What were some of the things that led up to the Columbine High School massacre?
Ten years ago today two students at Columbine High School in Jefferson County, Colorado, near Denver, killed 12 fellow students and one teacher, and wounded 23 others, before committing suicide. The pair, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, entered the school building armed with rifles, shotguns and handguns; they had also built 99 improvised explosive devices. Their original plan, never realized, involved the killing of hundreds or more people. The nation was legitimately horrified. Countless editorials and commentaries appeared, as columnists, politicians and psychologists weighed in on the causes of the tragedy. The mass killings were variously blamed on bullying and school cliques, the “Goth” subculture, violent video games, the two students’ fascination with Hitler (the event took place on the German fascist leader’s birthday) and the easy availability of firearms in the US. President Bill Clinton described the event as beyond any complete human understanding, citing St. Paul to the ef
The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in an unincorporated area in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States, near Denver and with Littleton’s postal code. Two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, embarked on a massacre, killing 12 students and one teacher. They also injured 21 other students directly, and three people were injured while attempting to escape. The pair then committed suicide. It is the fourth-deadliest school massacre in United States history, after the 1927 Bath School disaster, 2007 Virginia Tech massacre and the 1966 University of Texas massacre, and the deadliest for an American high school. The massacre provoked debate regarding gun control laws, the availability of firearms in the United States, and gun violence involving youths. Much discussion also centered on the nature of high school cliques, subcultures and bullying, as well as the role of violent movies and video games in American society.
