It was 11:19 am when the first set of gunshots pierced through the walls of Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. In 49 short minutes, two high school seniors, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold murdered 12 students and 1 teacher, and then killed themselves. Months prior, the pair planned out the attacks in a series of journal entries and video diaries. The attack at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999 raised many questions; the biggest one being, why did they do it? While the common media misconception is that the Columbine shooting was a war against jocks and outcasts, the shooting was actually perpetuated by psychopathy and depression in the shooters.
On April 20, 1999, the unimaginable occurred at Columbine High School in the small town of Littleton, Colorado. A school shooting, perpetrated by, then senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold took the entire community by storm. With 15 deaths, including the perpetrators, and 24 non-fatal injuries, the memories of this horrific massacre will forever resonate in minds of all. With a meticulously, thought out plan, the two shooters prepared guns and bombs before performing the sickening act. Families, the FBI, local officials, psychologists,
The beginning of the nonfiction, Columbine by Dave Cullen, takes place four days before the Columbine massacre at Columbine High School’s assembly in Littleton, Colorado, just before the weekend of Prom. Ironically, Principal DeAngelis, the one who had hosted the school assembly, provides a lecture of everyone coming back alive and safe after prom. Soon after, on April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold arrived at Columbine High School with two bombs based on portable propane bottles, decoy bombs in their cars and across town, and dozens of small pipe bombs, along with guns and ammunition. Their original and only plan was to shoot anyone and everyone who escapes from the building after the bombs detonated, and they had expected to be shot to death by police; however, their plans partly failed when the bombs planted inside the school did not go off. Although their plan of distraction did not succeed as expected, Harris and Klebold entered the school and began shooting and firing pipe bombs for a little over fifteen minutes. Afterwards, after roaming the school for a short amount of time, they returned to the library where most of their victims had died, set off one final bomb, and committed suicide by shooting themselves. Although their bombing failed, the ensued shooting resulted in a new era of school violence and had left “a lasting impression on the world.” However, by the end of the day, the horrifying incident was falsely blamed on bullying, the popular “Goth”
Born on November 9th, 1970, Lisa Vanderbeck grew up in a very close knit neighborhood, always doing things with her neighbors, whether they were thirty years older than her, or ten years younger. One person who she was extremely close to was a friend of her moms, Mrs. Louis, who lived five doors down from her. Lisa, her mom, and twin sister would go over to her house at least once a week for “Avon Lady Day”. They would drink coffee, and hang out with the other neighbors who attended.
Copyrighted in 2009, ten years after the horrific massacre at Columbine High School, Columbine by Dave Cullen strives to delve deeper into the mystery of that April shooting. Cullen was introduced to Columbine when he entered the scene as a journalist, but didn’t finish his research until nearly nine years later with the publishing of his book (Cullen xiv). However, Columbine was well worth the wait, landing him an Edgar Award, Goodreads Choice Award, Barnes and Noble Discover Awards, and the Top Education Book of 2009 by the American School Board Journal (Cullen 1). Calling the coverage of Columbine a “great media blunder,” Cullen recognizes his role in among the “guilty parties” of the press (Columbine xiv). This lead to a wealth of myths
On April 19, 1999 at approximately 11:19am in Littleton Colorado Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, 17 and 18 years old, went to Columbine High School to shoot students and staff. It was speculated that Harris and Klebold carried out the shootings as a retaliation for being bullied.( History.com Staff. "Columbine High School Shootings." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 20 Sept. 2017.) Due to Klebold and Harris being bullied, the two boys planned an attack to shoot the students and staff, with the population of 1,136 people in the building.
April 20, 1999, is a day of remembrance for many people. The Columbine massacre had an effect not only on the Littleton, Colorado community but also on the entire country. In the book Columbine by Dave Cullen, the author tells the story of the tragedy that started with Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. The book begins with an introduction into both Eric and Dylan's thoughts, actions, and reasoning behind their plan to attack their high school. Throughout the book the author points out how the media gave a different view for the motives of the attack which caused false accusations towards the killers. This book tells the truth told from survivors and evidence, but the honest truth behind the attack went to the grave with Eric and
I thought that the massacre at columbine high school was a horrible thing to happen. i think it could have been easily prevented if someone would have just talked to them about it and how they could fix their social problems. Dylan and Eric were very troubled teens who didn’t know what to do and did they oml thing they could think to do. then only thing that they thought would end the pain. to me it could have been prevented very easily.
On April 20, 1999 Columbine school would face a devastating attack. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold commit a school shooting that changes the lives of Columbine students and staff. Two best friends that make a deadly combination. They show up to the school with a plan to kill as many people as possible.
Emeka Odukwu Mrs. Patterson Honors English The contributions of Mental health in the Columbine shooting On April 20, 1999, two teenage boys killed twelve students, and one faculty member, and then proceeded to commit suicide at the high school they attended. At the time, this event would be recognized as the largest mass shooting in American History. The media portrayed the perpetrators as horrible, sick people because of their atrocious crime. However, a closer look behind the reasons that drove them to such violence shows that a psychiatrist may have even diagnosed them with an mental illness.
Major events have crafted the United States and other nations into what they are today. Going from world wars in the 1940’s, to civil rights movements in the 1960’s, to extravagant national debt today, have all played a part in shaping our nation. Being from rural Mississippi, world news being made here is uncommon. We see all of our major news from televisions or newspapers, and this “news” is all happening elsewhere, far from here. Whether it is a good thing that we do not make the big news or not, the fear of uncertain events still lingers. From shootings in schools to bombings in cities, we are fortunate for being seemingly far from these dangers. Even though no physical effects pertain to me, mental pain and fear stays and leaves doubt
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
The Columbine Massacre that occurred on April 20th, 1999 is one of the biggest shocks to hit the United States at that time. It was centered around two lonely and depressed high school boys, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who had a highly-detailed plan on attending school with explosives and firearms. The perpetrators murdered 12 students and a teacher during the attack along with injuring 21 additional people. The first victim who had their life taken was 17-year-old Rachel Scott who took shots in the head and in the torso when the two gunmen entered the school. “Scott was an energetic, sociable girl, who displayed concern for the well-being of others (About).” Eric and Dylan ended the attack by committing suicide.
The subject of student rights has caused a lot of confusion and anger for decades now. There are two different sides that everyone seems to fall into. Some people want the constitutional rights of students to be fully protected within the school. The other side believes that, as a public institution, schools should regulate what is said or done by students to protect everyone involved. This is where it gets confusing, because it is hard to draw the line between what is allowed or not. The three most interesting topics that I chose to cover are a student’s right to free speech, religion within the school and student privacy.
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