In the history of any country there are events that cannot be forgotten. One such tragedy was the massacre at Columbine School. This event has led to serious debate over the addiction of children to video games. In addition, the authorities tightened the rules on the acquisition of weapons.
The beginning of the tragedy
April 20, 1999 was a sunny morning and did not bode well. However, in the head of a pair of bosom friends, a terrible plan to kill more than 5 hundred schoolchildren was already ripe.
Friends Eric and Dylan were never distinguished by their exemplary behavior and good upbringing. They repeatedly found themselves in police for petty hooliganism. The last time they sat behind bars for several days for stealing a computer. The boys had a very difficult and difficult character, they never paid attention to requests, and did everything in their own way. According to eyewitnesses, adolescents always looked for a reason for a quarrel and gladly developed conflict situations. Eric Harris, shortly before the tragedy, was diagnosed with a severe form of depression, due to which he was under the supervision of a psychologist. In addition, he was prescribed drugs that could have a negative effect on his behavior. Eric and Dylan were fond of weapons and explosives, and even had their own blog on the Internet, where they talked in detail about different types of weapons and their use.
No one suspected that boys, keen on weapons, someday dare to try all this in real life. Their plans included the demolition of the building of their own school. According to experts, adolescents began preparations for the explosion in advance. They personally assembled several improvised explosive devices. The boys planned to lay explosives in the school cafeteria and freely go outside. After the explosion was to take place, all students had to run out into the street. At that moment, the terrorists planned to begin their execution right in the doorway of the school. The only snag in Harris and Klebold’s plans was weapons. Since none of them was an adult, by law they could not personally acquire weapons. A friend from Denver came to their aid, who came to the city to stay and did not know anything about the plans of the teenagers.
As expected, on April 20, Eric and Dylan went to the school cafeteria and quietly planted bombs with detonators there. Then they quietly went to the street. However, after the teenagers activated the detonators, the explosion did not take place. Harris and Klebold decided to play it safe and waited time waiting for the explosion. When it became clear that the plan failed, they switched to plan "B". The teenagers decided to simply shoot all those present at the school without any explosion.
Harris was the first to go to school. At that moment, his school friend stopped him and asked why he had missed the lesson. Instead of answering the question, Harris told him that he liked him and that he needed to go home. After a couple of minutes, an eyewitness heard the first shots.
The first victims of the teenagers was a couple who was sitting on the lawn near the school. The girl died on the spot, and the guy later became disabled. The next dead were three guys who left school and decided that Eric and Dylan were just kidding them. After these priests, the tragedy was transferred to the school building.
Harris and Clibord entered the school from the back door and began to shoot everyone who was at that time in the corridor. At that moment, a school employee called 911 from the school library. The police quickly reacted and sent the outfit to the building. When the officers arrived at the scene, they noticed shooters through the window. The shootout has begun. However, no one was hurt.
Further actions took place in the library. According to statistics, the largest number of people were killed here. Cool-blooded teens shot at close range. They came close to the victims and killed them point blank. The teenagers scoffed at the wounded and asked strange questions about how they prefer to die. The terrorists clearly liked what was happening and they enjoyed every moment. According to eyewitnesses, the teenagers were clearly out of their minds, they were constantly joking and laughing.
In addition to firearms, the killers had carbon bombs with them, which they decided to test in the library. At least a dozen shots were fired at the victims. In total, they killed 13 people there. One teacher was injured, who soon died of blood loss.
After the shootout, the friends decided to go down to the dining room, where there were still broken bombs, and find out what was the matter. At that time, video cameras were working indoors, which captured the last minutes of their lives. The teenagers decided to activate the bombs with the help of the Molotov cocktail, which they produced in the garage. The bombs worked, however, their power was less than the comrades had expected. Friends managed to leave the room before the explosion.
The death of Harrison and Klebold
At the scene of the tragedy, special forces arrived, who began the evacuation of the victims. Thoroughly thinking through a plan of action, the police tried to find out how many were all participants in the terrorist attack. Initially, it was believed that this was an organized terrorist attack in which at least 12 people took part.
After the teenagers left the dining room, they went upstairs, where the last shootout with the police took place. Then Harrison and Klebold ran out of bullets. At that moment, the shootout ended, and the distraught teenagers left for the next room, where they committed suicide. They fired into the mouth and temple, after which death occurred instantly.
As soon as the shootout was over, the police decided to storm the building. Special forces and sappers were sent there. The latter defused the bombs that the terrorists managed to plant in the library. This seriously complicated the evacuation of the victims.
Soon, sappers were informed that some of the explosives and improvised bombs remained in the car in adolescents. All devices were eliminated, and no one else was hurt. According to law enforcement agencies, the teenagers were embarrassed by the absence of an explosion and they left part of the supplies, suggesting they would return. If everything went according to plan, there could have been much more victims.
The meaning of tragedy
In total, 15 people died in the tragedy at Columbine, including the names of the terrorists. In memory of the victims in the city put a memorial complex. Massacre was the third largest number of victims in the United States. However, it was this incident in Colorado that became tragically known throughout the world. The tragedy aroused a response in the international community. It was the journalists who drew the attention of every American to what had happened in a regular provincial school.
