Columbine High School shootings

More to Explore

People and Groups

Events

Recommended Articles

  • Nuremberg Trials

    The Nuremberg trials were a series of trials held in Nuremberg, Germany, between 1945 and 1949 for the purpose of bringing Nazi war criminals--military leaders as well as civilians--to justice.

  • Bleeding Kansas

    Bleeding Kansas

    Bleeding Kansas was the period of violence during the settling of the Kansas territory.

  • St. Valentine's Day Massacre

    Seven men were shot dead in a Chicago garage on February 14, 1929, in one of the bloodiest examples of the gang violence that plagued the city during the Prohibition era.

  • Jonestown

    Jonestown

    On November 18, 1978, in what became known as the “Jonestown Massacre,” more than 900 members of an American cult died in a mass suicide-murder under the direction of their leader Jim Jones.

Massacre that occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., leaving 15 dead, including the two students responsible for the attack. It was one of the worst school shooting incidents in American history.

The shootings were carried out by Eric Harris, age 18, and Dylan Klebold, age 17. On April 20, 1999, they entered Columbine High School with semiautomatic rifles, pistols, and several explosives. In less than 20 minutes they killed 12 fellow students and a teacher and wounded 21 others. The violence came to an end when Harris and Klebold took their own lives. Officials later found two propane tank bombs in the cafeteria; had they detonated, the death toll would have been much higher.

News of the Columbine tragedy stunned the country. There was strong criticism of the slow police response. Despite the fact that the shooting ended by noon, police and sheriff's deputies, believing there was continuing danger, did not move into the shooting area until several more hours had passed, during which time some victims bled to death. In the larger view, the Columbine massacre set off a national debate on how to end gun violence in schools, and a growing number of schools throughout the country invested in private security forces and metal detectors.

Columbine was the deadliest school shooting in the United States until April 2007, when a student killed 32 people at Virginia Tech before taking his own life.

Copyright © 1994-2011 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. For more information visit Britannica.com.

Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!

Advertisement

This Day in History

May 26

Lead Story

Dracula goes on sale in London, 1897

The first copies of the classic vampire novel Dracula, by Irish writer Bram Stoker, appear in London bookshops on this day in 1897. A childhood invalid,…

Shop HISTORY

See More

Classroom Study Guides

  • Hatfields & McCoys Study Guide (PDF)

    The Hatfields and the McCoys. Their names evoke images of a bitter feud between two American families. But many people may be unfamiliar with the story behind this legendary conflict.