Eric Harris: Mastermind Of The Columbine High School Massacre
Eric Harris lived on the edge, he liked the way felt and the way that it gave him power. The way that he thinks, the way he control himself was not like a normal person. “Psychopathic brains don’t function like those in either of the other groups, but they are consistently similar to one another. Eric killed for two reasons: to demonstrate his superiority and to enjoy it” (Cullen p. 239). He knew what he was doing and how he wanted the situations to play out.
He wanted to be known as the person who caused the Columbine massacre and end as many lives as possible. He wanted everybody across America to be affected by this tragedy. Eric basically worked harder than ever to earn the money for the weapons. Throughout the year of their planning, Eric manipulated people into thinking that he was improving in school and
On a disastrous day in December, Adam Lanza shot and killed 27 people, one of which included his own mother. There were hundreds of components to why we think Lanza did this, but no one will know the full truth. This is just a small detail of what happened, and the aftermath of the Sandy Hook School Shooting. 20-year-old Adam Lanza lived with his 52-year-old mother, Nancy Lanza until December 14, 2012, when he broke into a school and killed 26 people. At a young age, Lanza was seen as happy, and smiling all the time, and he would partake in school activities.
In the words of Eric Harris, “All I want to do is kill and injure as many of you pricks as I can!”. According to this view, Eric’s mindset was focused on killing and injuring as many people as he possibly could, trying to do a great damage to the world. In sum, the issue is whether Eric and Dylan shot up their high school because of being bullied and wanting to get
Adam Lanza was a 20 year-old who lived in Newtown, Connecticut. He was the mass murderer/school shooter of Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. He murdered 27 people including his mother, 20 children, 6 adults, and killed himself after. Understanding why someone would brutally murder so many innocent people is important and can also help in preventing other events like this from happening. This paper explores theories that can further explain Adam’s psychological state and the potential motivations he had to commit such violent behaviors.
Eric Harris was by all accounts a normal high school teenager. Former classmate, Kyle Ross, said, “He was a typical guy. He didn’t seem anything like what is portrayed on TV”. Eric was nothing like what they made him out to be after the Columbine shooting but after it took place, many untold secrets came out that were both crucial and imperative regarding Eric and Dylan.
The Columbine Shooting was an unforeseen tragic event that transpired on April 20, 1999. The shooting was labeled as a massacre that devastated not only the city of Columbine, but the state of Colorado and the whole nation. It is these types of tragic scenarios that make society question the security of the school, and the ease of obtaining guns in the United States. Two senior students, Eric Harris (18) and Dylan Klebold (17) found to be the only two perpetrators during the massacre.
The massacre at Columbine High School in 1999 was, at the time, one of the worst school shootings to have taken place in the United States. In the months and years that followed this tragedy, discussions about public safety, the victims, and, most importantly, the killers ensued in the mass media. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, best friends and killers in the Columbine massacre, ended the lives of 13 people and changed the lives of countless others. When looking back on this tragedy, it is not difficult for people to realize that Eric Harris was clearly psychopathic. However, his best friend Dylan, his partner in the killings, did not seem to share the same desire to kill.
A bomb explodes outside of the FBI building in Oklahoma City. Over one hundred people were killed, the side of the building was blown open, and no one knew who did such a malicious thing. A few days later, people know Timothy McVeigh was the terrorist who blew up the FBI building. People like Timothy McVeigh don’t just blow up buildings just because they feel like it. Timothy, like the many other people after him, is called a terrorist because of the reason behind his violent doings.
Most people believe that it was because of his psychopathic nature mixed with his hate for the school. In his journal, he often wrote about how he hated the school and jocks that inhabited it. Eric and Dylan got along well, and it is believed that Eric fed off of Dylan’s depressive and homicidal state, which only fed the fire of Eric’s hatred. Dylan Klebold was a quiet student at Columbine High, and did not hang out with many other people other than Eric and his other friend. Dylan’s motives were easier to figure out than Eric’s.
Psychology Three questions phycologist would ask about Eric Harris & Dylan Klebold to understand the reason for committing the massacre is firstly, “what was the mental state of them before the crime?” secondly “Did they have an abusive childhood(trauma/abuse)?” thirdly “did they have mental disorders? (chemical imbalance in the brain affecting behaviour?”. Continuing a phycologist would ask these questions because, phycology is the study of the individuals mind and mental state knowing their mental state and childhood allows the psychologist to seek a greater understanding of their individual experiences, emotions, thinking behaviour, learning and development.
In his journal Eric Harris wrote “Oh well, just as long as I kill a lot of fucking people. Everyone is always making fun of me because of how I look, how fucking weak I am and shit, well I will get you all back, ultimate fucking revenge here.” Harris was subject to ridicule because he did not meet the standards of masculinity, his body did not match up to the strength men are supposed to have instead Harris was a lanky and as a result got bullied for being “weak”. Eliot Rodger dubbed himself “the kissless virgin” in his manifesto Rodger details his entire life leading up to the shooting where he killed 7 people near the University of California. Rodger writes about feeling emasculated because he couldn’t find love, according to his manifesto.
In his article, he states, “Mass killers often believe they have been wronged, whether by an individual, a corporation or demographic group” (). For instance, Elliot Rodger had felt he had been wronged by women. He thought they purposely avoided him and did not like him, which had driven him to kill six people. Lastly, Victor had written about the desire for notoriety within killers. Within his article he writes about Columbine High School shooters Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, who killed 13 in 1999.
Murder is defined as the illegal taking of another human's life and is grounded in the intent of this action. Many murders occur at the time due to an increased passion of a situation; jealousy, anger, or a lapse in judgment that leads to someone else's death. In the case of serial killers, this is not about the passion of a onetime situation, it can be a compulsion that drives a person to kill over and over. The cause of this compulsion is motivated by mental illness, a sense of duty to a particular person or entity, or it is a way to release pent-up frustrations that the killer does not have the emotional capability to handle. This last one is the case for Edmund "Ed" Kemper III, also known as the Co-Ed Killer.
Even the prosecuting attorney for his case stated, “I don’t doubt for a second, never have doubted, that had he not been caught, Eric Smith would have killed again,” (When Children Kill By: Diane Kratz Feb 11, 2013 Aside) According to Phil Chalmers, a teen violence and youth culture expert, there are usually specific reasons why teens kill. They include being bullied at school, depression, lack of guidance or discipline and even mental illness are just to name a few. (Inside The Mind Of a Teen Killer; 2009 Nelson, Phil Chalmers). Eric Smith appeared to have many of those
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