Morbid Curiosity: The Columbine Massacre
Mr Ellison
Morbid Curiosity: The Columbine Massacre
MP4A History
Addison Baker (142251)
3/21/2014
Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Plan of Investigation PAGEREF _Toc383629668 \h 2Historical Context PAGEREF _Toc383629670 \h 3Interview and Narrative PAGEREF _Toc383629671 \h 8Analysis of Interview and Source Reliability PAGEREF _Toc383629672 \h 11Evaluation of Series of Events PAGEREF _Toc383629673 \h 12Resource List PAGEREF _Toc383629674 \h 13
Plan of Investigation-1372235128333500
Historical ContextOn April 20th, 1999 two young men, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold began an attack on their own high school and on their fellow peers inside. They entered Columbine high school armed with various means of firepower and were prepared …show more content…
The boys hoped to also kill all of the emergency personnel and the families of the children they had murdered who were surrounding the building (Larkin, 8). After planting the bombs in the cafeteria, both Dylan and Eric quickly departed the school and positioned themselves near their cars to shoot fleeing students from a distance. After waiting a considerable period of time, it was clear that their bombs were defective. The boys quickly ran back into the school, shooting several students on the way into the building. A member of faculty called the police upon hearing the gunshots. Students began to panic and frantically tried to escape. The failed detonation of the bombs caught the boys off guard. Eric and Dylan ran up and down the hallway, detonating bombs in their tracks. They made their way to the library where fifty-two students were hiding, terrified under the tables and in cabinets. They entered the library and asked for anyone who wore a white cap – all varsity athletes at the time wore white caps – to get on their feet. Eric and Dylan murdered anyone wearing a white cap and the people around the athletes. After shooting the students in the library, they moved to the cafeteria. Harris and Klebold fired several bullets at the defective bombs, hoping to ignite them, but instead started an accidental fire. They soon gave up on the bombs and returned to the library where they committed suicide. The …show more content…
There had been school shootings before Columbine. However, Columbine was the first where cell phones played a substantial role. Cell phones were rising in popularity and many students had one. Many teachers and students called the authorities as well as the local news stations from inside of the school. They were able to give live accounts of what they were seeing, who was injured and where the shooters were (CNN, Kay Jones). The police were also able to gain vital information through discarded phones that were still on call with 911 by listening to conversations and exchanges between the shooters and other victims (LiveLeak, Columbine Massacre). Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold entered the school at 11:09a.m. and had committed suicide by 12:08. Knowing virtually nothing, the press descended on the school by 12:30p.m. Watching the massacre unfold they reported anything they saw or heard. The news stations often interviewed students who had fled from the building, as well as anxious parents waiting for word. News anchors covered anything and everything they could get their hands on. The majority of the information received by the police immediately after the shooting was assumptions, rumors or figments of the imagination and the police refused to release any information to the
Morbid Curiosity: The Columbine Massacre
MP4A History
Addison Baker (142251)
3/21/2014
Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Plan of Investigation PAGEREF _Toc383629668 \h 2Historical Context PAGEREF _Toc383629670 \h 3Interview and Narrative PAGEREF _Toc383629671 \h 8Analysis of Interview and Source Reliability PAGEREF _Toc383629672 \h 11Evaluation of Series of Events PAGEREF _Toc383629673 \h 12Resource List PAGEREF _Toc383629674 \h 13
Plan of Investigation-1372235128333500
Historical ContextOn April 20th, 1999 two young men, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold began an attack on their own high school and on their fellow peers inside. They entered Columbine high school armed with various means of firepower and were prepared …show more content…
The boys hoped to also kill all of the emergency personnel and the families of the children they had murdered who were surrounding the building (Larkin, 8). After planting the bombs in the cafeteria, both Dylan and Eric quickly departed the school and positioned themselves near their cars to shoot fleeing students from a distance. After waiting a considerable period of time, it was clear that their bombs were defective. The boys quickly ran back into the school, shooting several students on the way into the building. A member of faculty called the police upon hearing the gunshots. Students began to panic and frantically tried to escape. The failed detonation of the bombs caught the boys off guard. Eric and Dylan ran up and down the hallway, detonating bombs in their tracks. They made their way to the library where fifty-two students were hiding, terrified under the tables and in cabinets. They entered the library and asked for anyone who wore a white cap – all varsity athletes at the time wore white caps – to get on their feet. Eric and Dylan murdered anyone wearing a white cap and the people around the athletes. After shooting the students in the library, they moved to the cafeteria. Harris and Klebold fired several bullets at the defective bombs, hoping to ignite them, but instead started an accidental fire. They soon gave up on the bombs and returned to the library where they committed suicide. The …show more content…
There had been school shootings before Columbine. However, Columbine was the first where cell phones played a substantial role. Cell phones were rising in popularity and many students had one. Many teachers and students called the authorities as well as the local news stations from inside of the school. They were able to give live accounts of what they were seeing, who was injured and where the shooters were (CNN, Kay Jones). The police were also able to gain vital information through discarded phones that were still on call with 911 by listening to conversations and exchanges between the shooters and other victims (LiveLeak, Columbine Massacre). Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold entered the school at 11:09a.m. and had committed suicide by 12:08. Knowing virtually nothing, the press descended on the school by 12:30p.m. Watching the massacre unfold they reported anything they saw or heard. The news stations often interviewed students who had fled from the building, as well as anxious parents waiting for word. News anchors covered anything and everything they could get their hands on. The majority of the information received by the police immediately after the shooting was assumptions, rumors or figments of the imagination and the police refused to release any information to the