In 2019 alone, there has been almost 300 mass and school shootings in the US. “This puts 2019 on pace to be the first year since 2016 with an average of more than one mass shooting a day,” (Silverstein). A lot of people in the United States have very different opinions about shootings and gun control, and I think that the authorities should make whatever decision they need to to keep citizens safe. Shootings have ruined too many lives for us to just not do anything.

School shootings are happening all over the country now. One of the first major shootings was at Columbine High School in a small town in Colorado. Dave Cullen wrote a novel about the massacre. In his book, there are many small events that lead up to the main event. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold are best friends, and the two main characters. Before they started planning the attack, they were already extremely mad. During their sophomore year, the boys started their mission to shoot their school. Then, Dylan started writing in a journal and mentioned some dark things. The boys built their first pipe bomb and Eric made a website that was reported to the police. In this website he put his “I HATE” rants, which is where he talked about things he hated, or some of his reasons for the shooting. So far, they haven’t done any physical harm to anyone yet and it was mostly just plans.

In their junior year, Eric and Dylan got suspended for breaking into other students’ lockers. Dylan talked more about killing and suicide in his journal. Also, the boys stole from the computer room, arrested for breaking into someone’s van, and their pipe bomb was found by Eric’s dad and local deputies. Eric is forced to see a psychiatrist and and to take medication. Following that, the boys made death threats, got sentenced in court, and Eric received his Diversion program contract. At the end of the school year, the two boys outlined the attack and wrote it down. After their junior year, they got involved with the police, a psychiatrist and now their parents know about their bad behavior.

Their senior year was when the massacre happened. They put more work into the pipe bombs and eventually finished one. Eric got more emotionally distraught, so he switched medications. The boys bought shotguns and a rifle at a gun show, then they practiced shooting them. This is an important part of the book because it is the first time either of the boys had ever shot a gun, and they find it very powerful. Eric and Dylan record the Basement Tapes on March 20. On April 17 is the prom and three days later, April 20, 1999 is when the massacre occurs.

When it finally comes to the day of the shooting, 13 people were killed and many more wounded. These couple pages are difficult to read because of how easily Eric and Dylan killed. After the shooting, it took 8.5 years to make the permanent memorial. Even Bill Clinton got involved, and 2,000 people showed up to the ceremony. Then, the book goes into the perspective of an authority. He describes how the victims that were wounded in the attack evolve. For example, one kid, Partick Ireland became more confident and actually asked a girl he was dating to marry him. He would not have had this confidence if he hadn’t been shot. At the very end of the book, 13 doves were released into the air, symbolizing the victims that were killed. Then about 200 more to signify everyone else at the school. It’s a somewhat happy ending to a very sad story.

This key passage is at the end of the book, the morning before the massacre. The boys filmed the Basement Tapes.

“Eric had one more thought, for the girl from prom night. ‘Susan, sorry. Under different circumstances it would’ve been a lot different.’ Dylan got restless and snapped his fingers. Eric flashed an angry look. That shut him up. Eric had something profound to deliver. Dylan couldn’t care less. Eric lost his big moment. ‘That’s it.’ he said ‘Sorry. Goodbye.’

Dylan turned the camera to face himself. ‘Goodbye.’” (Cullen)

This is a key passage because this is where Eric and Dylan talk to their parents for the last time. It’s a difficult passage to read. This is an example of the boys expressing their anger to the world. They’d both been depressed since sophomore year and were just ready for everything to be over. When talked about on the news, I thought it was unfair the way they described the boys. “In the case of Klebold and Harris, the shooters at Columbine, they were often portrayed as bullied youths who were victims of a society inundated with violent video games and handguns, blocked from the entitlements their social status typically promised (Greathouse).” Especially in the media today, when news sources write about shooters, if the shooter is white they’re more sympathetic towards them. Eric and Dylan were treated differently than an African American shooter. I believe Eric and Dylan’s story should’ve been told how it really happened. They were 2 young adults that had been planning to shoot people at their school for two years. Even the police knew who they were because they arrested them.

Thankfully, a school shooting hasn’t happened at my school, but I’m definitely affected by shootings. Since it’s not specific to just one school, everyone is vulnerable and feels less safe. Some schools are more likely to have a shooting than others, but it only takes one person to ruin many lives. It’s not something you should be worried about 24/7 because thinking about what could happen is so consuming, but you do have to think about a little bit at least.

As stated before, more than 1 school shooting has occurred a day in 2019, which needs to change. Columbine, the first major school shooting got everyone worried about shootings, but not enough action has been taken to reduce the number of shootings. Even with any law, you can not eliminate it completely, no matter how hard it is to accept. As a nation, or even as the human race, we need to find a solution to our problem. What should that solution be and what will you do to enforce it?

Works Cited

Cullen, Dave. Columbine. New York, Hachette Book Group, 2009.

Greathouse, Tanya, and Joanne Belknap. "School shooting." Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Sept. 2019, www.britannica.com/topic/school-shooting. Accessed 15 Oct. 2019.

Silverstein, Jason. "There have been more mass shootings than days this year." CBS News, 1 Sept. 2019, www.cbsnews.com/news/mass-shootings-2019-more-mass-shootings-than-days-so-far-this-year/. Accessed 17 Oct. 2019.