THE COLUMBINE MASSACRE: A DAY TO REMEMBER
In the earlier days, schools were the safest places for students. Students were safer than they were at their homes because they were constantly being monitored by the school staffs and other fellow students. Today, school shootings are becoming a huge problem in America. It has become more common for students to express their anger with the intention of hurting or killing innocent classmates. On April 20, 1999 one of the most horrific school shooting occurred at Columbine high school. In order to better understand the Columbine Massacre, readers must get to know the shooters before the incident, acquire details of what happened the day of April 20, 1999, and go inside the mind of the shooters to learn …show more content…
They called the day of the attack, “Judgment Day” (Cullen “Reluctant”). They chose the date April 20th. According to “Columbine, Bullying, and the Mindset of Eric Harris” written by psychologist Peter Longman, April 20th was chosen because it was Hitler 's birthday and the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. Eric wrote about this plans in his diary (Biography, Eric Harris). Over a span of a couple of months, Harris designed 7 big propane tank bombs. The first step in his plan was to plant a “decoy bomb” three miles away from the school to divert police. Next, they would detonate a bomb in the cafeteria. The plan was to kill more than 600 students in the lunchroom with the bomb and wait at the exits with guns to shoot anyone trying to escape (Cullen, “Depressive”). They wanted to kill over 2000 students and more than 100 faculty members, not planning to survive the attack themselves. (Cullen “Reluctant”). The morning of Judgment Day, Dylan rose bright and early and was on out of his house by 5:30 and left for Eric’s house where they would make their last set of basement tapes in the basement of Eric Harris’ house(Cullen Columbine). After getting last minute supplies, Klebold and Harris would gather their bombs and place them in the cafeteria and also place their decoy bomb at a park. Hours later Klebold and Harris met in …show more content…
Was there any clear hints of the shooting the months or years before the shooting? Researchers went in depth to better understand the mental state of the shooters and came to realize that Klebold and Harris had different mindset. Harris was an angry person whose anger was often visible. Not only was Harris being bullied, but he also bullied people himself. Peter Longman brings up an incident where Eric Harris bullied a boy so much that he left the boy in tears, not wanting to come to school. His hatred towards others is what led to his revenge (Longman, Mindset). While Klebold on the other hand, was a hothead, but depressive and suicidal. Blaming himself for his problems, he often drank alcohol. (Cullen, Depressive). John Fuselier spent years studying the case to come to a safe conclusion that Harris was the mastermind behind the whole shooting, and executed most of the plan while Klebold kind of just followed along (Cullen, Reluctant). Their motives were very different. Cullen Writes, “Klebold fantasized about suicide for years without making an attempt. He had never spoken to the girls he dreamed of, Dylan was not a man of action, he was conscripted by a boy who was”(Cullen “Reluctant”). His Journal was filled with suicidal thoughts. Harris wanted to be remembered and wanted to leave a lasting impression on the
In the earlier days, schools were the safest places for students. Students were safer than they were at their homes because they were constantly being monitored by the school staffs and other fellow students. Today, school shootings are becoming a huge problem in America. It has become more common for students to express their anger with the intention of hurting or killing innocent classmates. On April 20, 1999 one of the most horrific school shooting occurred at Columbine high school. In order to better understand the Columbine Massacre, readers must get to know the shooters before the incident, acquire details of what happened the day of April 20, 1999, and go inside the mind of the shooters to learn …show more content…
They called the day of the attack, “Judgment Day” (Cullen “Reluctant”). They chose the date April 20th. According to “Columbine, Bullying, and the Mindset of Eric Harris” written by psychologist Peter Longman, April 20th was chosen because it was Hitler 's birthday and the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. Eric wrote about this plans in his diary (Biography, Eric Harris). Over a span of a couple of months, Harris designed 7 big propane tank bombs. The first step in his plan was to plant a “decoy bomb” three miles away from the school to divert police. Next, they would detonate a bomb in the cafeteria. The plan was to kill more than 600 students in the lunchroom with the bomb and wait at the exits with guns to shoot anyone trying to escape (Cullen, “Depressive”). They wanted to kill over 2000 students and more than 100 faculty members, not planning to survive the attack themselves. (Cullen “Reluctant”). The morning of Judgment Day, Dylan rose bright and early and was on out of his house by 5:30 and left for Eric’s house where they would make their last set of basement tapes in the basement of Eric Harris’ house(Cullen Columbine). After getting last minute supplies, Klebold and Harris would gather their bombs and place them in the cafeteria and also place their decoy bomb at a park. Hours later Klebold and Harris met in …show more content…
Was there any clear hints of the shooting the months or years before the shooting? Researchers went in depth to better understand the mental state of the shooters and came to realize that Klebold and Harris had different mindset. Harris was an angry person whose anger was often visible. Not only was Harris being bullied, but he also bullied people himself. Peter Longman brings up an incident where Eric Harris bullied a boy so much that he left the boy in tears, not wanting to come to school. His hatred towards others is what led to his revenge (Longman, Mindset). While Klebold on the other hand, was a hothead, but depressive and suicidal. Blaming himself for his problems, he often drank alcohol. (Cullen, Depressive). John Fuselier spent years studying the case to come to a safe conclusion that Harris was the mastermind behind the whole shooting, and executed most of the plan while Klebold kind of just followed along (Cullen, Reluctant). Their motives were very different. Cullen Writes, “Klebold fantasized about suicide for years without making an attempt. He had never spoken to the girls he dreamed of, Dylan was not a man of action, he was conscripted by a boy who was”(Cullen “Reluctant”). His Journal was filled with suicidal thoughts. Harris wanted to be remembered and wanted to leave a lasting impression on the