Columbine Shooting Theories

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 first myth about Columbine is that Eric and Dylan were outcasts. In fact, they boys acted like normal people. They attended school events and talked to people like normal human beings. They blended in with the rest of the school, which didn’t strike an alarm that soon enough these boys would be a part of a terrible shooting. Although people were wrong about the boys being outcasts, they were right that something was wrong in their head. Unfortunately, they spotted this too late, Eric and Dylan thought they were better than everyone else. While the rest of the world thought they were a little

The next theory is categorized as a less-modern perspective as it goes all the way back to the Victorian Era. This approach is based on Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychodynamic, which focuses on the role of the unconscious mind and its influence on conscious behavior, early childhood experiences, development of sense of self, and other motivations. (Ciccarelli, 2012). In other words, this theory states that humans have an unconscious mind in which we repress all of our threatening urges and desires into. In effect of repressing urges, it creates nervous disorders. This approach greatly stresses the importance of early childhood experiences. I firmly believe that both boys, especially Klebold, repressed their urges and thoughts which created a dramatic lash-out. According to New York Times, Klebold had come from a very well educated family that had very high expectations for him. His childhood had been constricted to studying and since he was exposed to such lifestyle at such a young age, he grew accustomed to better his education. Kleboid showed no obvious signs of danger to his family, as he valued how he appeared to his parents. However though, he had a great drinking problem which caused major aggression. Harris, Klebold’s good friend, was greatly interested in creating bombs. His childhood was not like Klebold’s—his family was not as forceful of his studies, or close.

Eric and Dylan honed their shooting skills at a make shift firing range in the mountains. They practiced shooting their weapons there away from the public and used the schools video equipment to record their actions. They talked about the damage that the bullets would cause to the person that they hit. Their intentions were to kill and injure as many people as possible putting a hit on everyone that they saw.

The psychological approach is made up of many theories. The social learning theory, the social control theory, and the social identity theory. They all apply to The Columbine Shooting. According to Ronald L. Akers and Robert L. Burgess’s Social learning theory differential association is learned criminal behavior. Criminal behavior is often learned from interacting with certain social groups in person or via the internet. Criminal behavior is easily learned by individuals being introduced to techniques of committing the crime and specific direction of motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes. According to with today’s technology on the rise school shootings can be understood by societal concern of the increase of violent video games

Columbine High School killed twelve fellow students and a teacher in April of 1999. The

The tragic story of Columbine by Dave Cullen analysis’ the bitter events that were caused by Eric Klebold and Dylan Harris. Although tough to read, the description and imagery within the book about the intense news reports, the role both boys played, and the somber realization of a inspirational marter story furthers the reader's understanding of the truth. Cullen wrote with the purpose to develop each character while going in depth to tell the truth and dispel any rumors that were connected to the tragic 1999 massacre.

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

Bullying is a serious problem with the potential of lasting effects. The two boys were planning an attack on the bullies that had made school miserable for them. “they were members of a group of social outcasts called the Trenchcoat Mafia that was fascinated by Goth culture.”( History.com Staff. "Columbine High School Shootings." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 20 Sept. 2017.) Klebold and Harris initially carried out the shooting as a retaliation for the miserable years in

The Columbine High School Massacre was a school shooting that took place on April 20th, 1999 in Columbine, Colorado. It was a highly planned attacked that included a bomb to confused firefighters, propane tanks that were made into bombs to blow up the cafeteria, 99 explosive device, and some car bombs. The masterminds were Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, they were both seniors. Collaboratively they murdered 12 students and 1 teacher. Aside from the kills they injured 21 other people, and an additional 3 more while trying to escape the horrendous event. After their killing rampage, the murderers committed suicide.

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

One of the most horrific shootings that scared America was the Columbine High School shooting of 1999. Though not the first mass shooting, this shooting was the first major school shooting with the death of 12 students, 1 teacher, and 21 injured. The two shooters were Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. Both of the killers were white, male, and 18. They had both parents, were both a part of an

The Columbine massacre was one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. On April 20, 1999, high school seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shot and killed 12 students, one teacher, and themselves. Twenty-five students were also injured, some very critically. While there had been many school shootings in America prior to this, the young age of the shooters, the number of victims, and the randomness of the people they killed shocked the nation. It has been 14 years since this tragedy and even now the word Columbine is synonymous with school shootings. The subsequent days, months, and years since this attack have proven that the Columbine massacre has influenced the United States in many areas of our everyday lives including

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

April 20, 1999, the date then will always leave a horrifying mental scar, this was possibly the worst day any kid could ever imagine. I was in tenth grade at the time and just like every other day I was acting up and talking to my friends. In third period around 11:20 A.M. an announcement comes over the loudspeakers blaring the message, “lockdown, lockdown, this is not a drill.” I panicked as well as most of the school did, I heard girls scream in fright and everyone rushing to get into a classroom. I had no idea what was going on at the time until I heard gunshots from two different guns and explosions scattering the school halls. I was scared for not only my life but all other students and teachers of Columbine High School.