On April 20, 1999 a massive school shooting turned the Littleton, Colorado world upside down. This shooting was said to be one of the deadliest shootings in the United States history. This event led to more gun control controversy, attention to the schools security, and violence that goes on within these schools. What Littleton, Colorado Columbine High school thought would be a normal learning day, soon turned out to be a nightmare.

     At approximately 11 a.m., this horrid nightmare went underway as Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, entered the school dressed in trench coats filled with guns and homemade bombs. The two boys put bombs in their parking lot, in the school kitchen, and in their cafeteria setting them off to kill about 600 people, but failed to do so. When Eric and Dylan realized that their bombing of the school plan had failed, they began with their massive attack. Both Eric and Dylan began shooting innocent students from the parking lot while continuing this uncalled-for action as they entered the school. Their next target place was the Columbine High School library where they accomplished the largest portion of their massive killing. After killing 12 students, one teacher, and injuring more than 20 other attendees, both boys committed suicide, shooting themselves in the head. After long hours of this heartbreaking act, the school was said to be under control. (“Columbine High School Shootings” par.1)

     According to many people, Eric and Dylan supposedly committed this massive murder spree because they got tired of being bullied inside of the Columbine High School walls and wanted to get revenge by killing multiple people. Another theory was that they were influenced by the Gothic style and violent video games and television shows, but a team of psychiatrists and the FBI begged to differ. The two boys wanted to revive the Oklahoma City Bombing that occurred in 1995. Their original plan was to create a massive bombing, but when their bombs failed to explode, the gunshots began. In their minds, they did create a “bombing”. The two had been planning this attack for months and had made an apology video dedicated to their parents before the attack had taken place on April 20, 1999. They planted devastation, fear, and heartache among parents, students, and faculty at the Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. (Trump, pp. 26)

     Littleton suffered a huge nightmare all because a man named Mark Manes. Mark Manes was the man who gave power to these two teenage, sick minded boys. Manes sold a gun, along with 100 rounds of ammunition for the gun, to Eric Harris. Rage arose against this man because of his careless action.  Due to this tragedy, many parents blamed violent video games, for example Doom – a shooter game – released in 1993, for this horrific event. Kids soon began to harass any kid that wore a trench coat or wore all black. They thought that because Eric and Dylan wore the same things, the kids were no different and several were afraid that the 1999 shooting would be relived again. The Goth kids were classified as bad people because of the tragedy. They were set apart from the rest of their peers. Also, following the shooting, in the midst of heartbreak and tears, memorials and funerals were held after one another to commemorate the precious lives of those lost. Several were broadcasted across America. Crosses were built to remember the 15 lives taken.

     This massacre of innocent lives has changed the way our school systems and public places work now. Today, our school systems now know how to go about a situation like this in the near future. For example, administrators and the school’s board members have made access to schools harder, put in visitor management systems to secure who goes in and out of the schools, they have improved communication by placing phones in every classroom, and have even installed surveillance cameras in schools across the United States. Public places now have more safety regulations, as well as our schools that are filled with children daily. The shooting impacted us in such a way that most of us came together to grieve with Littleton, Colorado. The Columbine shooting did not go unnoticed as it impacted our nation in a huge way.

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 “Columbine High School Shootings” History.com. A&E

     Television Networks, 2009, www.

     History.com/topics/columbine-high-school-  

     shootings. Accessed 15 Nov. 2016.

Trump, Kenneth S. “Lessons Learned.” District

     Administration 45.4 (2009): 26. MasterFILE

     Premier. Accessed 15 Nov. 2016.