Echoes of Columbine

Editors note:  Though Columbine has become one of the most well known school shootings, even giving rise to the term "Pulling a Columbine," it was not intended to be a school shooting at all. What most of America saw as a school shooting was originally meant to be a mass bombing of unimaginable scale. The bombs placed in the cafeteria were enough to bring the library crumbling down on the cafeteria. Both rooms were full of students at the time. The shooters were positioned outside waiting for survivors to come running out of the building as unwitting targets. Both of their cars were wired as well. They set fire to several rooms, that were put out by bystanders or sprinklers. Thankfully, the bombs were mostly defective. This was not a school shooting it was a domestic terror attack.  This topic has been covered at length, and links will follow if you would like to know more about it but we won't cover the standard details here. These are the details used for our r...

Last updated March 25, 1018 Date: May 21 Year: 1998 School:  Thurston High School shooting Location:  Springfield State: Oregon Wounded: 25 Fatalities: 2 (4 counting his parents at home) Shots Fired:  50 rounds, 37 hits Time lapsed:  Under 7 minutes Police response time: 8 minutes How ended: Tackled and subdued by 7 students, including one previously injured student. The responding officer pulled them off of him and one student punched Kinkle in the face. Civilians involved: Yes. Taken down by unarmed students. Perpetrator: Kipland Kinkle Age: 15 Family history: Family had struggled with Kinkle, and he had been in treatment for depression. He attended 9 sessions, but was withdrawn because he seemed to be improving. Kip was very intelligent according to tests, but struggled with spelling. His frustration and anxiety levels were abnormally high. Red flags:  Kinkle had attempted to buy a stolen gun from another student but was caught ...

Two of the youngest mass shooters and the only two living school shooters who are not incarcerated... Last updated: March 25, 2018 Date:   March 24 Year: 1998 School:  Westside Middle School Location:  Jonesboro State: Arkansas Wounded:  5 Fatalities: 10 Shots Fired:  27 Time lapsed:  4 minutes Police response time:  Unknown. Approx. 4 minutes. After police arrived shooters ran.  How ended: Taken without issue. Civilians involved:  None known Perpetrators:  Mitchell Johnson (13) and Andrew Golden (11) cousins Age: 13 & 11 Family history:  The two students were cousins. It was reported that Golden came from a normal, happy American family. No home troubles were noted in family history. Johnson came from a broken family, and lived with his mother and stepfather. His mother was a prison guard and married a man she met in prison for weapons charges. Police report Johnson often disappear...

Last updated: March 23, 2018 Date: Dec, 1 Year: 1997 School:  Heath High School Location:  West Paducah State: Kentucky Wounded: 5 Fatalities: 3 Shots Fired:  8 rounds, fast succession Time lapsed:  12 seconds Police response time:  Shooting ended before police arrived.  How ended: After firing 8 shots, Carneal laid the gun on the ground and sank to his knees. some reports say he was crying. The principal approached him and took him by the shoulders, shaking him asking why he'd done it. Carneal responded "I can't believe I did that, kill me please." He was taken to the office and put under guard while waiting for the police to arrive.  Civilians involved: Carneal surrendered without intervention and was taken quietly. Perpetrator:  Michael Carneal Age: 14 Family history: Red flags: Told students that "something big is going to happen on Monday" but no one took him seriously. Mental illness history:...

Last Updated: March 23, 2018 Date:  October 1 Year: 1997 School:  Pearl High School  Location:  Pearl State: Mississippi Wounded:  7 Fatalities: 3 (including mother: stabbed prior to shooting) Shots Fired: Time lapsed:  11 minutes Police response time:  Incident was over before police arrived and suspect detained. How ended:  Attempted to flee the scene, stopped by student and staff, held until police arrived.  Civilians involved:  Yes, assistant principal Joel Myrick (a U.S. Army Reserve Commander) retrieved his personal Colt 1911 .45 auto from vehicle. Student helped pin car down. Stopped from fleeing, held at gunpoint until police arrived. Perpetrator: Luke Woodham Age: 16 Family history: Red flags: History of animal torture, he wrote in his journal about torturing his dog Sparkle to death. "I will never forget the howl she made. It sounded almost human. We laughed and hit her hard." About a...

Last updated: March 23, 2018 Date: February 2, 1996 Year: 1996 School:  Frontier Middle School Location:  Moses Lake State: Washington Wounded: 1 Fatalities: 3 Shots Fired: 4-5   (Carried 80 rounds of ammunition) Time lapsed: Police response time:  Police didn't arrive until after the shooter had been contained by a civilian. How ended: Taken. A coach offered to be his hostage to get out of the school safely. There was a struggle and the coach disarmed the shooter and held him until police arrived. The coach was unarmed. Civilians involved: Yes. Coach Jon Lane wrestled gun away from him, and held him until police arrived. Lane's thoughts on ending school violence were shared after the Parkland shooting in a very personal letter about his experience here.  Man who subdued Moses Lake school shooter 21 years ago pens letter Perpetrator:  Barry Dale Loukaitis Age: 14 Family history: Father had been unfaithful to his mot...

Victims Nacunan Saez and Galen Gibson Last Updated: March, 31 2018 Simon's Rock is often forgotten because it doesn't fit the definition of a mass shooting, because only 2 people were killed. This was a mass shooting halted, not by police or an armed bystander but by a jammed gun... there is no way of knowing how many would have been killed that day but the shooter himself confirms that his intention was to kill as many as possible. The Simon's Rock shooting is included in our school shooting research here mostly because this one more than any other illustrates what happens when people don't take a potential threat seriously.  Date: December 14 Year: 1992 School:  Simon's Rock College of Bard Location:  Great Barrington State:  Massachusetts Wounded: 4 Fatalities: 2 Shots Fired: Time lapsed:  18 minutes Police response time:  Shooter's gun jammed, at which point he discarded his weapon and reported his crime.  How ended:...