Dave Cullen’s journalistic portrayal of the infamous school shooting in Columbine reveals the raw truth of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris’ murder spree while uncovering misconception surrounding it. Cullen dives deep into the heart of motive and recovery, offering a newfound understanding of both the victims and the killers. The tragedy at Columbine was planned as a series of explosions that would have killed nearly 2,000 students. The bombs failed, however, so the shooters abandoned their plan and went on a spree through the school instead, using semiautomatic weapons they acquired at a gun show, where background checks can be bypassed. This cost thirteen lives before they both committed suicide. Police arrived shortly after, but delayed taking …show more content…
The biggest misrepresentation was the immortalization of Cassie Bernall to the Christian community. Cassie was reported to have been murdered by Dylan after she bravely professed her religious faith when asked if she believed in God. In reality, it was Val Schnurr, a survivor, who proclaimed her belief, and was later vilified for supposedly stealing Cassie’s martyrdom. The media also made the mistake of conceptualizing Dylan and Eric as social recluses who were bullied by jocks and didn’t fit in at school. In reality, however, the boys were outwardly well-adjusted, and had markedly different personalities. Eric was a highly intelligent rebel and a charmer, whereas Dylan was smart but self-conscious and prone to wild outburst of emotion. FBI agent and domestic terrorism specialist Dwayne Fuslier would later diagnose Eric as a young psychopath, an unfeelingly manipulative play-actor who knew how to get what he wanted out of everybody. Eric wanted to prove his superiority to the world and wanted to leave a legacy by striking fear into the hearts of his “audience,” the students left alive and the horrified world. But Dylan, who Fuslier diagnosed as depressive and self-medicating with alcohol, wanted primarily to end his own life. Regardless of motive, their actions would forever alter the lives of those affected by the