Friday, February 10, 2012

Columbine Copy Cat


What makes teenagers want to kill?  A topic that has been discussed many times with arguments basing speculation on video games, lack of good parenting, bullying, depression, mental illness, along with many other reasons.  The most recent case of an attempted mass shooting or bombing may open a bit of insight into what these teenagers are thinking. 

On December 27, 2011 two high school boys were arrested for allegedly planning to bomb Roy High School in Roy, Utah.  The boys in question are 18 year-old Dallin Morgan (pictured) and his 16 year-old accomplice.  The two boys planned to set off bombs within the school after a scheduled assembly.  The bombing plot was later foiled when one of the boys sent warning text messages to a friend who later showed them to the police.  According to court records, messages began with, “If I tell you one day to not go to school, make sure you and (name removed) are not there.”  Later texts then stated, “I get the feeling you know what I’m planning.  Explosives, airport, airplane.”  Further explaining, “We ain’t gonna crash it, we’re just gonna kill and fly out to a country that won’t send us back to the U.S.”  Police report the boys had trained and preplanned the entire bombing plot for months going as far as gathering blueprints of the school and spending hours online learning how to fly an airplane in order to escape.  Chief Greg Whinham of Roy Police Department states, “One of the suspects was fascinated with the Columbine massacre and even drove to Columbine High School in Denver, Colorado to interview the principle last year about the shootings.”  Roughly, an eight hour drive one way.  They met on December 12th and the teen told the principle that he was doing research for a story for the school newspaper.  When questioned by police officers, the suspects’ stated that they were inspired by the Columbine massacre but were then offended when compared to them stating, “those killers only completed one percent of their plan.”  Police added that the 16 year-old had previously made a pipe bomb using gun powder and rocket fuel. 


This story aims close to heart because I was a second grade student in the Columbine area when the shootings happened on April 20, 1999.  As a former resident of Columbine Valley, Colorado, I find it disheartening that any young people would be so fascinated with the massacre that they would want to copy cat it.  People all over the world watched the news and were amazed at the lengths that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold went to carry out their plan.  It seems that this inhumane plan in Utah was alarmingly similar and yet, something oddly humane jumps out at me; in both cases, at least one perpetrator showed compassion by safe guarding friends in the midst of an uncompassionate act.  Does this mean the conspirators were not beyond hope? 

In the aftermath of Columbine, it was found that bullying was prevalent in the high school’s culture and that Eric and Dylan had felt themselves victims of bullying.  Did these two Utah boys fit that same pattern?  I believe that this points to the responsibility of law enforcement and school systems to work hand in hand to promote zero tolerance of bullying in the schools as well as in our communities.  Perhaps sufficient education that deters bullying might prevent bully related alienation and therefore could deter future school massive violence.

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10 comments:

  1. I find your blog alarming that there are people out there who want to copycat that horrible day. I know before and after Columbine a lot of school shootings have happened and they all seem to have one thing in common: Bullying. I’m not saying that everyone who was bullied in school is going to plan a mass execution but I think it is definitely a huge contributor to what causes these people to do what they do or at least begin the planning process. I think it was interesting how you mentioned they both warned their close friends. It really makes you wonder if they could have been helped before it had gone to far. But at the same time how do we pick these people out of a crowd? I don’t think it would be reasonable to question every child who is being bullied or who is named a loner, but maybe that would help. Also even if schools have a zero tolerance for bullying policy I feel it would still go on. I know the high school I went to had a zero tolerance for drugs and alcohol, but that still occurred on a daily basis with some students. I personally don’t have the answers for these questions but I think someone should before more innocent people have to lose their lives for one person’s misfortunes.

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  2. This is very interesting, who would want to copy cat such a crazy horrific day? I think people that are like this need to serve the rest of their lives behind bars because they are pretty much crazy. I think that they are just crazy and should not be in normal society with everyone else, they need to be sent to isolation. I do not think that programs inside the prison will ever be able to fix these people. I believe they are wired in their brains to act in this manner.

