Columbine and Virginia Tech were definitely two of the biggest, but not one of the first mass shootings on school grounds. On August 1, 1966, a mass shooting took place at the University of Texas. A 25 ex-marine named Charles Whitman, who majored in architectural engineering, murdered his mother and wife that morning. Whitman climbed on top of the UT Tower and started firing. “The crime scene spanned the length of five city blocks… and covered the nerve of what was then a relatively small, quiet college town.” “Hundreds of students, professors, tourists, and store clerks witnessed the 96 minute killing spree as they crouched behind trees, hid under desks, took cover in stairwells, or, if they had been hit, played dead” (Pamela Colloff). Pamela Colloff stated that the gunman “introduced the nation to the idea of mass murder in a public space.” Charles Whitman had shot a total of 43 people, killing a total of 13 people. An Austin police officer shot and killed Whitman before he could do anymore harm.
The shooting was arguably the worst thing to happen in UT history. The school had tried to eradicate the memory of this horrible attack, but was unsuccessful. 33 years after the murders took place, Larry Faulkner, the 27th president of the University of Texas at Austin, agreed to set up a place behind the tower to remember and honor the ones who died on August 1, 1966.
All of these attacks on school grounds could’ve been prevented by upgrading security and being more strict with
Imagine a world where school shootings did not exist. Parents could send their children to school without having to worry about them being shot. In 2013, thirty school shootings took place in the United States. The most devastating school shooting in U.S. history was the Bath School shooting. On May 18, 1927, Andrew Kehoe entered the Bath Elementary School killing thirty-eight people and injuring fifty-eight. Kehoe then returned to his truck, and committed suicide by using explosives. School teachers would have a better chance, in high risk situations if they carried guns.
The shootings that occurred at Kent State University, Ohio, on May 4, 1970 have been a dark spot in American history for almost 36 years. It is a day remembered by many names, THE KENT STATE SHOOTINGS, MAY 4 or the KENT STATE MASSACRE. Four students were killed and nine were wounded, all of America suffered.
The Columbine shooting is known as the bloodiest, also the deadliest school shooting in U.S history. On April 20, 1999 twelve teenagers, also one adult were killed in a massive school shooting. Dylan Klebold a seventeen year old and Eric Harris a eighteen year old were students at Columbine High School in Colorado. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were arrested in January 1998 for stealing items in a van. In March 1998 Harris threatened Brooks Brown to kill him and would love to kill people. Columbine shooting greatly impacted America due to the price of firearms and movement to firearms school safety was an issue and made schools safer with more enforced rules and safety hazards, people culturally started to become more feared.
The shootings that occurred at Kent State University, Ohio, on May 4, 1970 have been a dark spot in American history for almost 36 years. It is a day remembered by many names, THE KENT STATE SHOOTINGS, MAY 4 or the KENT STATE MASSACRE. Four students were killed and nine were wounded, all of America suffered.
The impact this disaster had on society is Schools have significantly increased their security measures since the 1999 Columbine massacre.("9 Ways School Has Changed Since Columbine." Criminal Justice Degrees Guide. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2017.) Some of the common school security upgrades include: metal detectors, security cameras, required ID badges, enforced dress codes, banned or see-through backpacks and on-campus police officers.("9 Ways School Has Changed Since Columbine." Criminal Justice Degrees Guide. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2017.) Since the Columbine shooting, schools have taken new measures to increase communication among students, teachers and faculty about violence, weapons, bullying and other threats.("9 Ways School Has Changed Since Columbine." Criminal Justice Degrees Guide. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct.
The exact reason of why the committed this crime to this day is unclear. The personal journals of the two perpetrators referenced that they wanted the event to compete with those of the Oklahoma City bombing and other deadly events that happened in the United States around the 1900s. The attack is known as the deadliest High School shooting in the history of the United States.
