Hardly new in the United States, school shootings are perceived as devastating, frightening and incomprehensible acts, with long-lasting effects on society. Representing the work of America’s ten deadliest school shooters, statistics compiled, account for one hundred and thirty-three dead and one hundred and forty-two injured. Yet, the question remains, what type of person would enter a school with the purpose to extinguish human life? Do school shooters aim with specific targets in their sights, or are their victims struck at random, guilty of nothing more than of being in the wrong place at the wrong time? To fully understand what drives one to commit school murder may be impossible; however, through investigating ten of the most disastrous
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Spoiled and proud to flaunt his heritage, Whitman blatantly disregarded rules, for which he displayed little remorse. On the surface, Whitman had what many would consider an easy life; money, popularity, and the ability to hover above the law. Eventually, Whitman’s life would take a turn, when his antics caught up with him. Despite his high intellectual ability, he lost his academic scholarship and after dropping out, Whitman started to realize that his life’s aspirations were not coming to fruition. Once determined to surpass his father’s financial success, he found himself qualified for nothing more than odd-jobs and was becoming dependent on his wife. “Charles Whitman, suffered from failed narcissism. He had big dreams that never materialized.” (Langman 106) On August 1, 1966, after several years of personal set-backs, Whitman methodically planned his ultimate demise. First, he brutally murdered his mother, then returned home to to kill his wife. Finally, Whitman drove to Texas A&M, armed with rifles and handguns; where he ascended a clock tower, from which he shot forty-six innocent people. For Whitman, the agony of not meeting his self-made expectations triggered an idea for achieving eternal infamy. Charles Whitman was a Psychopathic College
Spoiled and proud to flaunt his heritage, Whitman blatantly disregarded rules, for which he displayed little remorse. On the surface, Whitman had what many would consider an easy life; money, popularity, and the ability to hover above the law. Eventually, Whitman’s life would take a turn, when his antics caught up with him. Despite his high intellectual ability, he lost his academic scholarship and after dropping out, Whitman started to realize that his life’s aspirations were not coming to fruition. Once determined to surpass his father’s financial success, he found himself qualified for nothing more than odd-jobs and was becoming dependent on his wife. “Charles Whitman, suffered from failed narcissism. He had big dreams that never materialized.” (Langman 106) On August 1, 1966, after several years of personal set-backs, Whitman methodically planned his ultimate demise. First, he brutally murdered his mother, then returned home to to kill his wife. Finally, Whitman drove to Texas A&M, armed with rifles and handguns; where he ascended a clock tower, from which he shot forty-six innocent people. For Whitman, the agony of not meeting his self-made expectations triggered an idea for achieving eternal infamy. Charles Whitman was a Psychopathic College