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  3. This is a terrible situation. It is disturbing that people would see the killers of the Columbine massacre as idols. Even if bullying is the cause it should be up to the schools administration to deal with the problem children. At schools it is easy to spot the bullies and the bullied. I believe the staff should take a more aggressive approach to end bullying

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  4. I find this story to be very disheartening. It is always hard to see individuals praise others for terrible acts. Even more disturbing is the fact that they wanted to go far beyond the events that happened at Columbine. Despite the negative association with such incidents, it is a great example of a student (the friend) recognizing that something is wrong and then reporting his/her concerns to the proper authorities. Christina, you bring up a good point that did not cross my mind. Although these friends were right to report their concerns, could these friends have intervened earlier?

    I agree with you that our school systems should play a bigger role in recognizing and preventing bullying. However, I think that there is more to it than that. I think that family has a big influence on these kids. After all, it is the family that these kids go to at then end of the day to look for support. A broken household coupled with constant bullying is something that would crush the spirits of just about anyone. To regulate family affairs that are within the laws would be nearly impossible.

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  5. I find this story unbelievable. I can not believe that there are people in this world that actually enjoy doing acts like this. I also couldnt believe that one of the suspects actually drove to Columbine High School to interview the principal. I completely agree with Tabor that people like this should serve behind bars for the rest of their lives. At my highschool we had a bomb threat and I remember it being one of the scariest moments of my life. It was terrifying being locked in our classrooms waiting for the police to search our schools. I also feel that schools need to be more aware of bullying.

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  6. This is situation that need to solution as fast as possible. Children are being bullied at school which makes that individual think they have no way out but to take action into their own hands. My high school came up with a program called BLIND. "Building Lasting Impression that Never Die” This was designed for our middle schools and high school. The program was designed to show each other that stereotyping and bulling was the problem with our schools. The goal was to show students we are alike in ways. And to come together to end the issues our schools were facing

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  7. I always watch those shows about teenagers that kill or teenagers that plan and execute school shootings and it is always crazy to think about people that age doing something like that. The Columbine school shooting was a horrible tragedy and the fact that this person was inspired by it is truly disgusting. I also think that the amount of planning these boys went through is interesting. They even had a "strategy" of hijacking a plane to get out of the country. What goes through the mind of these teenagers is unfathomable and it's sad to think that whatever they are going through has gotten to the point where they want to kill innocent people.

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  8. I agree with your blog and some of the other comments that schools need to be more proactive in addressing the serious issue of bullying. It is horrendous that young people would actually be "inspired" by such a terrible event as Columbine. While part of me would like to believe that increasing the amount of cooperation between law enforcement and school districts to decrease incidents of bullying would completely prevent any more school shootings/bombings, I know this not to be true. no matter the amount of effort, time, and money put into preventing horrible incidents, they will always occur. My hope is though, that with preventative measures, it will significantly decrease the likelihood that such an event will occur.

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  9. It is sad some youth see the Columbine killers as role models or people to aspire after. I remember when this tragedy happened, and sadly it sparked a wave of other youth that suddenly felt emboldened to carry on similar acts. I can see how some students could be pushed to retaliate in rash ways when they have been bullied their entire school experience but there are other ways of dealing with these frustrations. Bullying is still not seen as a pressing issue in most schools and often times teachers and school officials brush these incidents off as "boys will be boys" without realizing the implications such bullying can entail. Bullying awareness needs to be a core concern for school officials if they want school to be a more enjoyable and safer experience for all students. Parents also need to heed the warning signs of bullying or being the victim of bullying and deal with the problem immediately. No child should ever be pushed so far as to want to kill fellow students in such a coordinated and sinister plot. It is scary to think young people are making such detailed plans to mass murder students and even attempt to fly a plane to escape the country.

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  10. I think story makes me sad. Something in these boys heads is wrong. No one can be all there in the head and then plan a bombing to kill kids, teachers, friends, and people's family members. These guys went all out if they even had blueprints. They cant just be normal students something negative has had to have happened to them. I give a lot of props to the friend who reported the text messages to the police. He is a true hero for saving so many lives and throwing his friend under the bus. Also those text messages make you wonder if the one who sent them really wanted to go along with this plan or if he was pushed to it.

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