he 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, twelfth grade (senior) students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 12 students and one teacher. Ten students were killed in the school library, where the pair subsequently committed suicide. Twenty-one 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. The crime has inspired several copycats, including many deadlier shootings across the world,[c] and "Columbine" has become a byword for school shootings.

In addition to the shootings, the attack involved several homemade bombs. Two of these were placed in the cafeteria, powerful enough to kill or seriously injure all people within the area, although they failed to detonate. Their cars in the parking lots were made into bombs which also failed to detonate, and at another location away from the school, two bombs were set up as diversions, only one of which partially detonated. The motive remains unclear; but Harris and Klebold planned the massacre for around a year, and hoped the massacre would cause the most deaths in U.S. history, which then meant exceeding the death toll of the Oklahoma City bombing; USA Today referred to the Columbine massacre as "planned as a grand, if badly implemented, terrorist bombing."[10]

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 Immediate Action Rapid Deployment 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 guns 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 impromptu memorials were created after the massacre, including victims Rachel Scott's car and John Tomlin's truck. Fifteen crosses for the victims and 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 on September 21, 2007.

Columbine[en.wikipedia.org]
Columbine[en.wikipedia.org]
Columbine[en.wikipedia.org]