Columbine families share Va. Tech sorrow

[J-Factor]

For More Info



DENVER - When the topic turns to school violence, Tom Mauser usually lectures about guns.

Mauser became a national advocate of gun control after his 15-year-old son, Daniel, was among those slain in the April 20, 1999, shootings at Columbine High School.

But resignation punctuated Mauser's remarks Monday when he learned of the killings at Virginia Tech.

"I am not going to just say gun laws are going to take care of this," he said.

"I think my primary thought is about anger. Anger and suicide. Why do we have so many people who think they have to take others' (lives) with them when they take their own?"

Other Columbine victims and experts on school violence expressed similar thoughts about the Virginia killings.

Brooks Brown, a former Columbine student who knew the gunmen and repeatedly tried to warn authorities about threats they had made, said the Virginia slayings didn't surprise him.

"Once you've reached the point where you have lost everything it is not hard to be pushed in any direction," he said of campus shooters.

Brian Rohrbough, whose son, Danny, 15, died at Columbine, blames school shootings on a society that tolerates, even glorifies, violence.

"We teach students that anything you want to do is up to you and you can decide whether anything is right or wrong," he said.

Rohrbough said the investigation of the Columbine tragedy was incomplete and left unanswered questions about the psychology of school shooters.

Authorities did learn that Columbine killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold played violent games, made violent videos at school, and were the victims of bullying because they befriended the Trench Coat Mafia, a group of students who clashed with school athletes.

Rohrbough and others have fought for public disclosure of depositions given by the teens' parents, Wayne and Kathy Harris and Tom and Susan Klebold.

They argue the depositions could provide valuable insights into the home lives of the two teens, who killed 12 fellow students and a teacher before killing themselves.

But a federal judge two weeks ago ordered the depositions sealed for 20 years.

"That is why we were fighting so hard to get that information — because we need to know what was going on inside the heads of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold," said Delbert Elliott, director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado.

Killing others before committing suicide is not a new phenomenon, though the Virginia Tech numbers are shocking, said Tom McIntyre, coordinator of the Graduate Program in Behavior Disorders at Hunter College in New York.

"Freud said homicide is just suicide turned inside out," said McIntyre, who began studying school violence after Columbine. "The main motive is revenge."

In the past, a pre-suicide killing usually involved a specific target — as in the case of a husband finding his wife with a lover, Elliot said.

The victims in the Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings appeared to be random targets, he said.

"I don't know how many times we have to go through things like this before we can try to learn what is going on," Elliot said. "I think there is an element of wanting to go out and creating a huge media effect, although that is only a part of what is going on."

[Lucky]

no way. jesus

This is in no way similar to coumbine in my oppion. The grown man had no targets. Columbine looks like it had targets cuz if it didnt they would of killed alot more people. Did you see how much guns the kids had? the guy at va-t had 2 pistols. the comubine kids had more people too. so idk. maybe they are somewhat alike.

also. violent video games. ffs, back to this. games like gta arent gonna cause kids to go out on a rampage like this. There is more violence on the news, and for god sakes the cartoon channels, discovery channel, history channel. Its open to everybody. I hate people who are bad parents and cant control there kids so they blame video games and tv parents need to grow some balls and hit thier kid. not beat, but just hit them to make them learn a lesson. A time out won't do jack, its like teaching you kid why not to smoke weed or something and when they get caught just pull them away from thier freinds. you need to grow some balls and kick thier ass. Violence is a part of everyday life. Jesus. its like saying kids that hunt will have a higher rate of shooting people cus of the violence and gun backround. Everybody has a limit. some people have short straws and get blown off the deep end quickly. Blame it on freinds, peer pressure. bad parenting, not violent video games in any way. its like saying WoW is gonna make me want to go slice some people up.. lol

[Hellfighter]

why do i get the feeling you copy and past this in?
no source link?

same could be said about the kids (young adults) going to Iraq University they are liven this every day a bomb goes off right out side their classroom people coming into their classroom kill off students. it not limited to us in the U.S its world wide.

bottom line think the news don't need to talk about this! only may work the other way around? can make other kids try to do one better. (break the record for the most kills) in University or a school system.

as for them dragging in family of lost ones that was not needed.

hip to draw people to watch their channels news feed to show & sell ads space