COLUMBIA MASSACRE: BACKGROUND, EVENTS, INVESTIGATIONS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The Columbine massacre was a shooting organized and executed on April 20, 1999 at Columbine High School. The authors were two of his seniors, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, 17 and 18, respectively. As a result of this massacre there were thirteen dead, twelve were students and one was a teacher, as well as more than 20 wounded with minor and serious injuries.

In the same way, these two teenagers ended their lives after fulfilling their mission. According to their diaries and videos, it has been shown that they had everything planned, from the creation of their own bombs to the way in which they would end the lives of everyone who wanted to escape.

High school where the events took place

During the investigations it was found that the satanic lyrics of the songs, violent video games and even the school itself would have part of the responsibility.

Background

A year earlier, in March 1998, Brooke Brown, a classmate of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, informed her parents about Eric Harris's blog, where threats against him could be read and Harris's desire to wanting to kill people, as well as threats to students and teachers at his school.

This information was sent to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, who withheld it until 2001, where it came to light after investigations.

Two months earlier, in January 1998, Klebold and Harris were arrested for robbery and sent to a program that would keep them away from violence. They left this show for having positive attitudes, but their diaries revealed that anger against their surroundings was far from under control.

According to their diaries, they wanted to detonate homemade bombs that they would place in the school cafeteria, which would cause the death of those who were there. While they would wait outside the school to shoot anyone who tried to escape.

Minutes before committing the attack, they recorded a last video where they apologized to the family and friends of their next victims.

Events

Klebold and Harris arrived at their school in separate cars at approximately 11:10 a.m. and left self-made bombs at the cafeteria entrances, scheduled to explode at 11:17 a.m. However, the bombs did not go off and they decided to start the shooting.

At 11:19 am they began to hear the first shots in the cafeteria, but where they unleashed their fury was in the library. They shot anyone who crossed their path as they moved through the school premises.

Patty Nelson, a teacher, was one of the first to call 911 to report what happened, but the police could do nothing, since this situation was greater than the training they had, according to the county sheriff, John Stone.

The SWAT team arrived 47 minutes later to control the situation.

At 12:08 pm, Klebold and Harris shot themselves, their bodies being found three hours later by the SWAT team, who had everything under control five hours after their arrival.

Professor Dave Sanders, 47, was one of the fatalities and according to his students, he was bleeding for three hours waiting to be rescued.

Hypotheses and investigations

After the attack, many hypotheses took hold with respect to adolescents. They were said to belong to a social group called the Trenchcoat Mafia, who had a Gothic orientation. His taste for violent video games or music with lyrics alluding to murders was also said to encourage his actions.

These hypotheses were rejected as they could not be tested.

In April 2001 the families reached an agreement with the parents of the murderers and the arms suppliers involved in the sale of illegal weapons to these minors.

The settlement amounted to $ 2.5 million, money that would be assumed mostly by the parents 'property insurance and the difference between the providers' insurance.

The parents of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were sued for wrongful death, on the premise that they must have known about their children's mental state. They reached an agreement in August 2003, although the terms are kept confidential.

Likewise, Mark Manes, who sold the illegal weapons to minors, and Phillip Duran, who presented them, were each sentenced to six years in prison.

Foundations and actions of parents

Rachel Scott's parents have a foundation, Rachel's Challenge, where they help forgive people in similar situations so they can get on with their lives.

Daniel Mauser's father uses his son's sneakers as a symbol in his mission to keep weapons out of the reach of criminals. Professor Dave Sanders' daughter is currently a forensic therapist and seeks to understand violent behavior and try to prevent it.

Gun control, a pending decision

As a result of events like this, the United States government is pending the regularization of gun control. This situation is made difficult by not being clear about who can or should have weapons.

Some people believe that insecurity will increase, but the young people from the different schools do not think the same, so they have raised their voice in protest about the need to regulate the use and sale of weapons.

The Second Amendment provides the foundation for everyone to have a gun. At the federal level, you can indicate who meets the requirements to obtain one, but state and local governments regulate its use.

The basic requirements are that the bearer be at least 18 years of age and have no police record or not have any kind of problems with the law, but the illegal market bypasses these fences contributing to massacres like those experienced in Columbine.

References

1. "Columbine High School Shootings Fast Facts." (March 25, 2018). CNN Library. US Recovered from edition.cnn.com.
2. Dawson, Margaret and Effron, Lauren. (February 12, 2016). "Healing After Columbine: Survivors, Victims' Families Talk About Moving Forward." US Recovered from abcnews.go.com.
3. Jackson, Abby. (February 17, 2018). "19 years later, Columbine High School massacre survivors say they still struggle and have debilitating anxiety." US Recovered from businessinsider.com.
4. "Columbine shooting". (sf). Recovered from history.com.
5. Kohn, David. (April 17, 2001). What Really Happened At Columbine? Did So Many Have To Die? ”. New York, US Recovered from cbsnews.com.
6. Schuster, Kathleen. (February 15, 2018). "8 facts about gun control in the US". US Recovered from dw.com.