© Ane Venter
Study Unit 8
Labelling Perspective
5|Page
, © Ane Venter
Case Study: Columbine School Shooting
The 2 Shooters
Eric Harris Dylan Klebold
L Son of Air Force pilot. L Noted for shyness & intellect.
L Spent most of his childhood L Attended Colorado CHIPS with
moving from place to place. Brooks Brown.
*Hated it – felt alone and lost. “Challenging High Intellectual
*Wrote extensively about how Potential Students” – program for
lonely he is. gifted children from Gr. 3.
*Brown left the program within a
L Regularly played soldier – pretending to be a year – competitive students and lack of support from
marine with brother and friends. teachers.
Games always filled with violence – he is always the
hero. L Remained in the program till Gr. 6.
L Age 11 – discovered “Doom” (First person L Didn’t really let emotions show – bottled up until
action-horror first-person shooter videogame). he exploded in uncharacteristic rage.
*Constantly pulled out of schools and away from
friends – retreated into computer & internet world.
*Created 11 different custom levels for Doom and
the sequel.
L Told Brown to leave the school because “he liked
him now.”
L Met in middle schoool – only became inseperable midway through high school.
L Some say they were bullied, others say they were fairly popular with a sizeable group of friends.
L Harris, Klebold, and Brown bonded over share dlove of philosophy and video games.
L Brown joined the theater department and so did Klebold.
L Regularly attended football games to cheer on Harris’ brother.
≈ Connection earned Harris popularity – managed to find a date to freshman homecoming.
≈ Girl didn’t warnt to continue seeing him.
Warning Sign 1: Harris covered himself & nearby rock in fake blood while Brown distracted her and let out a
screambefore playing dead.
L Friend, Chris Morris – part of the “Trench Coat Maffia”.
≈ Had a part-time job at local Blackjack pizza restaurant – helped Harris get a summer job there and
Klebold followed.
≈ Harris described as a relatively good employee – punctual, polite, and put together.
≈ Harris became shift manager during senior year – used his promotion to win over girls.
L Believed they were superior because they had “self-awareness”.
6|Page
Study Unit 8
Labelling Perspective
5|Page
, © Ane Venter
Case Study: Columbine School Shooting
The 2 Shooters
Eric Harris Dylan Klebold
L Son of Air Force pilot. L Noted for shyness & intellect.
L Spent most of his childhood L Attended Colorado CHIPS with
moving from place to place. Brooks Brown.
*Hated it – felt alone and lost. “Challenging High Intellectual
*Wrote extensively about how Potential Students” – program for
lonely he is. gifted children from Gr. 3.
*Brown left the program within a
L Regularly played soldier – pretending to be a year – competitive students and lack of support from
marine with brother and friends. teachers.
Games always filled with violence – he is always the
hero. L Remained in the program till Gr. 6.
L Age 11 – discovered “Doom” (First person L Didn’t really let emotions show – bottled up until
action-horror first-person shooter videogame). he exploded in uncharacteristic rage.
*Constantly pulled out of schools and away from
friends – retreated into computer & internet world.
*Created 11 different custom levels for Doom and
the sequel.
L Told Brown to leave the school because “he liked
him now.”
L Met in middle schoool – only became inseperable midway through high school.
L Some say they were bullied, others say they were fairly popular with a sizeable group of friends.
L Harris, Klebold, and Brown bonded over share dlove of philosophy and video games.
L Brown joined the theater department and so did Klebold.
L Regularly attended football games to cheer on Harris’ brother.
≈ Connection earned Harris popularity – managed to find a date to freshman homecoming.
≈ Girl didn’t warnt to continue seeing him.
Warning Sign 1: Harris covered himself & nearby rock in fake blood while Brown distracted her and let out a
screambefore playing dead.
L Friend, Chris Morris – part of the “Trench Coat Maffia”.
≈ Had a part-time job at local Blackjack pizza restaurant – helped Harris get a summer job there and
Klebold followed.
≈ Harris described as a relatively good employee – punctual, polite, and put together.
≈ Harris became shift manager during senior year – used his promotion to win over girls.
L Believed they were superior because they had “self-awareness”.
6|Page
