Columbine Research Paperr!! SO SCARYYYYYYY

Columbine High School

       Before my research on the Columbine High School shooting I thought the word "columbine" was a general term for school shootings, not one specific shooting. I became drawn to this topic because I have a weird obsession to psychological killings and creepy stuff like that. When I first typed my topic in my iPhone, Google directed me to "Columbine High School". When I clicked on the high school web page I was taken aback when I saw a caption reading "Through these halls walk the finest kids in America. The students of Columbine High School." I just think this caption is kind of ironic because two terrible kids also walked these halls and they impacted America in a tragic way. The picture of the hallway also made me realize that Columbine High School  is just a typical school like mine. What makes this school different than mine? Not much other than the obvious private versus public, size, and location. However this school suffered a tragic historical event because of two mentally ill, cold-blooded students.  The shooting was a shock to everyone all over America and was the first school shooting to leave an impact on high schools today.

Littleton, CO

       Columbine High School is located in Littleton, Colorado, a small town near Denver. I found out the location by doing some hardcore creeping on the official Columbine High School website.  From reading an article in USA today I found out that the school was shaken on April 20, 1999 when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, armed gunman, went on a massive rampage throughout the school. Harris and Klebold planned this massacre over a year and built over 100 bombs to rid the plan of any faults. However, on April 20th none of the bombs they brought to the school went off. If the bombs would have detonated the entire school would have been blown to pieces. However, the boys succeeded in murdering twelve classmates, a teacher, and wounding 16 others before taking their own lives.

student evacuating library

From watching A&E's documentary on Columbine I was able to understand Harris and Klebold's plan of destruction. The two boys started out by bringing bombs in duffle bags to the cafeteria and when the bombs failed they opened fire at approximately 11:19 AM. In this documentary footage of school security cameras show students rushing out of the cafeteria and hiding under desks in order to survive. The cameras show complete chaos and it was really scary watching this because you can hear the gunshots. Apparently from Wikipedia one of the teachers thought kids were just messing around with a prank until she opened a door and was shot at and injured by broken glass. A total of 52 students and several teachers took cover in the library until around 11:25 when the two killers walked in the library. In the show a survivor of the massacre talked about how he was hiding underneath desks and he could hear the two shooters taunting kids and having a good time. In the documentary, in a 911 call made by a teacher, you can hear the two boys screaming and according to Wikipedia they were saying things like "Get up! Everyone with white hats get up! This is for all the shit you've given us for the past four years!"  The two killers went around the library shooting victims underneath desks and terrorizing Columbine school. Kids were trying to evacuate from the windows without Klebold and Harris noticing. The creepiest thing about watching the surveillance cameras was that the boys were so calm about the entire massacre. Klebold was even filmed taking a drink. At around 12, Klebold and Harris walked back into the library and simultaneously committed suicide. 

Harris and Klebold on top

   Eric Harris was the mastermind behind the entire plan. Psychologists believe he was a psychopath out for blood. Harris fed his parents and authorities everything they wanted to hear and felt he was superior to everyone. Harris wrote once that he wishes he was God so that everyone would be "officially lower than me" Harris' journals were filled with absolute hatred and evil. He put on a facade, and made good grades but then in his journals he wrote about his terrible plans to kill all.   From reading another one of his journal entries, Harris seems like he hates so many people that he doesn't care if he dies because he just wants all those people to suffer like he has. "I will sooner die than betray my own thoughts, but before I leave this worthless place, I will kill whoever I deem unfit.." I found this short quote from one of his entries along with several other diary entries on a Columbine memorial site. This quote also illustrates that Harris was not out to kill a certain type of people like Jocks, or Christians, but more of he wanted to kill anyone in his path on April 20th. Plus, this quote can show his psychopathic thoughts of thinking everyone was below him. He had a lot of built-up anger towards his classmates and others because he wasn't socially accepted.

Harris' signature in yearbook

On the other hand Dylan Klebold felt hated by everyone  so he followed Harris's plans. In the documentary I watched their was a home video of Klebold driving his BMW with a friend and jamming out to music. To everyone else he and Harris seemed like ordinary teenagers. In Klebold's journal it's less hateful and more of a sad depressing memoir of his own misery. He wrote poems and drew weird hearts throughout his journal. One of his entries even gushed about how he found "true love".  And from doing some hard core researching I was able to find actual documents from the case such as files and evidence, like some of their essays and signatures in yearbooks. It's interesting because one of Harris' essays was about Nazism, while one of Klebold's essays was on his anticipation of his senior year. The contrast between the two different topics can say alot about the differences between the Eric and Dylan. Also, in one yearbook Harris wrote things in german like "kein mitleid" which means no pity, and "ich bin gott" meaning I am God. Which is absolutely beyond creepy and scary plus what he wrote in english consisted of "hey don't follow your dreams goals or any shit like that follow your f**cking animal instincts if it moves kill it, if it doesn't burn it." Why would someone write that in another person's yearbook?! Klebold's signature was hard to read and it seems like he wrote a rap, but it was nothing too alarming. 

Columbine Memorial

When I first typed in "Impact of Columbine Massacre" I was taken to so many different sources. Clearly, the impact of this tragic massacre was spread worldwide and vastly changed security in schools. An article by a writer at University of Cincinnati, said that after Columbine an Ohio bill was passed to help reinforce student and faculty safety. This bill 422 states that once a year in any type of high school (public or private) a principal must instruct a lock-down drill. This lock down drill enforces students and faculty to hide safely in the school building rather than evacuate the premises. The event also influenced schools to install security cameras, enforce faculty badges, locked doors, and PA systems to be installed. The effect that the massacre left on the school and city was monstrous. Littleton was shocked at what two of their own natives could do to the town. I found it interesting when I was on the Columbine High website that the school has a teacher in-service day on the 20th. There is also a memorial in Littleton to honor the victims who died.
From all of this intense research I have become completely terrified. I went into this thinking it would be incredibly sad but interesting in a weird way. No, I am terrified!!! I hope this never happens at any school I attend. And I'm sorry if the pictures didn't work I was to scared of them to save them to my computer.