Compare and Contrast Columbine and Virginia Tech

1361 words 6 pages
The Columbine Shooting and Virginia Tech. shooting were called similar in various ways. They were both declared a national tragedy 13 people killed total in the Columbine and 33 in the Virginia Tech shooting. Though the two incidents were similarly done by psychopaths, there were differences in the details of both shootings, the reactions of society, and upcoming psychological development. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were responsible for the 13 deaths during the Columbine Shooting on April 20, 1999. The main difference between Harris and Klebolds plan and Cho’s attacks were Harris and Klebold left documentation of their plans. They made many blogs on how to make home-made explosives, made videos documenting explosives, ammunition, and …show more content…

(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18175525/)
The actual event of the Virginia Tech Shooting was completely different than the Columbine. Overall, 33 people died in the VT shooting. The two guns that were said to be used by Cho during the shooting were obtained legally. The shooting began at 7:15am at West Ambler Johnston coed dorms. Nearly two and a half hours later, police responded to a 911 that reported shots fired at Norris Hall. Police soon discovered this was not something to joke around with noticing the front door was chained from the inside. Officers finally forced their way into the building but it was too late, they announced 31, including Cho himself, were dead. As a total 33 people died in this tragic massacre. In this situation there wasn’t much time to stop the shooting because nobody had any idea of what was occurring until two hours later.
The main question society asks now is, was there a way to prevent both of these tragic shootings from happening? After gathering information from both the Columbine and Virginia Tech shooting a conclusion was drawn to this question. There were many warning signs to these events and maybe if the shooters received the correct psychiatric help these events could have been prevented. Cho, the Virginia Tech gunman, was later diagnosed with an anxiety disorder called selective mutism. Selective

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