The Columbine Shooting On April 20, 1999, two students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who attended Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado went on a shooting spree, leaving thirteen dead and twenty wounded before turning the guns on themselves and committing suicide. This attack would go down as the single worst school shooting in United States history and the shooting spread fear in people across the nation and caused a rise in security. Schools across America introduced new security measures such as metal detectors, dress codes and I.D. badges. Despite the fear left in many people they were still asking several questions: How could two kids do such a horrific act? Was bullying to blame for this attack? Could attacks like these be prevented? At first the cause of the shooting was unknown and there were many conspiracies regarding the reason for the attack. Some believed that the shooting was a result of the goth culture, violent video games, and the music they listened to. Others thought the shooting was a direct …show more content…
Dylan was a quiet reserved kid who enjoyed using computers and did not fit in with the jock culture at school. He was a considered a “normal” kid and like everyone else he even attended the prom three days before the shooting. Unlike Harris, Klebold was easier to understand; he was a kid that suffered from depression. He was also temperamental and suicidal. The two boys were perfect for each other and they fed off of each other's emotions. Ultimately, the two did not care about the jock culture and they were not bullied; they just simply hated everyone, and they wanted to kill. Harris and Klebold were seeking “fame” and they wanted their attack to go down infamously as the worst massacre in the history of the United States. The two also wanted to create a nightmare that would put fear into people when they thought about
On April 20th 1999, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris committed a planned mass murder at their high school killing 13 people and injuring 20 in just an hour (XxSlenderMotorX, 2012). They planted bombs throughout the school, but they did not detonate. Sadly, they also took guns to kill people, so even when the bombs did not go off they were able to go through with their act. There original goal was to kill plenty more people than they did. They wrote journals and claimed to want to be like the LA Riots, the Oklahoma Bombing, Vietnam, etc (XxSlenderMotorX, 2012).. They named there desired massacre after a movie called Named Born Killer or NBK, they felt like they related to these boys in the movie and felt superior to their other students (XxSlenderMotorX, 2012). Sadly, a lot of their problem stemmed from kids not letting the boys participate in social events. These boys felt shut out and unwanted, but also felt better than anyone else. In the end, Dylan and Eric also ended up killing themselves. So, who were these boys and what potentially caused them to attack their school?
Columbine High School Shooting: Why did Columbine occur and what can be learned from it?
The Columbine High School Shooting was a tragic day for many 2 students Dylan and Eric killed 14 students died and 1 teacher in the most infamous school shooting of its time. Many wonder what caused these 2 students to decide to shoot up their school. Some say it was bullying others say it was because they were a part of a school group called the trench coat mafia.
Bullying is a serious problem with the potential of lasting effects. The two boys were planning an attack on the bullies that had made school miserable for them. “they were members of a group of social outcasts called the Trenchcoat Mafia that was fascinated by Goth culture.”( History.com Staff. "Columbine High School Shootings." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 20 Sept. 2017.) Klebold and Harris initially carried out the shooting as a retaliation for the miserable years in
In 1999, the time the massacre took place, violence like this rarely happened; let alone at a school. After Columbine there was this sense of fear in communities, families, law enforcement, and in schools, and all people wanted to know was why this did happen (Pittaro, 2007)? How could two kids do this, and how could it be prevented? There are a few explanations and theories that can be applied to this incident that deal with both psychological and sociological issues. The first theory is the social learning theory. This theory deals with how people learn certain behaviors and values through their families, community, peers, and even other media outlets. How this theory applies to Harris and Klebold is that these two were opposites. As stated above, after the shooting psychologist really believed that Harris was a psychopath and mentally unstable, and people knew him of being aggressive, he was often depressed, and had tried to kill himself on multiple occasions. On the other hand Klebold was the complete opposite. For the people who knew him he was nice and friendly, even participated in a few of the schools productions and worked the light board for plays and concerts. Three days before the massacre he attended the schools prom with friends, so how these two completely opposite kids did were find a common interest in violence? This is where the social learning theory can be applied. Klebold was still an
The Columbine shooting is known as the bloodiest, also the deadliest school shooting in U.S history. On April 20, 1999 twelve teenagers, also one adult were killed in a massive school shooting. Dylan Klebold a seventeen year old and Eric Harris a eighteen year old were students at Columbine High School in Colorado. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were arrested in January 1998 for stealing items in a van. In March 1998 Harris threatened Brooks Brown to kill him and would love to kill people. Columbine shooting greatly impacted America due to the price of firearms and movement to firearms school safety was an issue and made schools safer with more enforced rules and safety hazards, people culturally started to become more feared.
