Columbine High School Shooting Research Paper

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.

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

On April 20, 1999, one of the largest school shootings in American history took place at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Two teens, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, shot and killed 13 people and wounded more than 20 others both before committing suicide. Many believe the two teens decided to hold this school massacre because both were bullied and were outcasts. This paper will examine labeling and social control theories to explain the behavior of these two juveniles, and this paper will also include issues and solutions pertaining to these theories.

It’s difficult to believe that two high school students could enter their school and begin firing on classmates, but that’s exactly what happened at Columbine. The country was riveted by the news that something so evil could happen by two of their own. Columbine High School, located in Littleton, Colorado, had an enrollment of 1,136 in April 1999. Eric Harris (seventeen) and Dylan Klebold (eighteen) entered Columbine High School on April 19, 1999, at approximately 11:19 AM and began shooting. Due to Klebold and Harris being bullied, the two boys planned an attack to shoot students and staff.

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.

On April 20, 1999, tragedy struck a Colorado high school. It started out as an ordinary spring day in Jefferson County, but it soon turned horrific. “The tragedy began at approximately 11:10 a.m. on that sunny Tuesday,” (Gimpel 27), right around lunchtime. No one could have anticipated the events that would soon follow, devastating the otherwise average suburban town. The lives of the students of Columbine High School and their families would never be the same after that catastrophic day.

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.

Making it the deadliest high school massacre, and fifth deadliest school massacre in American history. The gunmen were 17 year old Dylan Klebold, and 18 year old Eric Harris dubbed the trench coat mafia. They were the only ones who knew this day would not be typical, as it was the day they had been planning and waiting for. They entered the school with many types of guns as well as several explosives, and knives. They walked in with the intention of killing every single person in the building, and had the weapons to do so. When the bombs they had planted in the cafeteria did not detonate on time due to faulty wiring their plans fell apart, and they instead walked the halls firing in the cafeteria and the library. The attack ended when both boys took their own lives roughly 49 minutes after the attack began, and law enforcement was then able to clear the school roughly 4 hours after the attack. The big unanswered question that remains is why did they do it, what were the motives behind such a tragedy. The most popular and publicized theory is that it was the result of both boys being bullied for many years by many

It was April 20 1999 and Columbine high school was in session 2 fellow students were outside but nobody knew and they had propane bombs in the cafeteria kitchen and then at 11:19 am they were supposed to go off but then this happened. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were on tv and the news recorded everything.

Craig Scott, a survivor of the Columbine massacre, once said while visiting the well known school, “this is the most famous high school in all of America for the wrong reasons.” On April 20, 1999 two high school students - Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold - opened fire on fellow students and teachers at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. The two boys killed twelve students, one teacher, and wounded twenty-four others before turning their guns on themselves. That day at Columbine has left an impact on the nation, as well as the American education system. The shocking event lead to enhanced school security, student training, and an emphasis on positive relationships between students, teachers, and members of the community.

When tragedies occur, we always ask ourselves how and why did such a thing happened and what we could have done to prevent it. The Columbine High School massacre, perpetrated by two local high school students, was the worst school indecent to have ever occurred at the time. The Columbine High School massacre illustrated the issues that this country still retains such as gun control, bullying, violence, Internet use, and drug use by teenagers. This incident caused our society to reevaluate and to reconsider steps that we should take to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again. After the Columbine High School massacre, our nation would not be the same again.

The Columbine shootings occurred because two individuals who were mentally unstable and were prone to committing acts of violence had access to weapons. In addition to this the staff and parents did not report any suspicious behavior that was seen prior these crimes. The combination of social, psychological, and anger problems triggered a violent and deadly response. This could have been preventable if the initial warning signs were taken seriously. The video essay “trench coat mafia” should of lead to psychological evaluation that questioned and analyzed the mentality and perception of Eric and

Throughout history, crime has always plagued the world. People in positions of power and/or the government has tried to control these issues by implementing new policies and making new laws. Despite the attempts, many people in the world reject it, thereby, committing crimes. In the past, some crimes were not regarded as significant problems unlike, how they are perceived in this day-and-age. An example of this would be taking weapons on board an aircraft. In the past, it was still illegal to bring weapons on your flight, yet, people were not as anal about it. After 9-11, when the War on Terrorism started, TSA became the “Fort Knox” of all security checks. You now need to go through body scanners, metal detectors, and sometimes are forced to be pat down. Trying

“1 BLEEDING TO DEATH” (64). These four little words were written on the windows of Columbine High School, site of the Columbine Massacre, as a cry for help. The book Columbine by Dave Cullen describes how hundreds of people were trapped inside Columbine High School; tears trickled down the cheeks of American teenagers as the blood of their loved ones spilled onto the floors of their very own school when in fact two of their own were responsible. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were named children of Satan by their very own classmates and the public as a whole when they were no different than any of us. Specifically, Dylan Klebold was a smart, young man with a bright future ahead of him subjected to the pains of an American childhood. Nonetheless, Dylan Klebold was an accomplice to the Columbine Massacre but he was a victim as well who was influenced by the american high school atmosphere, the internet, and his partner Eric Harris to commit acts of sin.

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.