Columbine High School Tragedy Historical Event

The Late 90’s The Grunge Era Favorite songs- Smash mouth “All star”, Shania Twain, Nirvana, Korn, Dr. Dre, Eminem. Movies- 1. Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace 2. The Sixth Sense 3. Toy Story 2 President- Clinton Hair Styles- layered look Gas Prices- $1.10- $1.17

The 90’s were know as the era of “teen angst” Every teen wanted to “stick it to the man” Teen music was angry and loud. Many musicians sang of being unhappy, lonely, bad relationships, and suicide. Many movies were the same. Teens wore their hair long and uncut. They wore baggy clothes, some from the thrift store. Many teens smoked because it was still “cool”. Many subjects were still taboo, bullying, thoughts of suicide, abuse, addiction, etc...

What did this create? Teens calling out for help! Teens so angry, they didn’t know how to deal with their anger and had no support. Teens self-destructed. Some teens unloaded their anger onto others...

Who were Eric Harris & Dylan Kelbold? Eric was born 4/9/81 in Kansas, but moved to Colorado in 1993. Eric’s father was an Air Force pilot and they moved often. He wore “preppy” clothes and played little league baseball and soccer. Once his family moved to Colorado, things began to change. Became friends with Dylan Klebold and joined outsider group at school, the Trench Coat Mafia

Who were Eric Harris & Dylan Kelbold? Dylan Kelbold was born on 9/11/81 in Colorado. He was considered upper middle class. His mother worked with the disabled and his father was a geophysicist. He was quiet, shy, loved baseball (Red Sox) and computers. He was involved with bowling and school productions in highschool and was in the gifted program in grade school. He became friends with Eric Harris in high school.

Who were Eric Harris & Dylan Klebold? They both often played violent video games, were tech savvy, and began “enamored with Adolf Hitler”. Both of their behavior escalated into violence and petty robbery. Eric and Dylan were not popular and were often bullied. They did not speak to anyone about their anger and blamed many for their unhappiness. They did not fit in with the “jock” culture and did not like those who did.

What Do You Know about Columbine? High school in Colorado Known as the site of the worst school shooting to date It was an act of revenge, against EVERYONE Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were the perpetrators They entered through an open door in the school during lunch and began shooting. There were no lockdown drills prior to this...

Pictures

The Events, as they unfold. April 20, 1999- Eric and Dylan arrive at school, per the norm THey both leave during break and return at 11:00 am, wearing wraparound shades and black trench coats. They began shooting as they were entering the cafeteria, Rachel Scott was the first victim (Rachel’s Challenge) Some believe they were targeting ethnic minorities and “jocks”

Reaction to the Gunmen The first calls came through the dispatcher at 11:15 am. The first was a police officers son, he was in the cafe kitchen and the dispatcher could hear the gun being reloaded. The swat team did not show up until 12:30 pm, they thought it was a hostage situation. Students were fleeing, as they were being shot at by Eric and Dylan Injured students were falling out of windows in the hopes for rescue

SWAT SWAT began sweeping the building, findings signs on doors of injured teachers, students, and coaches The most damage done was in the library, where Eric and Dylan ended their attack by killing themselves after killing almost a dozen other people in the library The police found bodies with booby traps, cars with bombs set with detonators, along with the pipe bombs throughout the school Helicopters were flying overhead trying to sort out the chaos

Parents and Students Parents were running around the outside of the building searching for their children Students were fleeing the school, crying, shaking, and looking for loved ones The injured were taken to the hospital Students were taken to an elementary school to regroup with parents and to be counted for Suspects in black clothing were being arrested as the police did not know who they were looking for Students were being searched before being released

Videos http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1rpic_escape-to-freedom-from-columbine-sc_shortfilms Rescue https://vimeo.com/5416436 Pat Ireland

Why should we care? We should care because history repeats itself and this was the fourth deadliest massacre in the United States. We should also care because thousands of kids go to school everyday with unlocked doors and no knowledge of intruder drills.

Victims Perpetrators What did they do? Eric Harris Dylan Klebold Cassie Bernall Corey DePooter Kelly Fleming Matthew Kechter Daniel Mauser Daniel Rohrbough William "Dave" Sanders Rachel Scott Isaiah Shoels John Tomlin Lauren Townsend Kyle Velasquez Eric Harris Dylan Klebold What did they do? Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold Killed 12 students and a teacher. Twenty one others were injured. They then committed suicide in the library of the school.

COMICS

Connection to Triangle Factory Fire Both were PREVENTABLE Both include safety precautions that were not in place that could have helped this situation Both were caused by problems that our society ignored. T.F.F- Poor treatment of the Americans in poverty Columbine- Ignoring of teen social issues that cause violence Both led to MAJOR change in our society so that the deaths of so many would not be in vain!

Social Change Rachel’s Challenge: to stop bullying because we can’t ignore the fact that Eric and Dylan were bullied and had NO support Intruder alerts and drills Locked doors from the outside Security upon entrance into schools Safety training for all staff: including secretaries Training of police and responders No entrance to those who seem suspicious Training of students

Social Change Support groups Acknowledgment of damage done by bullying Support for victims of abuse, addiction, bullying Hotlines, counseling for any teens that think of hurting others or themselves Red flags are taken seriously!

We must learn from mistakes... Teens have much going on in their life that we do not know or understand. They need support. We need to have safety precautions in place in case of ANY possible event. Not just those we have already witnessed. Student and staff safety is top priority!

What does this all mean? What can WE do to ensure that no students feel like Dylan and Eric, which could lead to dangerous situations?

Cassie Bernall This song is about Cassie Bernall. She was asked before she was killed “do you believe in god”? She said yes and the killer pulled the trigger. Click on the picture.

WEBSITE

Resources http://www.acolumbinesite.com/timetable.html http://www.biography.com/people/eric-harris-235982 http://www.biography.com/people/dylan-klebold-235979