School shooters usually do not plan on getting away with the crime because the shooter has adopted a kill or be killed attitude and as such, is willing to take one’s own life. The third element of the social bond theory involvement. Harris and Klebold, spent a substantial amount of time involved in a lot of illegal online activities that included searching for information as to how to make pipe bombs and other explosives. Revenge is a motive in more than 50% of the school attacks because the offenders believed that retaliation is the only way to get revenge for the wrongful behaviors and actions of others, some investigators believed that the Columbine Shooting was out of revenge, and others believed that Harris and Klebold just had severe mental issues. The last element is belief. Belief is a common value system within a culture. Belief plays a role in deviance in two ways, the criminal either neglects the moral beliefs they have been taught, or justifies their deviant behavior beliefs so that they can engage in criminal activity, while still believing it’s wrong. Harris and Klebold belief was a mix of both, they disregarded the social norms of society and they justified their belief even though they knew it was wrong. A tape left behind showed footage of the boys confessing they wrong doing and how devastated their parents would be, but still followed through
The first misconception is that the social cliques that occur in high schools across the nation has a role in this tragedy. Columbine is not simply a school shooting but is rather a shooting that the gunmen chose the school as their tool. School shooters tend to act impulsively and attack the targets of their rage mainly the students and faculty. Harris and Klebold planned for a year and dreamed much bigger. The school served as a means to a grander end, to terrorize the entire nation by attacking a symbol of American life. The shooters talk in numerous video tapes about their act being bigger than the Oklahoma city bombings. They boasted about making sure there bloody performance was bigger and more memorable. Klebold is particular was quoted as bragging about inflicting “the most deaths in U.S. history. Columbine was
One of the most horrific shootings that scared America was the Columbine High School shooting of 1999. Though not the first mass shooting, this shooting was the first major school shooting with the death of 12 students, 1 teacher, and 21 injured. The two shooters were Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. Both of the killers were white, male, and 18. They had both parents, were both a part of an
It is without a doubt that there has been an increase in violent crimes in schools throughout recent years. School shootings continue to become more and more common, especially in North America. Safety concerns for any and all students and staff in schools are at all all time high due to the high number of fatal and non-fatal occurring incidences. Since 2013 to the present, it is estimated that the United States has seen approximately 205 school shootings. Weekly, that is a shocking one shooting on average. Many of these shootings have resulted in the injuries and deaths of multiple of students and staff members. (Everytown Research, 2017) Evidently, school shootings are tragic events that affect so many more people than just the victims. However, these events are also interesting to look at from the psychological and sociological point of views. Through much research, it can be concluded that school shootings are a complex problem that are caused by a mix of improper brain development and societal and media influences which motivate school shooters to emerge. Psychological factors may include struggling with mental illnesses and/or abuse that leads to damaged brain development. Additionally, being bullied and/or the role of the media are examples of sociological factors.
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold changed the way schools handle threat precautions. The secrets they left us; the boys being outcasts, bullies, and the trench coat mafia, leave us with a horrible tragedy to deal with. Which are just some of the proven myths in the shooting of Columbine.
On April 20th of the year 1999, two high school students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, went armed into Columbine High School with guns, knives, and a multitude of bombs. The result was the slaughter of twelve students and one teacher. The gunners also turned the guns
On Tuesday, April 20 1999, Columbine High School located in Columbine Colorado an unfortunate massacre happened and many teens lost their lives. The two students responsible for this incident were Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. These two senior students were responsible for killing twelve students and one teacher; they were also responsible for injuring an additional twenty one students on their rampage. A few other students were injured while trying to escape the school. Columbine is considered the fourth deadliest school massacre in history. It was said to be that there was not one target but everyone was a target on Eric and Dylan’s rampage through the high school
The next theory is categorized as a less-modern perspective as it goes all the way back to the Victorian Era. This approach is based on Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychodynamic, which focuses on the role of the unconscious mind and its influence on conscious behavior, early childhood experiences, development of sense of self, and other motivations. (Ciccarelli, 2012). In other words, this theory states that humans have an unconscious mind in which we repress all of our threatening urges and desires into. In effect of repressing urges, it creates nervous disorders. This approach greatly stresses the importance of early childhood experiences. I firmly believe that both boys, especially Klebold, repressed their urges and thoughts which created a dramatic lash-out. According to New York Times, Klebold had come from a very well educated family that had very high expectations for him. His childhood had been constricted to studying and since he was exposed to such lifestyle at such a young age, he grew accustomed to better his education. Kleboid showed no obvious signs of danger to his family, as he valued how he appeared to his parents. However though, he had a great drinking problem which caused major aggression. Harris, Klebold’s good friend, was greatly interested in creating bombs. His childhood was not like Klebold’s—his family was not as forceful of his studies, or close.
those who may have behavior disorders, social out casting and anger issues in regards to