Essay on Columbine Shooters

Columbine by Dave Cullen tells the events that unfolded on April 20th, 1999. That day, two boys, self-proclaimed rebels, armed themselves and proceeded to murder the same students they had walked the halls with for four years. As the stories of Dylan, Eric, and the victims of this tragic day came to light, many falsehoods also arose. Unfortunately, the myths and truths about Columbine still linger with us today. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold left a lasting impression on the world; but left behind the truth as to why they really did it. This leaves us to wonder what really happened on that fateful day.

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

Over the past couple of decades, school shooting have seemed to occur often-- continuously shocking the nation and reminding everyone that no community is exempt from such horror. One main contributor of this hysteria is found within the media. At the catalyst of this hysteria, lies the horrific Columbine shooting in 1999. Since then, school shootings have received ample coverage-- some argue that this has romanticized school shootings, others argue that is has provided condemning coverage of the often insane perpetrators. In the first year after the Columbine shooting, over 10,000 articles were written about the event, likely setting the stage for the nationwide desire for constant coverage of such events (Elsass et al, p. 445-446).

Moore situates to learn about the reason behind the massacre of 12 individuals at the Columbine High School on April 20,1999. He details how Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold had the access to firearms in which they had a record of arrests, juvenile detention, and drug usage.

    Truth lied deep in the multiple news stories that were spread across the nation in a matter of minutes. As the world became aware of the tragedies at Columbine many ideas were widely spread, but not all of them were true, Cullen showed the readers the truth of what happened. Distressed students and faculty call the news to report the situation, in such a terrifying experience their judgement and memory is clouded by fear, many people thought that they were telling the truth but in fact it was only the truth that lies in their head. “One hour into the columbine horror, news stations were informing the public that toe or more gunmen were behind it. Two hours in, The Trench Coat Mafia was to blame.” (Cullen 150). New was reported on what was thought to be true at the time, but as they spoke too soon, the information that was spread across the nation proved to be false. As Cullen analyzed thousands of papers, taped and videos he was able to understand where

Parents of the kids who were killed in the shooting were upset and fuming at the same time. When parents of the passed were allowed to pay respects to their children, Brian Rohrbough was almost censored when he called Columbine School District “godless” and ended with a bible verse, Isaiah 48:22, saying “There is no peace for the wicked”. This book shows the plan, execution and aftermath of the Columbine School Shooting, and shows the lasting effects, both physical and emotional, an event such as this can have on a group of human beings.

Almost twenty years ago, on April 20th, 1999 just seemed like any other regular day of that time. Everyone went about their regular routine; parents going to work, children going to school, young adults going to colleges. But two high school seniors of Columbine High had no intentions of going about their regular days. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold entered their school with mind made of never leaving that school again alive but not before committing the most heinous and bloody massacre ever committed in the United States history. There has been bombing where the death toll was significantly higher than Columbine shooting. But what made this tragedy so terrifying was this was not any terrorist or radicalized person trying to avenge authorities; these were two teenagers killing their fellow classmates and teachers. Something that none thinks about, it was like a parent’s worst nightmare coming true. Eric and Dylan killed a total of thirteen people, students and teachers combined, and seriously injuring over twenty others . This shooting sent shockwaves across the country, but most evidently sent criminal justice community scrambling looking for answers into why these two boys did what they did? What happened that made them mass murderers? To explore these questions criminologists started applying crime theories to the both their present life and their upbringing.

America’s star detective Michael Moore has done it again! In this edition, he uncovers the truth behind the Columbine shooting, and exposes the “real” menaces of America’s society. Or this is what we are led to believe…

The tragedy at Columbine High School is something that will be remembered and talked about for many years to come. People from across the nation have all heard about this event. But there are still a couple questions that people have. For instance who’s to blame? The kids alone, the parents for how they brought the children up, or even actually the students at Columbine? Most say that the parents are to blame, but who actually knows? In my opinion the only two people that can actually answer this question truthfully are both dead. Everyone wants answers. Did the kids have help? Who was it? Who sold them the weapons and why? Why did they do this? How could they do this? I had a class about the last question. Who could

It was April 20, 1999, Cops showed up at the scene to see 15 total “dead” and a school filled with bullets, there was no further information on the crime but the two perpetrators Eric and Dylan. 12 students killed including one school teacher. Like most media, there is a competition to be the first and the most viewed even if they should make up something to grab the attention of the viewer.

Columbine high school located in Littleton, Colorado is where a one of the most tragic and misfortune massacre occurred. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold are the two responsible students for one of the worst school shooting in American history. On April 20th of 1999 the two students attended their first class, bowling. Afterwards, they went home and gathered weapons. They arrived to school and shot it up. Unfortunately, one teacher, 12 students died. In addition, 21 were severely injured. Afterwards, they shot themselves and died. “Bowling For Columbine” is a document directed and written by Michael Moore. The document does not fully describe the shooting. In fact, most of the document is about other matters rather than this specific

On April 20th, 1999 in Jefferson County, two seniors started a school massacre at Columbine High School. The attackers names Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, both students were 17. There was extensive planning and a lot of major events that happened with the two before the shooting. When the attack was underway, a bunch of key events took place inside the school. Then, the information that was found out after the whole incident, containing the skills and personalities about the shooters and what can be changed. When the tragedy of the Columbine School shooting occurred, 3 main components surfaced: the preparation and planning, the shooting itself, and the aftermath of what happened and what was done.

Within the last half-century America has experienced events that have shaped the criminal justice system as it is today. The country’s crime rates have risen and fallen. Up until 1960 Americas crime rates were rather stable. In the following years, many concerns of ethnic and racial minorities occurred. By 1980 all areas of social life were affected by the civil rights movement. This was followed by a dramatic increase in reported criminal activities. Buying and selling of drugs also increased in the mid-1980s causing cities to experience declines in property values. In 1999 a school massacre made widespread coverage in the news media. A massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado left 12 students and one teacher dead. American citizens

As I read through Columbine by Dave Cullen, there were many aspects of this tragedy that made me feel sad, frustrated and angry about the events that led up to and occurred on that day. Columbine is something you have heard about, read articles about and seen how it has changed the public school systems since that tragic day occurred. You do not realize the true impact that day had until you read this book. It gives you a true prospective on the importance of school safety, police response, media response and cell phones usage during a crisis. Organizing to write this paper, it was hard to gather all my thoughts and keep my emotions in check when describing how the book made me feel.

The topic that I have chosen to do my research on is that of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold who are infamously known for their rolls in the Columbine High School Massacre that occurred in 1999. I choose this incident for my research based on the amount of school place violence that is being seen more and more rampant in today’s society. This paper will cover the background and events of that horrible day, the individual break down of both Harris and Klebolds demographics, define the crime committed, attempt to shine light on what Criminologist believe the theory or theories behind this action was and explain what actions and been taken since this event to deter future attacks.