On the 110th birthday of Adolf Hitler on April 20th, 1999, the most notorious school shooting in America occurred. Eric Harris and Dylan Kelbold shot and killed 12 of their peers as well as a teacher at Columbine high school in Littleton, Colorado. The tragic event sent shockwaves across America and lead to massive changes in public school safety. Serious discussions of having SROs (School Resource Officers) at every school and combating gun rights were some main takeaways people had after Columbine. These issues, however, were not the way shootings like Columbine could have been prevented. Predominantly, many shooters leave clues or a trail that other people can easily pick up on if more thought was given to the actions. This statement could …show more content…
Citing from Cullen, “Zack Heckler said Wayne could not figure out how to defuse the bomb, so he went outside with Eric and detonated it (Cullen 211).” Eric’s father, Wayne Harris, found a pipe bomb in his son’s room. Rather than taking it to the police or even telling authorities, Wayne detonated the bomb with his son in the mountains. Wayne also received a call saying that his clips had arrived, he answered the call as if it was a mistake and hung up the phone. He never thought for one moment that the number might not be wrong and there was a little bit more to the situation. Had Wayne done a little bit more digging and ignored that Eric was his son for just a moment, he could have realized Eric’s true colors. There is a high probability that Rachel Scott and the 12 other Columbine victims would not have died that fateful day if Wayne Harris had woken up. Too many red flags were swept under the rug, and as a result, the most infamous school shooting in modern history …show more content…
According to Cullen, “Fourteen months later, after the murders, DeVita lamented how convincing the boys had been (Cullen 235).” First, Eric and Dylan did sort of fly under the radar at school. However, the picture containing the two pointing finger guns at the camera and wearing trench coats to school brought enough attention to the two to raise questions despite the lying nature of Eric and Dylan. Second, multiple people did report Eric and Dylan and practically nothing came of it. With this said the people who knew or reported the shooters and their various illegal activities could have informed the parents of Dylan and Eric with more details. Last, yes the Jeffco police department did not take serious action against Eric for his blog. Yet, if the parents who were aware of the blog were concerned enough they would have taken the blog to higher authorities. More action can always be taken in situations like this because the potential consequences are so
There are different steps for school safety now because Columbine High School and the police were a big factor in “dropping the ball” when it came to the Columbine shooting. So many people missed a lot of signs, especially the police station. Brookes Brown and his family warned the police about Eric Harris for more than a year before Columbine, when the Brown family was threatened by Eric multiple times. It is revealed that the Browns family “had contacted the sheriff’s department about Eric fifteen times”(165). Although they contacted them fifteen times the police station never took their concerns seriously, yet if they had taken their concerns seriously there is a possibility that Columbine would have never happened.
In the book “Columbine” by Dave Cullen, several unknown truths are unfolded about the school shooting that shocked and confused many. Upon the beginning
On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold carried out an attack on Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. They fired guns towards students, killing thirteen people and injuring more than twenty. Afterwards, they turned the firearms on themselves. In his book ‘Columbine’, Dave Cullen analyses how and why Eric and Dylan massacred the victims at the school. When viewed in hindsight, events such as this are inspected to every minute detail; there are always ways in which the outcome could be changed.
It was a sign that he did not feel safe stopping him himself so he tried to get someone else to stop him. Harris never truly wanted a friend, he wanted a person he could manipulate into helping him. Harris “befriended” a half-Jewish boy while he is a known Nazi and antisemitic. If he truly wanted a friend, he would not have befriended someone who was a part of a group he hated but Harris viewed Klebold as someone who was willing to listen to him and was easy to manipulate. Eric was simply a manipulative psychopath while Dylan was the depressed manipulated
People wanted other reasons to blame the boys for their actions like targeting their bullies for revenge, the jocks, specific races or ethnicities. All of these rumors were reported as truths by the media which only hindered the investigation more. It was extremely difficult for law enforcement to analyze all the information, because the magnitude of the evidence was so high. As families still felt in the dark, they began to sue Jefferson County for sole purpose of gaining evidence. These same families, wanted Eric Harris’ and Dylan Klebold’s parents to answer for what their kids had
(Cullen 376) When society does not understand content, they turn to others for help. In this situation, it is exactly what Eric wants; more people aware; more attention. He wants the entire world to know what he has accomplished and what they have made him do. Eric blames the world for pushing him to become a murderer and that they should all die with
Eric was a psychopath. Dylan Klebold was depressed. His parents knew he was sad but did not know how bad it was. Dylan’s parents did know Dylan was depressed but worse than the parents knew. “His parents didn’t understand the full extent of it, but high school wasn’t turning out to be a kind place for him.
