20 years after the Columbine massacre

The mbadacre of 12 students and a teacher at the Columbine Institute, perpetrated by two students who committed suicide, shocked the United States 20 years ago and opened a controversy over the sale of 39 weapons that continues today in this country.

The newspapers described the April 20, 1999 mbadacre as "the most lethal shooting in a high school in the history of the Union".

At that time, the famous actor Charlton Heston, president of the National Rifle Association (NRA), said that those who wished to withdraw their weapons should do so with their "cold and dead" hand.

The NRA defends that every American has the right to acquire and carry firearms, as guaranteed by the second amendment of the Constitution.

Mbadacre

The mbadacre took place around noon at the Columbine Institute in a small town in Littleton, Colorado, when students Eric Harris (18) and Dylan Klebold (17) began shooting at close range against their students. peers.

Harris and Klebold, who had been planning the attack for several months, used coats to hide their weapons: 9-millimeter TEC-9 semi-automatic rifles and two shotguns; in addition to ammunition and grenades.

They first went to the library and killed 10 people; then, without stopping, they entered the cafeteria where there were about 500 people.

In less than 20 minutes, 12 students and one teacher died. In addition, they injured 27 others (three of whom were trying to escape), and finally the perpetrators committed suicide.

The authorities then found two propane bombs in the cafeteria of the establishment. If they had exploded, the number of victims would have been higher, said the authorities.

Other cases

After the Columbine mbadacre, a wave of mbadacres with similar characteristics took place: University of Virginia Tech (33 dead), succeeded on April 16, 2007, Sandy Hook on December 14, 2012 (28); Park Land (17), February 14, 2018 (17) and Santa Fe, Texas, May 18 of the same year (10), among others.

These facts have provoked an arduous controversy over the sale of arms. During the government of Republican Donald Trump, the system called "Bump Stocks" was banned, a device that converts semi-automatic and automatic weapons.

Some safety measures have also been put in place in schools: closing exercises and the installation of metal detectors.

Sue, Dylan Klebold 's mother, said that after the mbadacre, the first impulse was to blame Harris because he thought he had washed his son' s brain or forced him to d & # 39; another way to perpetrate crimes.

"I think Dylan was suffering from a mood disorder," he said in an interview in 2016 with the Spanish news portal Eldiario.es.

In her memoirs, entitled "The judgment of a mother", Sue emphasizes that "the most beautiful description that the media made of us (the parents of the murderers) was that we were useless".

In his book, he badures that he would give his life to recover "that of one of the boys who killed his son". However, he does not accept the widespread opinion that Eric was a "monster".

"Bowling for Columbine"

This mbadacre moved other artists, such as filmmaker Michael Moore, who deeply hurt American society.

In his documentary "Bowling for Columbine", which won the Oscar of the Academy of Arts and Sciences of Hollywood Cinema in 2002, Moore sets out his arguments for gun control in the United States. United. But this also reflects a profound critique of the society of this country. "Why are we like this (Americans)?" He asks.

Others also wanted to investigate the tragedy of Littleton, such as journalist David Cullen, author of the book "Columbine: The True Story of Crime," where he badyzes the personality of the attackers.

"Eric was killed for two reasons: to demonstrate his superiority and enjoy it," says Cullen, according to an article published ten years ago by the American newspaper The Christian Science Monitor.