On August 1, 1966, Charles Whitman, a 25-year-old engineering student, climbed to the top of the University of Texas clock tower in Austin and began shooting indiscriminately. The first target of this exmarine trained like sniper was a young person of 18 years and pregnant, to that reached in the belly. Then she shot her boyfriend's neck. As the two blew themselves up on campus, Whitman, who had previously murdered his wife and mother, continued to shoot for an hour and a half until he killed a total of 16 people and wounded more than 30 before the police managed to shoot him down. Half a century later, Austin commemorated on Monday what is considered the first mass murder not associated with a battlefield of modern history of the United States
The third one was in Blacksburg Virginia, April 16, 2007. 32 students and teachers died after being gunned down on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University by Seung Hui Cho. he was actually a student at the school.
One of the worst mass shootings in the history of the United States took place on the day of April 16, 2007. This incident occurred on the campus of Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia. A total of 32 students and teachers were killed and 30 other people were severely wounded. Seung-Hui Cho was a senior at Virginia Tech University and the individual who was responsible for the killings. Seung-Hui Cho ended up taking his own life after he had committed the crimes. He had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Gun violence is a major flaw in our schools and in communities at large. There were 28 people that died in the Sandy Hooks school shooting on December 14, 2012. At the columbine high school shooting on April 20,1999, there were 15 people that were killed. At the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting on February 14,2018, there were 17 students and teachers that had been shot and killed. Since Columbine, there has been 122 deaths from school shootings.
Although there may not be a foolproof way to end all school violence, there are ways to dramatically reduce such horrific. Prevention techniques evolve around safety features, education, and training. Safe entryway into and within schools is a beginning step to prevent crime. Schools can install security systems that force anyone
Known to be the deadliest shooting rampage in American history, 33 people were killed and 15 others were injured during this carnage. The killings happened in two separate attacks. The shooter, first, shot two people in their dormitory and killed them and a few hours later shot 31 people, including himself in a classroom building. The shooter was Seung Hui Cho, a 23-year old student in the University. Cho was described as a “loner” who rarely spoke to anyone and was said to have had a history of mental health problems. His writings for the class, which were too angry and violent, was also a concern for his professors and fellow classmates. A package sent by the shooter was received by NBC News two days later. The package was sent by Cho between the first and second shooting and contained pictures of him carrying guns, and a very disturbing video where he raged about his hatred against the wealthy, and Christianity (The New York
Throughout the U.S. history, there are three deadliest massive school shootings. In 1999, thirteen people were killed and twenty others wounded by an eighteen years old teenager Eric Harris and a seventeen years old teenager Dylan Klebold. The most shocked news is that boys were planning over a year ahead to bomb and level the entire school in a series of massive explosions and shoot every one. This event is so serve that often as references in the following school massive shooting. In 2007, a student Seung Hui Cho who is a twenty-three years old senior and English major at Virginia Tech went from room to room shot people. The attack left thirty people dead and another seventeen wound in ten minutes (History.com, 2007 Massacre at Virginia Tech Leaves 32 dead). In 2012, a twenty years old Adam
In our society today, so socially and technologically advanced, one expects to feel a sense of security and comfort. However, this safety is lost due to the fact of many school shootings occurring nationwide. It is not unusual to hear about these shootings on television or on the radio. This issue has greatly impacted the lives of young people.
Some refer to it as The Slaughter in a School Yard, The Stockton Massacre, and others as The Cleveland Elementary School Shooting. Something as horrifying as someone shooting down innocent children playing at recesses on school grounds was never expected here in the United States of America. Although there was past cases of school shootings, this was the first shooting to be televised on national television of its magnitude (Taining, P et al., 2014). A mass murderer is defined as someone who slaughters many people at one time. This particular incident unfortunately was not the slaughter of people, but it was children. It happened around 11:40 AM on January 17th, 1989 in Stockton, California. A man by the name of Patrick Edward Purdy opened fire on children ages six through nine playing at recess on school grounds of Cleveland Elementary School. This tragic case brought questions to people everywhere in our nation as to why it was so easy for a mentally unstable individual such as Patrick Purdy to enter a gun store and purchase a semiautomatic weapon (“Slaughter in a," 2001).