Columbine High School Massacre

The Facts They placed two 20 lb. propane bombs in the cafeteria which failed to detonate at 11:17AM They resulted to a pistol, a rifle, and two sawed off shotguns Teacher Patricia Nielson called 911 Police arrived within 5 minutes, but surrounded the school instead of entering Should they have entered? Would more lives have been saved? 13 total murder victims 23 others were wounded Double suicide at approximately 12:08PM in the library

Strange Encounters Harris slapped a table twice saying, “Peek-a-boo!” before shooting and killing Cassie Bernall. Klebold asked Valeen Schnurr, who had already been shot and cried out “Oh God, help me,” if she believed in God. She answered, “Yes,” and he walked away. She survived. Brooks Brown’s parents had reported online threats made by Harris to the police, but nothing was ever done about it. Interestingly, on the day of the shooting, Brooks saw Harris in the school parking lot. Harris said, “"Brooks, I like you now. Get out of here. Go home." John Savage was hiding under a table when Klebold said hello to him. John responded, “Hi Dylan, what are you doing?” Klebold told him, “Oh, just killing people.” When John asked if he would be killed, the shooter responded, “No dude, just run. Just get out of here.”

“I’ve known these people for like four years, four freaking years, and they didn’t do it. We’re gonna graduate in like 17 days, and they feel like ending everyone’s life like now!?” *crying* “And then he came into the cafeteria, and you could hear like bombs and shotguns going off, and then he came into the library and shot everybody around me, then put a gun to my head and said, he asked if we all wanted to die, and, and he was gonna kill us if we were of color and if we had a hat and if we were, if we played sports…” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvDfhhAyUl8

Dylan Klebold Born: September 11th, 1981 CHIPS program (Challenging High Intellectual Potential Students): elementary school Played baseball, soccer, and T-ball as a kid Big Boston Red Sox fan Cub Scout An avid smoker and occasional drinker; earned the nickname “Vodka” Loved music and movies: Natural Born Killers, From Dusk Till Dawn, and Pulp Fiction Planned to study Computer Science at Arizona State University Kept a journal which is now available to the public At Columbine High School he was a light and sound coordinator for school plays, computer assistant, and involved in Columbine’s RNN (Rebel News Network) Clinically depressed and admitted in his journal that he just wanted someone to love Had loving family and friends, but believed they would all leave him in the end

Eric Harris Born: April 9, 1981 Father was an Air Force pilot, so their family moved around a lot Shy kid, always in the shadow of older brother Only played baseball because his parents made him Moved to Littleton, Colorado in 1993 Freshman year, he asked a girl named Tiffany to homecoming. After the dance, she refused to go out with him again, so he faked a suicide. He also wrote a German passage in her yearbook that translates to, “I am God.” Bullied by the jocks throughout high school Anger problems: his mother started taking him to therapy sessions, he smashed a friend’s windshield and threatened to kill him because they refused to drive him to school, and he had his own website in which he ranted about everyone and everything that he hated or had wronged him Became obsessed with playing violent video games Rejected from the U.S. Marie Corps due to his psychiatric medication In his journal, he wrote about the plans for the massacre, calling it “Judgement Day.” He posted on his website about their bomb making progress and would brag about their expertise using his nickname, “Reb.” He also posted on his webpage that he hated the world, “Everyone in it, not just jocks or blacks or whites or rich people... Everyone.”

Delinquent Histories Eric and Dylan worked together at a pizza shop called Blackjack Pizza. They often got in trouble for setting off fireworks and placing booby traps on the fence. The two acted as outsiders and developed a hate towards their peers. They both were fascinated with all things German and often gave the “Heil, Hitler” salute. In 1998 they broke into a van and were charged with theft, criminal mischief and criminal trespassing. They were both sentenced to a diversion program and was released a month early from the program in February 1999 with a glowing review being called “a bright young man who has a great deal of potential.” Sometime in 1998 they started planning their attack on Columbine and they got guns and made pipe bombs. He believed that their plot would bring vengeance and fame and even discussed with Eric which director should direct the film of their attack.

A Study by the Secret Service May 2002 Secret Service examined 37 US school shootings and found: They were rarely impulsive and unplanned In most incidents, other people knew about the attacker's idea and/or plan to attack Most did not directly threaten their targets prior to the attack No specific profile of this type of offender Most attackers engaged in some behavior prior to the incident that caused others concern or indicated a need for help Most attackers had difficulty coping with significant losses or personal failures, and many had considered or attempted suicide Many attackers felt bullied, persecuted, or injured by others prior to the attack Many had access to and/or previously used a weapon In many cases, other students were involved in some capacity Despite prompt law enforcement responses, most shooting incidents were stopped by means other than law enforcement intervention

Zero-Tolerance New security measures in schools: metal detectors, security guards, etc. SWAT teams and police department are now trained for incidents with active shooters Zero-tolerance policies Disproportionate responses to minor violations: ex. Possession of ibuprofen or Midol, pocketknives in cars, and carrying sharp tools out of woodshop How do you feel about these types of policies?

Discussion Does media influence society? How? Which types of media are most influential? Are juveniles or adults more susceptible to biased media? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NOFSOeOBsk 1:22

Works Cited http://www.newrepublic.com/article/122832/why-does-columbine-myth-about-martyr-cassie-bernall-persist http://www.history.com/topics/columbine-high-school-shootings http://www.acolumbinesite.com/dylan/writing.html http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/us/columbine-high-school-shootings-fast-facts/ http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-04-13-columbine-myths_N.htm http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/columbine.cd/Pages/LIBRARY_TEXT.htm http://crimeandcolumbine.tumblr.com/post/85948486554/john-savage-telling-his-story-of-the-columbine http://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-really-happened-at-columbine/