Analysis: The Columbine High School Shooting

In 1996, Barry Loukaitis, 14 years old, walked into his junior high school in Moses Lake Washington and killed two students and a teacher. He reportedly told friends, at least eight of them according to the article (Dedham 2000) of his thoughts of killing others. He also reportedly had spoke of this for a year prior to the shooting incident. He spoke of specific details such as using a coat to hide a rifle as he did in his shooting. He actually told one friend as relayed by the friend, “ He said that it’d be cool to kill people” and as this friend went on to say Loukaitis had said “He could probably get away with it.”
Other examples of the motivations such as bullying and tormenting which led to revenge are referenced in Dedman’s report. He

At the time it was the most horrific in terms of the number of students killed, reported at 13 and 24 reportedly wounded. According to USA Today, Greg Toppo 2009, the two perpetrators of this tragic event had intentions of killing thousands. And the two, Eric Harris and Dylan Kleboid, were a contrast when compared to one another and again show why a profile cannot be developed and is a dangerous approach. The article reports the two were not bullied according to their diaries reviewed following their deaths. The two had actually bragged about being the bullies picking on “fags” and freshman. Their attack was planned in advance and reportedly for more than a year. According to Toppo, they fooled everyone including law enforcement, teachers, psychologists, their parents and their friends. The article points out that Peter Langman, an author, wrote in his book “Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters” Kleboid and Harris were “kids with serious psychological problems.” Katherine Newman, renown co-author of a book in 2004, “Rampage: The Social Roots of School Shootings,” characterized Klebold and Harris as “just not accepted” and not as “loners.” She surmises they desired to be notorious by killing rather being seen by others as failures.
According to Toppo’s article, Newman found in an unnamed congressionally mandated study that she participated in that other kids egg on

They all point to the same key points including, but not limited to we must listen, develop an environment for our children where they can trust in seeking out and talking to adults and where they can feel a true and sincere sense of care and concern. Students must feel free to break the code of silence and share what they are hearing. The attacks are not sudden or impulsive, they are planned and typically someone knows from the behaviors and communications that a threat exists and these signs must not be ignored. The information must be shared and must be acted upon in a reasonable and responsible way as well as timely to prevent school-based shootings. We may never eliminate them but we must learn from the above information and the available research and use this information to act accordingly and