On a dark scary evening, Lloyd Wickliffe was working as a security guard in a McDonald’s on Halsted Street on Chicago’s far South Side. At a little past eight, during an armed robbery attempt, Wickliffe was killed by a shotgun blast, and another security guard, Alvin Thompson, was wounded. The attackers, Edgar Hope and Andrew Wilson, did not get any money, but they stole the handguns the guards were carrying. Alton Logan was home asleep, nowhere near the robbery. Later he wounded guard, Thompson, was questioned and correctly identified Edgar Hope as one of the shooters.
Austin Walker DC English 101 Professor McCrady 20 April, 2023 Klebold , Why? School is somewhere many kids feel the safest, but on April 20th, 1999 this was false for every student in Columbine High School. On this atrocious day, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, students of Columbine High School, shot up their very own school killing 13 innocent lives made up of other students and faculty.
School Shootings: How We All Miss the Point... The aftermath of a school shooting is tragic, depressing, and causes hatred for the lives lost and the person who took them. Everyone, especially the media, tries to interpret why the shooter killed their victims, or why they felt the need to end others’ lives and their own. How We All Miss the Point on School Shootings, by Mark Manson, explains what and why these mass shootings happen. He starts by using examples of shootings and the murderer’s past.
Some appear to have just been born this way, others had contributing factors that may have triggered something inside that caused them to react in such a violent, hideous manner. There are some children born that have no conscience, yet they do not kill. I feel that Eric, being 13, knew he was harming or killing Derrick, however, and did not seem to be bothered by his actions. Having been incarcerated at such a young age, I must wonder if he received any type of help or counseling from the judicial system to help him transition back into society with life management skills needed. Is there hope for Eric to become a productive member of society, or will he kill again?
April 20, 1999, was far from peaceful in Littleton, Colorado. Two seniors, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold murdered twelve students and one teacher before ultimately killing themselves at Columbine High School and injuring an additional twenty-three people. At the time of the shooting, Columbine was the most fatal school shooting in United States history. Myth is a story or historical event that unfolds part of the world’s view of people, beliefs, and natural phenomena (“Myth” 1). In a rush to make sense of the killings, the media spread a lot of information that was inaccurate.
The school system failed the many victims that have been the outcome of these failures. This student was suspended the day before the shooting for a violent act and had multiple reports of violent acts. He was brought back to school, reported to have a gun, no gun was found, and then shortly after shot his teacher in the chest. On this day administrators failed Abby Zwerner putting her and her students in great danger. There were multiple instances before this day where the school board and administration could have provided this student with the help he needed.
A nonprofit group that attempts to prevent gun violence called “Everytown for Gun Safety,” released a statement about school shootings. The organization claimed that the school shooting at “[Marjory Stoneman Douglas High] is the 18th school shooting in the U.S. in 2018.’” (Cox and Rich). In less than three months, there have been eighteen school shootings. This shows that schools are no longer a safe environment.
(NY Daily News) B. (Subpoint 2) Traumatic experiences like physical and sexual abuse will impact young individuals negatively and eventually cause them to lash out with gun violence. 1. (Sub-subpoint 1) Traumatized shooters come from dysfunctional families, in contrast with shooters that are psychopathic. The shooters have all faced some sort of physical/sexual abuse and have had at least one parent with a criminal record.