Columbine High School Shooting - Essay Example

Columbine High School Shooting Lecturer Planning The school carnage occurred at Columbine High School April 20, 1999 in Columbine, State of Colorado. The attackers included two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold who went to the same school (Finley 23.The Columbine massacre became the deadliest High School shooting across the United States. It led to the implementation of tight security measures among schools and generated debates over gun laws. It is not clear why the boys did the killings. However, the county police believed that the boys’ affiliation to a social outcast group known as the ‘Trench-coat Mafia’ motivated the act (Finley 24). The group’s fascinations included violent video games and gothic music, which psychologists believe gave a violent motivation. According to their journals, the teenagers planned for a major massacre to rival the Oklahoma City bombing. The pair planned for the attack for more than a year, making bombs and persuading friends to buy them firearms. Their strategy included a contingency plan on how to flee to Mexico, hijacking Denver International Airport and crashing a jet into a building in New York. They planned to kill more than 500 people and later on proceed to the neighbourhood and execute more people. Their journals revealed that they planned to set off explosives in a busy cafeteria murdering many students while shooting at fleeing students (Finley 23). Then, as the police, fire trucks and ambulance arrive, bombs set in their cars would detonate killing the emergency team. Harris and Klebold premeditated the massacre as early as April 1998. Klebold began thinking of committing suicide as early as 1997. The two boys used the internet to uncover ways on how to create pipe bombs and other home-made explosives. They had gathered many weapons, which included guns, knives and 99 explosives. Months before the massacre, Harris and Klebold acquired two 9mm firearms, 12 shotguns, a rifle and a handgun from Mark Manes. The pair did target practice at nearby foothills in order to enhance their shooting skills. Before they turned, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were intelligent teenagers who came from solid families (Finley 24). In elementary school, they took part in games such as baseball and soccer. The two teenagers enjoyed working with computers and playing video games. In 1993, the boys met while attending Ken Caryl Middle School (Hasday 12). After joining high school, the boys had a hard time fitting in any clique; athletes and senior boys regularly picked on them. For all external appearances, the boys seemed normal. They both worked at a local pizza parlour. Both Harris and Klebold became interested in German a lot and to some extent worshiped Hitler. They developed a love for technology, violent video games and German music bands (Hasday 13). Eric Harris developed his own website, which he used to express his hatred feelings towards the society. Gradually, the site contained death threats against teachers and students. As they grew up, the two friends became delinquents. In 1998, the police arrested both Harris and Klebold after they broke into a van and stole some tools (Finley 23). The court charged them with trespassing, theft and criminal mischief. However, being minors the court enrolled them into a diversion program, which comprised of counselling and community service. Harris attended psychologist classes based on anger management. Psychologists considered Harris a cold-blooded psychopath, smart and a charming liar. He also possessed superiority complex, which made him feel more imperative than the rest of the students. On the other hand, Klebold had a history of drinking, but none of them attended any substance abuse classes. In 1999, the state released them each with remarkable results. Both Harris and Klebold had a personal journal in which they wrote their personal feelings and thoughts. The journals documented the plan for a major bombing. Klebold wrote about his thoughts on suicide and how he contemplated on committing it. On the other hand, Eric complained of anger, depression and also possessed thoughts on committing suicide. Eric had issued a death threat to one of the students known as Brook Brown. Despite their behaviour, no one thought that Harris and Klebold would commit the 20th April attacks in Columbine High School. At 11:10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, the boys arrived separately at Columbine High School. All parked their car in different spots with one on the senior part while the other on the junior section. They carried timed propane bombs set to detonate at 11:17 to the cafeteria and placed them under the tables. However, none of the bombs exploded. The boys waited for a few more minutes, but their plan had failed. Despite the failure, they both proceeded into the school (Hasday 8). Klebold wore cargo pants and a trench coat concealing a 9mm semiautomatic handgun and a 12 gauge double-barrelled shotgun. Harris also had the same weapons on him concealed in his trench-coat. They both had utility belts filled with ammunition, knives and each carried a backpack full of explosives. At 11:19 two pipe bombs set up as a distraction for the police went off. At that moment, Harris and Klebold started firing at students sitting outside the cafeteria (Hasday 10). They killed a 17 year old girl and injured Richard Castaldo (Marsico 29). Most of the students delayed to react because they thought it was a senior year prank. While three students left the cafe, Harris and Klebold fired wounding all of them. They shot at five students eating lunch seated on the lawn; two got shot while the rest ran away. As Klebold walked down the stairs, he shot the first three wounded students killing one of them instantly. With the aid of a teacher, William