Columbine High School Case Study

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) recognizes active shooters as a threat to healthcare facilities and encourages them to incorporate planning and preparedness into their emergency operation plans. A guide was developed, and backed by the DHS, FBI, US Department of Justice, and Federal Emergency Management Agency, focused on prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery, as well as stressing the importance of plans

Each year law enforcement officers throughout the county are involved in shootings, some of them fatal. Frequently the shootings are reported by the media, which exploits the feelings of the victim while ignoring the effect of the shooting on the police officer. It is “estimated that approximately 87 percent of all emergency service personnel will experience a critical incident at least once in their career, which include officer-involved shootings” (Kureczka, 2002, p. 18). Officer-involved shootings have a profound effect on not only the officer involved but also their spouses, families, and the departments they serve. Law enforcement officers that are involved in officer-involved shootings need support and assistance such as critical incident stress debriefing and sometimes long-term trauma recover therapy in order to cope and live successful lives beyond the critical incident of the shooting.

This shooting was the worst in United States history, and it left families speechless and people in disarray. Two teens committed the treacherous actions of that day. The speculations were that they did this because of bullying, goth culture, or music or video games; these though were all just theories and were never proven(history). After this event, schools, venues, and events have endured grand security increases in the danger of shooters or other violence. Throughout my school days, I have wondered why we do the silly lock down drills at school, but in reality, lives could be saved in the event of an actual attack on my school. I realized this my eight grade year at Guntown Middle School. There was an unidentified man on campus, a code red lock down would amerce. I still remember sitting under my desk, shaking, and almost to tears. I did not want to be remembered as just another statistic if it was a shooter. But it had been our lucky day, the man who had stirred up all the commotion was just looking for the school’s office. Those fears I experienced however, would stay with me. We all believe that we are invincible and that it would never be us. However, with the world as it is today, no one is safe. I have been affected by the Columbine shooting through security changes in schools that I

The effort of this paper is designed to provide an audience with the basic framework in preventing, reacting to, and recovering from a school shooting. By analyzing the crisis of a school shooting, this paper will lay out the practical steps in preparing schools, communities, and local agencies for a tragedy that has already shook many communities across the nation. This paper will also follow the steps necessary to implement and evaluate a school shooting preparedness plan. In concluding this paper, school staff, local agencies, and families will be able to take the practical steps towards providing a safe and comfortable learning environment for students.

Active shooter incident occurrence have risen at an alarming level. In the eight years following the 1999 incident in Columbine, an average of five active shooter incidents happened annually. By 2014 that number had increased threefold (Fabbri, 2014). Law enforcement and rescue personnel should prepare to respond effectively should this scenario occur within their jurisdiction.

Active shooter events have been occurring for a very long time throughout our history. One case of domestic terrorism and school involved shooting happened on April 20, 1999. Columbine high School, located in Littleton, Colorado, two gunmen killed 13 people and wounded 21 others. Law enforcement agencies responded knowing they had to set up a perimeter and wait for S.W.A.T to respond due to the need of special tactics. The wait by Law Enforcement to make entry into the school, caused a delay in eliminating the threat. The delay and lack of preparedness by students, and staff,

Tuesday April 20th, 1999 began like any other day. Parents went to work, and the children went off to school. Neither worried about the other, or how their day would turn out. But, hours later everything changed (“Columbine Highschool Massacre.”). Little did the residents of Columbine, Colorado know their high school would be a statistic for one of the largest school massacres in US History. On this day, two teenage boys were responsible for killing 12 innocent students and a teacher, wounding 23 more students, and then killing themselves (Miller). While a horrific event, the Columbine tragedy improved the safety in schools by upgrading security systems, improving administration’s knowledge on school security, and increasing

“Shooting massacres” in school settings, a new phenomenon within the past 50 years, are extremely rare events. Over 23 years, 1990-2012, 215 fatal school shooting incidents resulted in 363 deaths, equivalent to 0.12% of national firearm homicides during that time period …… Among these, just three shooting rampages – Columbine High School, Virginia Tech University, and Sandy Hook Elementary School – accounted for 72 (53.3%) of these 135 deaths. The frequency of random/ rampage shooting incidents in schools has remained within the narrow range of 0 to 3 episodes per year.” (Shultz, et al., 2013, p. 84)

Columbine High School Shooting: Why did Columbine occur and what can be learned from it?

