"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent" Isaac Asimov
The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999
at Columbine High School in the Colorado, near Denver, in the United
States. Two teenage students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, carried
out a shooting carnage, killing twelve students and a teacher and
injuring twenty-four others. They died committing suicide. It is
considered to be the deadliest school shooting, and the second
deadliest attack on a school in United States History.
The massacre generates intense public debate about gun control laws and
the availability of assault weapons in the United States. Main part of
the discussions centered on the nature of high school bullying and on
the role of violent movies and video games in American society. The
shooting resulted in an increased emphasis on school security, and a
fear of goth culture, heavy metal music, anti-depressants teenagers
usage, violent movies and violent video games.
In the beginning...
Early
warning signs surfaced in 1996, when Eric Harris created a private
website. The original site was developped to host Doom levels that he
and his friend Klebold have created for friends. Harris began a
primitive blog on the site, which included jokes and small journal
entries concerning his thoughts on parents, school, and friends. By the
end of the year, the site already contained instructions on how to make
explosives, and logs of the mischief he and Klebold caused. Beginning
in early 1997, the blog began to show the first signs of anger against
society.
Soon after their release from the psychiatric center, began keeping
journals of their progress. The pair also documented their arsenal with
video tapes which were kept secret.
Journal entries revealed that the pair elaborated a plan for a bomb.
The entries contained the ways to escape to Mexico, hijacking an
aircraft at Denver International Airport and crashing into a building
in New York City. It contained details about the fututre attacks. The
pair hoped that after setting off bombs in the cafeteria, they would
rampage through the school and shoot any survivors. Then, continue
their attack on neighbors houses. This original plan failed because
their main explosives did not explose. 500 people could have been
killed if it succeeded.
The pair also kept videos that explained explosives, ammunition, and
weapons they had acquired illegally. In these videos, the shooters also
revealed how the two hide their arsenals in their own homes. The videos
describe the relation between the twa and their parents. Some videos
contained target practice in nearby foothills, and shots of the areas
of the high school they planned to attack. A few days before the
shootings, a final video had the pair apologizing to their families.
The shooting begins
When
the cafeteria bombs failed, Harris and Klebold were near Harris' car.
There were heavy-armed with two sawn-off shotguns, a 9 mm
semi-automatic carbine, and a 9 mm TEC-9 semi-automatic pistol, in a
bag. They walked toward the cafeteria. They went to the top of the West
Entrance steps which is the highest point on campus. From this point,
the cafeteria's side entrance was at the bottom of the staircase, the
school's main West Entrance was to their left, and the athletic fields
to their right.
At 11:19 AM, Eric Harris says "Go! Go!". At that moment the gunmen
pulled out their shotguns and began shooting at Rachel Scott and
Richard Castaldo, who were sitting to their left, eating lunch. Both
were hit and critically injured. After the initial shots, one of the
shooters shot Scott again, killing her. It is unclear who shot first
and who killed Scott.
Meanwhile, a police sheriff arrived at the scene and began shooting at
Harris and Klebold. This distracted them from the injured Brian
Anderson. Anderson staggered out of the area and ran into the library.
Harris fired ten shots at the officer. The officer need a emergency
assistance. When his gun jammed, Harris ran inside the school with
Klebold. The pair then proceeded down the main North Hallway shooting
at anyone they saw and throwing pipe bombs. While doing so, they shot
student Stephanie Munson in the ankle. She was able to walk out of the
school and make it to a house across the street. The pair then
proceeded to shoot out the windows to the East Entrance of the school.
After going through the hall several more times, shooting at any
students they saw whithout injuring any. They went to the Library
Hallway. They kill some peapole and went out.
Sometime between 12:02 PM and 12:05 PM the shooters entered the library
again, but it was empty of all living students except for the
unconscious Patrick Ireland and Lisa Kreutz who played dead. We don't
not known what they did between the time they left the cafeteria and
the time they re-entered the library. Once inside, they attempted to
shoot out the windows at policemen, without success. They then moved
over to the table next to where Matthew Kechter and Isaiah Shoels lay,
there, they shot themselves, committing suicide. At 2:38 PM, Patrick
Ireland regained consciousness and crawled over to the windows, where
he attempted to exit. He was then taken out of the school through the
library windows by SWAT team members, in a famously TV scene. Lisa
Kreutz remained injured in the library until police entered the scene
at 3:25 PM; she was then removed, along with Ms. Nielson, Brian
Anderson, and the three library staff.
Early 98:
After pretty vandalism, authorities told Harris's to watch their son.
Harris begin keeping journal of his plans to kill at Columbine High.
Haris threatens Brooks Brown. A web site details Harris's rage.
May 98
After police given print out of Web site, no action is taken. Brown's call not returned.
June 98
Harris and Klebold began building pipe bombs. Parents fail to notice activity.
July 98
Harris plays "Doom" video game on internet. One level of game is layout of Columbine High.
August 98
Harris and Klebold explode pipe bombs in "Greenbelt" section.
September 98
Harris and Klebold become seniors at Columbine High.
October 98
Harris and Klebold video class project involve anger, violence and revenge.
November 98
Klebold's girlfriend turns 18, buys 3 guns used by Klebold and Harris in murders.
December 98
At some point, Harris is taking Luvox, a psycho-tropic drug for brain chemical imbalance.
January 99
Bomb making continues. Harris refines murder plans in his journal.
February 99
Man sells TEC-DC9 assault pistol to Harris. Goes shooting 3 times.
March 99
Counselor talks with Klebold and his father about his violent essays at school.
April 99
Harris and Klebold murder 12 students, 1 teacher and injure 23 other.
There was a great deal of debate about what motivated the killers and
whether anything could have been done to prevent the crime. The reality
of social cliques in high schools was a frequent topic of discussion.
Many argued that the pair's isolation from the rest of their classmates
prompted feelings of helplessness, insecurity and depression, as well
as a strong desire for attention. Some schools also began programs to
expose and stop school bullying, which many charged had fueled anger
and resentment within Harris and Klebold.
In the weeks following the shootings, media reports about the two
killers portrayed them as part of a "goth cult" known as the
"Trenchcoat Mafia." They were portrayed as "nerds" who were unpopular
and hated by much of the school's population. Later, such
characterizations were revised as both Harris and Klebold were
documented to have a close circle of friends and a wider informal
social group. Nevertheless, they were not "popular" and could best be
described as being members of the school's "rejects". It was also
reported that anti-gay epithets were frequently directed at them,
though both were known to have had girlfriends. As for the "goth cult",
Harris and Klebold were peripheral members of an informal school club
called the "Trenchcoat Mafia" in which they wore heavy black trench
coats. By the time of the shootings, most of the major members of that
group had already either graduated or dropped out of Columbine. A
backlash against the "Goth" subculture resulted from both students and
administrators across the country.
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