Sanders, students ran from the cafeteria to the second floor of the school. Harris continued shooting and in the process shot Anne Marie as she tried to escape. At 11:22, the school custodian radioed Deputy Neil Gardner, requesting assistance in the senior parking lot. Deputy Neil responded after a radio call reporting the death of a woman. Neil exchanged gunfire with Harris, who stood at the West Entrance (Marsico 30). However, none of them got injured. They were both active shooters. Harris and Klebold shot people in confined places with the aspiration to kill, but they had no precise method or pattern. While inside the school, Harris and Klebold went through the North hallway shooting anyone they saw. In the process, they shot a girl in the ankle, but she managed to flee. The teacher, Dave Sanders, got shot while going up the stairs; however, another teacher managed to pull him inside a classroom where students tried to keep him alive. Klebold and Harris shot indiscriminately in the hallway while throwing bombs. At 11:29 they entered the library. In the library, they ordered anyone wearing a white cap to stand up. Out of fear, none of the students stood up. They started firing at the students where they killed Kyle Velasquez, who sat at a computer desk. As they walked towards the window, they fired at policemen and escaping students. Then, they turned their attention to students hiding under the tables. They shot and killed four students while injuring several. After a short pause, they walked table after table shooting non-stop injuring many and killing three more students. Klebold gave one of his acquaintances a chance to run before they went on shooting, killing two students. For the seven minutes they were in the library, they had killed ten students and injured 12 others (Marsico 35). After departure from the library, Harris and Klebold headed to the science room where they threw explosives aimlessly. The explosives caused a fire, which a teacher extinguished before it spread across the room. At 11:44, Klebold and Harris went back into the hallway and entered the cafeteria. They both tried to manually detonate the two pipe bombs, but they failed. The duo returned into the main hallways, shooting aimlessly. They occasionally peered through classroom windows and bathrooms taunting the students hiding in there. They later headed back to the library, where they actively engaged with the police and paramedics. At around 12:08 p. m, Patti Nielson overheard Harris and Klebold shouting in unison; counting from one to three. Two gunshots followed these words signifying the death of Harris and Klebold. Both had committed suicide. Eric Harris died at age 18 with a single shot through the mouth. Dylan Klebold died at age 17 with a single shot to the head. The SWAT team came to rescue everyone in the school, while paramedics attended to the injured. The police later questioned both students and teachers based on the events that had transpired in the school. A police report of the ordeal gave a death count of twelve students, one teacher and the two attackers. While a total of twenty one students got injured during the shootout and an additional three who got injured while trying to escape (Gimpel 100). Since 1999, most people went to the attackers’ parents seeking for answers to questions based on the killings. After the Columbine High School shooting, the law enforcement team needed to improvise ways on how to deal with active shooters. One of the most significant changes after the massacre is the initiation if Immediate Action Rapid Deployment. The police implemented this tactic in order to deal with active shooters. During the Columbine attack, the police followed the normal drill where they set a perimeter and surrounded the building. However, when dealing with active shooter they do not take hostages, but kill them. The new tactic calls for a four man advancement into the shooting area. The police involved, should move towards the shooter and neutralize him or her immediately. Police should neutralize the shooter at all costs. The tactic involves walking past the wounded as the main purpose is to kill the shooter; hence preventing any more casualties (Garret 54). This tactic has proved successful in many shootings such as the Virginia Tech shootings. In 2000, the law required safety locks on guns and also banned the importation of heavy ammunition firearms such as magazines. In conclusion, the Columbine High School shooting led to numerous criticisms due to the slow police response. All families received a settlement in their case against the families of the two boys, Mark Manes and Philip Duran. After the incident, most schools advanced their security measures through investing in Private security and installation of metal detectors. The police department initiated ways on how to deal with active shooters. Columbine High School resumed in the fall of 1999, but the incident had left a permanent scar among the students and teachers. The massacre changed how the society perceived children at school. The society believed violence could erupt anywhere and from anyone. Work cited Finley, Laura L.. Encyclopedia of juvenile violence. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2007. Print. Garrett, Ronnie. "Marching to the Sound of Gunshots: Virginia Tech Incident Puts Emphasis on Active Shooter Response." Law Enforcement Technology. Vol. 34, No. 6, June 2007, pp. 54–63. Gimpel, Diane Marczely. The Columbine shootings. Minneapolis, MN: ABDO Pub. Co., 2012. Print. Hasday, Judy L.Forty-nine minutes of madness: the Columbine High School shooting. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, 2013. Print Marsico, Katie. The Columbine High School massacre: murder in the classroom. Tarrytown, N.Y.: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2011. Print. 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