Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 20:52, 28 November 2003

Revision as of 21:16, 28 November 2003

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==Eric Harris==

Eric Harris was born in [[Wichita, Kansas]]. His parents, Wayne Harris and Kathy Harris were both born in [[Colorado]]. However, the two moved around quite a bit, as Wayne was a [[US Air Force]] transport pilot. The three had lived in [[Ohio]], [[Michigan]], and [[New York]]. As soon as Wayne retired, they settled in Littleton in 1996. After the move, Wayne worked at the [[Flight Safety Services Corporation]] in [[Englewood, Colorado]]. Kathy worked at a catering company in the area. Eric soon bonded with a boy named Dylan Klebold Some neighbors described the Harrises as supportive of their son.

Earlier in his childhood, Eric was in the [[little league]] and served as a [[Boy Scout]]. Eric wanted to be in the [[Marine Corps]], but was rejected from the Corps several days before the shooting due to the fact that he was taking [[Luvox]], an antidepressentantidepressant.

==Dylan Klebold==

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==Fermenting frustration==

The boys became pheripheralperipheral members of a group of boys called the "Trenchcoat Mafia", a small clique which they wore heavy black [[trenchcoat]]s, possibly inspired by ''The Matrix''. The boys generally embraced a [[goth]] culture, obsessed with death and violence. They were said to be fans of [[Marilyn Manson]] and violent [[video games]] such as [[Doom]]. Most of the major members of the group had graduated or dropped out of the school by the time that Harris and Klebold committed the massacre.

The two were upset at the life around them. They blamed [[jock]]s for harassing them by "riduculingridiculing" them and "calling them outcasts". They even made a video for school project that showed them wielding guns and killing students in the hallway of their school. The two boys were upset when the teacher barred the video from being shown upon finding of its graphic nature. Eric Harris often displayed themes of violence in his creative writing projects. Some of the teachers saw that they were sympathetic to the [[Nazi]] causes and that they were depressed and angry. Nothing happened to the boys despite the fact that the teachers complained about the boys, although one of them was suspended for the rest of the school year for [[cracking]] into the school computer system.

Eric Harris maintained a [[website]] under the name "Reb" that openly showed hatred for the people of Littleton, especially teachers at his high school, [[Columbine High School]]. As early as [[March]] [[1998]], words such as "God, I can't wait until I can kill you people," and "I'll just go to some downtown area in some big (expletive) city and blow up and shoot everything I can" appeared. The two boys were experimenting with [[pipe bomb]]s and posting results of the [[bomb]]s' explosions on the website.

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The two killed 12 students and a teacher, before each shooter shot himself in the head after it became apparent that they would not be able to make it out of the building scot-free. Eric Harris aimed a shotgun at his mouth and literally blew his [[brains]] out. Dylan Klebold supposedly shot himself in the right temple. Some say that Eric killed him since Klebold was left handed.

The two things that prevented the deaths of many people were the failure of their bombs to explode and the quick response of police, which surrounded the campus. No drugs and alchoholalcohol were found in Eric Harris' body post-mortem. The boys had planted from 30 to 50 bombs all over the school.

For more details, see: [[Columbine High School massacre]]