having. While this was happening, Coach Dave Sanders and other heroes were frantically trying to get students out of harm's way. At 11:26, while running past the library warning students of the killers, Sanders was shot by one of the shooters. He made it into a science room where first aid was administered by students. He died several hours later in that same room. The worst killing took place in the library during a span of about eight minutes starting at 11:29. Ten students were killed and twelve others were wounded. After leaving the library, Harris and Klebold wandered around the school in movements that appeared to be "extremely random" (Jefferson County 18). They eventually returned to the library at about 12:08 and killed themselves. In 49 minutes, 14 students were left dead, one teacher was left dying, 23 people were injured, and an entire community's sense of safety and security was shattered.
and Dylan Klebold were two teenagers that walked into their high school and killed students while the students were in school. In all, thirteen people were killed by the murderers. The two boys were part of the Trench Coat Mafia that killed a dozen students and a teacher before turning the guns on themselves. Cassie Bernall and other students hid in the library of Co...
On the morning of April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold approach Columbine High School, in Jefferson County, Colorado. Armed with one 10-shot Hi-Point model 995 carbine rifle, one Intratec AB-10 (TEC-9) pistol, two Savage 12-gauge shotguns, and as many as ninety-five explosive devices, Harris and Klebold enter the school near the cafeteria. Upon doing so, they are met with the words that God commanded unto Moses on Mount Sinai: Thou Shall Not Kill. Harris and Klebold tremble in fear and shame for what they have come to accomplish. Dropping their weapons, the boys fall to their knees, bow their heads in penance, and pray to God for forgiveness.
The columbine massacre the day where no one is safe in school or out of school. The columbine massacre is about two students named Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris both seniors 17 years old both two weeks before graduating they killed 12 students, one teacher, and 21 injured to their shooting on April 20, 1999. Both Dylan and Eric were some believe they were bullied by the sport teams in their school so they planned to kill the people who bullied them and other mostly anyone who gets in their way but that wasn’t really why the FBI he said that there target was everyone no one in pacify we will not get in to more details now. Dylan and Eric were both intelligent boys with solid parents and a good home and both had brothers younger than them. They played soccer, baseball, and both enjoyed to work on computers. Both boys were thinking on commit suicide on 1997 but instead started to plan a massacre in 1998 a year before it happened. Then the two boys had got into some trouble for breaking into a van on January 30, 1998 trying to steal some fuses and wires for bombs for them to make, but they got caught in trouble. So the court put them in a program called the juvenile diversion program, but even if they were there they were still planning the massacre and the court also put Eric in some angry management classes and people believe it worked but it didn’t he just did it to look like it work and both boys made it look like they were really sorry but they weren’t. Dylan and Eric both really hated everyone in their school and the court as well after they got caught breaking in to that van that’s when they really started to plan the massacre more and that’s when Harris started he’s journals no one really knows way but they didn’t hate a hand...
On December 14th 2012, just 11 days before Christmas, an awful tragedy happened in Newtown, Connecticut. Twenty-six people were shot at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. This awful event left a lot of unanswered questions and rumors about that day. The reason for that is because the shooter killed himself after shooting twenty young children and six adults. This tragedy open the eyes of everyone; made you want to hug your loves one just a little tighter, appreciate what you still have and never take a day for granted. Even our president Barack Obama felt the pain of all those who lost their loved ones in this event. He insured everyone that he will do everything in his power to make sure a tragedy like this will not happen again. However, did you know that there have been over 44 school shootings since the tragedy of Sandy Hook Elementary shooting? I know as a future teacher and mother I want to make sure my children are safe in this world and even at school. I want to be able to make a difference in this issue and have some knowledge to have I can do that. The society should understand what really happen during the Sandy Hook event, the reasons behind why school shootings/violence are rapidly increasing each year, and have some knowledge about what we, as a society, can do to help in order for us to start seeing a decrease of these events.
On May 4, 1970 at approximately 12:24 PM members of the Ohio National Guard shot at and killed several unarmed Kent State University students. These students were protesting President Nixon’s decision to invade Cambodia. While some of the students who were shot at were actively protesting at the time of the shooting, others were simply walking by or casually observing the protest from a distance. How could an appalling incident like this occur? What possessed the members of the Ohio National Guard to shoot at unarmed students?
The United States will not soon forget the rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut that came just two weeks before Christmas last year. This tragic event resulted in the death of twenty students and eight adults. Although the event shocked the nation, rampage shootings are nothing new. Over the years, many families have lost loved ones to these horrific events. As a result, these mass shootings such as the one that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary caught public attention leading to a push to find the cause of these events. Out of this research a variety of possible causes came to light consisting of arguments stating that high school bullying, availability of guns, mental illness, violent movies and video games are the cause of mass shootings. However, these researchers and debaters tend to ignore the role of massive media coverage in the increase of copycat shootings in the United States.
School shootings seemed like a new phenomenon, but they occurred for the majority of American history. The first school shooting occurred On July 26, 1764, when a Lenape Indian shot and killed nine children and the school master of the Greencastle, Pennsylvania school (Galvin): as noted in Appendix A. Since 1764, the number of school shootings rose exponentially. In the 1990’s, eighty-six school shootings occurred and between 2000 and 2014, 110 shootings transpired since 2000 (Killam,2008). The development of semiautomatic weapons lead to an increase in deaths. A study conducted in 1990 found through the years of 1986 to 1990; 71 people died, 201 wounded, and 242 people held hostage by school shooters(Galvin). While the area a school serves as one factor in the number of violent acts committed per year, school shootings have not been connected to this. The schools in Chicago dealt with more violent acts, but Sandy Hook Elementary, a small city school had relatively few violent acts committed by students.
On April 16th, 2007 Cho had created one of the most deadly school shootings in America. ( "Virginia Tech Shootings Fast Facts." CNN.) It was unfathomable to think that in the close future, America would encounter many more detrimental school shootings. This is including the shooting of elementary students in Newtown, CT where Adam Lanza had shot and killed 27 children and faculty. Lanza had been known to have significant health issues that had kept him from living a normal life. (Sanchez, Ray, Chelsea J. Carter in Atlanta, Yon Pomrenze in New York, and The CNN New York Bureau Staff. ) Both of these shooters had killed themselves shortly after their attacks. School violence has become a nation-wide issue.
There are many different types of school violence. The one that gets the most public attention is school shootings. The term school shooting is basically defined as an act where a student, school staff member, or intruder from the outside commits an act on the school campus. One of the most well known school shootings took place at Columbine High School near Littleton, Colorado. On a Tuesday April 20,1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, students at Columbine High School, took the lives of thirteen other students before taking the lives of their own. When we think of events like this, we have many questions that go through our mind. Thoughts like why did this happen, could it have been prevented, and how did impact the individuals involved just to name a few. There are probably several more thoughts that go through the minds of a nation when we hear about traumatic evens such as a school shooting.