Well+Known+School+Shootings

This information is about well known school shootings and a summary of the media reaction.

 * Montreal Massacre**

On December 6th 1989 Marc Lepine entered a classroom of the school of Ecole Polytechniqie in Montreal Canada. He demanded that all the males in the class leave. At first the students believed it was a prank but after two shots were fired into the ceiling they left. He got the women of the classroom to line up and he shot at them. He killed 13 students and injured 14. In the end he killed himself leaving a note that his intentions politically motivated against women.


 * Columbine High School**

On Tuesday April 20th 1999 in Jefferson County Colorado two senior students walked into the high school and began shooting. The two students were Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. After they killed 13 people and injured 21 students they killed themselves.

An early warning sign of this disaster was a website created by Harris in 1996 where he posted threats against teachers and students. He also made guidelines on how to build bombs and barged about his crimes with Kiebold.The website was eventually removed from public viewing but it did gain attention from the police. Prior to the attack, a suicidal and apologetic video was made by them.

Breaking News Aftermath
 * Media Responses:**
 * · The media’s main focus was on students running out of the school and police assisting students into police vehicles.
 * · Many officers with large guns were shown numerous times.
 * · There was claims being made the police are seeking a third person that may have assisted them in the creation of bombs.
 * · Witnesses claimed that bombs were being thrown on the roof.
 * · There were messages to parents on how to contact their family.
 * · The media focused on the trench coat mafia and Bill Clinton’s message that this is a wakeup call to America.
 * · Media’s extreme coverage supported tougher gun control laws.
 * · News agencies continued the consistency of showing people running out of buildings in chaotic environments.

__**Virginia Tech**__ Virginia Tech’s school shooting is the worst university disasters in the United States. Over 30 individuals were killed and 15 wounded before the shooter killed himself. The attack lasted two and a half hours and caused 25 injuries. During the event students were confused because this was occurring after two weeks of bomb threats. There was also confusion because a rumour was spreading that the police had a suspect in custody. Some of the doors in the building were chained together so students and police could and enter and exit.

Police were unable to know what was occurring inside the school because there were a lack of surveillance camera’s within the school. The school was also criticized after the attack for not alerting and warning the university population quick enough. Some students had to rely on the news in order to keep updated on the event occurring rather than any university alerts.

The shooter was later identified as Seung-Hui Cho who was known to be a loner and quiet individual. He was known for having serious depression and was involved in therapy. The university was further criticized when it was discovered that Cho had a history of odd behaviour and was actually recommended to counselling. He was also investigated for stalking and harassing two women. In the aftermath students reported that Cho was a victim of bullying. Before the shooting, Cho took pictures of himself and his weapons. This horrendous attack resulted in tougher gun laws and made universities more interested in individuals with known mental issues.


 * Media Response:**

Breaking news Aftermath
 * Media focused on chaotic videos of police running around cars and loud shootings. These chaotic scenes were shown multiple times. Interviews of doctors, experts, and students were also conducted. The titles on the bottom of pages were the current number of deaths reported. Maps and pictures of the buildings in which the first two shootings happened were also shown.
 * After then event media had reliable information they began examining how this happened. It is evident from various media sources that they concentrated and repeated the fact that there are many students with depression issues. This suggested that a school shooting can happen anywhere because of students with mental issues. The news promoting fear from parents and students which lead to increased security and regulations of evacuation procedures.
 * BBC news briefly went over the time line of what happened. They showed a map with all the shootings and a timeline of when police arrived and when the Cho shot himself. Also, they focused on the memorial and how students feel of the events.

(1999). //ABC7 Eyewitness News intro: Columbine shooting no. 2//. Retrieved on November 20ths 2010, from http://video.yahoo.com/watch/2643396/7756830.

(1999). //Columbine Eyewitness News Interview// (1999). Retrieved on November 20th 2010, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9v-Gb8rims&feature=related.

Prye. M (2007, April 23) //BBC 10 News – Virginia Tech Shooting report//. Retrieved November 20th 2010 from []

(2010, September 7) //Dr Alan J Lipman MSNBC BREAKING NEWS Virginia Tech Mass Shooting at School Expert Analysis 4 16//. Retrieved on November 25th 2010 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYey6mE1gBo

 (2007, April 2007) //Virginia Tech Massacre//. Retrieved November 20th 2010 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWJZLiRC9t8&feature=related

(1999). //Columbine Eyewitness News Interview// (1999). Retrieved on November 20th 2010, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9v-Gb8rims&feature=related.

(1999). //ABC7 Eyewitness News intro: Columbine shooting no. 2//. Retrieved on November 20ths 2010, from http://video.yahoo.com/watch/2643396/7756830.