The tragedy of what happened on April 20th, 1999 will never be forgotten. 13 people were killed in a bloody massacre planned and carried out by Columbine students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold in their own school. Many things had to fall in place for the shooting to occur. Arguably the biggest factor that caused it to happen, though, was the close relationship between the shooters. Had Dylan and Eric never met, there likely would never have been a Columbine shooting. The relationship between Columbine shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold was very complicated because the two had an extremely strong bond, Eric likely manipulated Dylan, and the pair brought out the worst in each other.
First, Columbine shooters Dylan and Eric had a very strong bond with each other. Dylan and Eric were both known to be quiet kids. Many people knew them as being antisocial or weird compared to other kids. The "Trencoat Mafia" solidified Dylan and Eric as being weird in people's eyes. Rumors spread that Dylan and Eric were a gay couple. People described Dylan and Eric as "inseparable." Eric and Dylan were often seen as social outcasts, which could be why they developed a close bond. "'They're freaks,'
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Because Dylan was liked by others more, it is believed Eric depended on him to feel accepted. This pairs unfortunately well with Dylan's self-destructive nature who looked for validation from Eric as well. Dylan's mother believed that Eric's anger mixed with Dylan's low self-esteem to create an unhealthy relationship. Especially because they spent so much time together, Dylan and Eric had plenty of time to feed off of each other negatively. Eric had a lot of negativity to be fed, too. "Eric was threatening to kill people. He threatened to kill Brooks personally, in three different places" (Cullen 232). This type of anger and rage was extremely unhealthy, made only worse by the type of relationship he had with Dylan and his