The day of the Columbine Massacre is a day that will forever burn a hole in America’s heart. The nation was shocked at the news that on April 20, 1999, high school seniors Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris went on a precisely planned shooting rampage at their school, Columbine High School. This event killed a total of thirteen individuals, including twelve students and one highly heroic teacher, and wounded many. The reportedly troubled boys had often accused others of having bullied them, which raised the question of how apparent the warning signs were of their rampage. Because this incident was one of the first known school shootings throughout the nation, many of its specific details were taken into account to help protect schools all

With the large number of shootings that have occurred in United States’ history one expected a pattern to exist for the shooters yet it seemed nonexistent. Many variables existed, almost 40 (Mongan,2007), making predicting when a school shooting would occur impossible. Even threats stating a shooting would occur were not valid signs of an upcoming shooting. Many threats originated from students “blowing off steam” and no intention existed to carry out the threat. The FBI created a list of possible ways to evaluate a threat but they caution the reader that not every threat resulted in violence(FBI).

Policies have changed since the shooting happened in Littleton, Colorado. Before Columbine the primary goal of law enforcement officers before and during a shooting was to set up a perimeter and await arrival of SWAT members (Erickson, 2001). This policy has changed in many states including Pennsylvania where police had been preparing for active shooters with local schools. Police are not able to wait the twenty minutes to an hour for SWAT to arrive at a scene which is why the state mandated that local police receive active shooting training (Coughlin, 2012). This response and a brochure that the Department of Homeland Security came out with are allowing schools a better chance of eliminating a shooter with less causalities and injuries. This brochure goes into to profile of an active shooter, how to respond to an active shooter, how to respond when law enforcement arrives, training staff for an active shooter, preparing for and managing an active shooter situation, recognizing workplace violence, managing the consequences of an active shooter, and lessons learned (DHS, 2008).

Columbine High school 12 students and 1 teacher dead, Thurston High School 2 dead and 25 wounded, Sandy Hook Elementary 20 children and 6 teachers dead, Virginia Tech University 32 dead and 17 wounded and Umpqua Community College 9 dead and 9 wounded. After the Thurston shooting happened, we took necessary precautions so we would be prepared for an incident like again. Yet Columbine, Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, and Umpqua happened anyway. Even though we implemented ALICE training in order to be safer, hiding with entries blocked won’t be enough in some cases especially if the police take a long time to get to the school and stop the shooter. There are a couple ways that would not only make the school safer but also stop the shooter quicker so we can save more lives and not have to wait for the police to arrive. One solution we can do is give teachers and staff that haven’t had any experience with guns at least basic training in the use of guns

"I'm angry someone would do this to us. There are lives ruined, families ruined, and our whole school year is ruined" (Brackely 1). Casey Brackely, once a student that attended Columbine High School, remembers the tragedy of the horrific Columbine shooting that killed and injured many students. Mass shootings in the United States have been on the rise since the 1980’s, especially in the last decade. These shooters motives and profiles are almost all terrifyingly alike. Many of these shooters try to imitate and parallel the tragic shooting of the Columbine High School in 1999. These shootings have made peaceful organizations, such as an elementary school; become a place of violence and death. Currently, in the United States, an epidemic of

The notion portrayed by media outlets and the memory that materializes about the UT tower shooting in regards to it being the “first” violent school shooting, the “first” military-connected shooting, or even the “first” violent killing spree in the United States is a mythicized misconception. Historically the United States has witnessed many mass shootings, not originating from the UT tower shooting in 1966, but in fact predating that incident, and as early as 1891.The reasons that led to the August 1966 University of Texas sniper shootings and the perception that this incident was the first mass shootings in the country, not only demonstrates how our society acknowledges why violent crime happens, but also how the past is remembered through