Columbine+High+School+shooting+on+April+20,+1999+-+Group+3

= Columbine High School Massacre =

==Overview== April 20, 1999, the world turned upside down for students and faculty members at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Two young men walked into school around lunch time and opened fire. They killed 13 people and wounded 28 others. The massacre at Columbine High School was reported to be the worst school shooting in U.S. history.

Main Point
The young men who started the shooting were Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. During the shooting, they targeted minorities or athletes. Both Harris and Klebold were part of the Trench Coat Mafia. The Mafia was "a bunch of unwanted kids who were teased and pushed around a lot," said Ben Grams, a junior at the time. Another student said they often talked about beheading people and wore black bands that read, "I hate people." But to neighbors, both Harris and Klebold were quiet kids. One even said Klebold was a gifted and talented student. The night of April 20, 1999, parents huddled at the nearby elementary school waiting for word of their child's fate. Many of the Columbine uninjured students ran or were taken to Leawood Elementary School immediately after they fled the high school. There, they signed registers indicating they were safe. In the Leawood lobby, lists were pinned to the wall just outside the main office.

Conclusion
On April 20th, schools in the surrounding areas were locked down. School officials alerted security personnel to begin being more of a presence on school grounds. In 1999, Colorado became a focal point in the national debate over guns. The National Rifle Association had been pushing for more states to allow concealed carry of handguns. There are still debates about the issue of gun rights and violence.

"Massacre at Columbine High." //Denver Post// 1999. Web. 13 Oct. 2009. [].