Columbine: The Day Evil Came to School and Changed America Forever

I grew up in the "Murder Triangle."  I graduated from high school in '97 in a community right outside of Memphis, TN.  There were school shootings triangle'd around:

1. Pearl, Mississippi - (The 1st mass school shooting by a student in the USA - 1997)
2. Paducah, Kentucky - (Heath High School, 1997)
3. Jonesborough, Arkansas - (Westside Middle School - 1998 

Then, on April 20, 1999 at 11:19 a.m., Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold committed an atrocious mass murder suicide right outside Littleton, Colorado, at the campus of Columbine High School.  Murdering twelve students and one teacher/coach, the two boys then counted to three, jumped in the air, and turned the guns of themselves.  By the year 1999, Columbine became the deadliest school shooting in history.  If we are to find any silver lining:  Several home made bombs planted around the school and in the parking lot failed to detonate, sparing the lives of what could have been hundreds more victims.

Many speculate, based of video journals and diaries, that the two boys had planned the act of terrorism for over a year.  According to Eric's notes, their goal had been to have the deadliest shooting/bombing exceeding the death count for the Oklahoma City Bombing.  

Odd fact most people do not know: Eric Harris had attempted to join the Marines 5 days before the shooting.  The Marines had rejected him for failing to disclose his anti-depressant, Luvox, used to treat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Question: Why would Eric have stock-piled guns and planned the terrorism if he was planning to join the Marines?

Eric was enamored with the Vietnam era and war, in general.  Classmates recalled he would often write "Front-line" fictional short stories in creative writing class.  Eric had this deep appreciation for Nazi culture, donning swastikas and even giving the "Heil Hitler" Salute.  Yet his best friend Dylan Klebold was Jewish and even engaged with Eric on the fascination with German Nazi culture.  Between the two families and the two people responsible for supplying the guns to Harris and Klebold, a total of $2.53 million was paid out to the victim's family.  The Klebold family has an odd connection to the banking industry.  The family is worth looking into.

Interesting Fact:  Does anyone remember a time when you could YouTube the shooting from the school camera footage.  Yes, there was a time you could pull up the two laughing while throwing pipe bombs, evil reincarnate.  

My trip to Columbine High School: 

I decided, slightly last minute, to drive to Columbine High School.   The school is named after the state flower, the Columbine.  On the drive, I listened to Dylan's mom's Ted Talk on the school shooting.  If you have not taken a listen, it's worth hearing her out.  The link is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXlnrFpCu0c&t=215s

As I drove the streets and the neighborhoods around the school, the community seemed almost too quiet.  There was no one in the park across the street, in the yards, or walking up and down the streets.  The school seemed much smaller than what I had pictured in my head.

I drove into the parking lot and spanned over all the construction trucks and the crews coming in and out of the front entry of the school.  I though that maybe, since school was in Summer break and they were remodeling, perhaps I could come in and take some pictures of the hallways and classrooms.  As I got out of my car and was walking towards the flag out front, a security guard in an unmarked Jeep jumped out of his vehicle and confronted me: "Can I help you please??"

 Although Columbine is a public high school supported by tax payer money, the property is considered "private."  Unfortunate to all visitors, Columbine has had its fair share of the "Freaks" who are oddly obsessed with the school shooting.  Let's face it, my white sweater and Subaru ball cap were a far cry from a trench coat.  I told the security guard that I completely understood and drove across the street to take a few pictures of Columbine High School.

It always puzzled me the date of April 20th chosen for the school shooting.  The murder duo chose this date because it was Adolph Hitler's birthday.  And, that's so strange about that was that Dylan Klebold was Jewish.

This blog post is dedicated to victim, Cassie Rene Bernall.  I drove to Cassie's grave site at Golden Cemetery, only a short drive from the high school.  I wanted to learn a little about Cassie, as she would have nearly my age this year.  Cassie's parents nicknamed her Bunny Rabbit, which explains all the rabbits at her grave site.  Cassie loved rock climbing and her favorite movie was Braveheart.  As a chilly gust of wind came billowing through, I wondered what Cassie would have done with her life had she been afforded the opportunity to live.

On April 20, 1999, Cassie was sitting in the library at Columbine High School when an educator frantically ran in and warned all the students to take cover.  Cassie dove under the table she was sitting at.  According to survivors, Cassie placed her hands over her eyes.  During the final moments of Cassie's life, Eric Harris knocked twice on top of her table and chillingly said: "Peek-a-boo!"  Eric Harris asked Cassie point blank if she believed in God.  When Cassie answered, "Yes," he pointed a sawed off shot gun at her face, killing her immediately.  

Cassie's gravestone reads: "I will die for my God.  I will die for my faith.  It's the least I can do for Christ dying for me."  Cassie's final moments were collaborated by at least four survivors and later memorialized in a book written by Cassie's mom.  Cassie is martyred by the Christian community as the "girl who said yes."