Columbine 25th Anniversary

 FBI Files on shooting HERE

The Columbine High School massacre was a school shooting and attempted bombing that occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States.[a] The perpetrators, 12th grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 12 students and one teacher. 10 students were killed in the school library, where Harris and Klebold subsequently committed suicide. 21 additional people were injured by gunshots, and gunfire was also exchanged with the police. Another three people were injured trying to escape. At the time, it was the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history.[b] The shooting has inspired dozens of copycat killings, dubbed the Columbine effect, including many deadlier shootings across the world.[c] The word "Columbine" has become a byword for school shootings. Harris and Klebold had intended for the attack to primarily be a bombing and secondarily a shooting, but the failed detonation of the several homemade bombs they planted in the school caused the pair to launch a shooting attack. Two bombs were set up as diversions at another location away from the school, one of which partially detonated. The motive remains inconclusive; however, they had planned the attack for at least a year and hoped to have a large number of victims. The police were slow to enter the school and were heavily criticized for not intervening during the shooting. The incident resulted in the introduction of the IARD tactic, which is used in active shooter situations. Columbine also resulted in an increased emphasis on school security with zero tolerance policies. Debates and moral panic were sparked over American gun culture and gun control laws, high school cliques, subcultures (e.g. goths), outcasts, and school bullying, as well as teenage use of pharmaceutical antidepressants, the Internet, and violence in video games and movies. Many makeshift memorials were created after the massacre, including victims Rachel Scott's car and John Tomlin's truck. 15 crosses for the victims and the shooters were also erected on top of a hill in Clement Park. The crosses for Harris and Klebold were removed later following controversy. The Columbine Memorial began planning as a permanent memorial in June 1999 and opened to the public in September 2007.