Judgement Day - School Shootings
On May 18, 1927, in Bath, Michigan, Andrew Kehoe unleashed a reign of terror targeting a local school. Kehoe’s murderous plot resulted in the deaths of 45 students and staff members of the Bath Consolidated School. Kehoe’s plot and death rampage maybe the first recorded attack on a school system in America. Even though this incident occurred almost 100 years ago, it still shares similar patterns with individuals today who embark on a murderous rampage in our schools.
Elected to the Bath Consolidated School Board in 1926, Kehoe was a very vocal individual who liked to get his way. Kehoe lost a battle with the school board where a one cent tax was added to local property taxes in Bath. Kehoe was incensed and thereafter carried a passionate grudge for the school board. His growing anger eventually transferred to targeting the actual school. Kehoe’s plan began to take shape in November 1926, when he drove to Lansing, Michigan and purchased two boxes of Pyrotol, an explosive, from a sporting goods store. Over the next several months, Kehoe continued to make small purchases of Pyrotol, eventually acquiring more than a ton of the explosive. During the Spring of 1927, Kehoe, a known handyman electrician, was hired to do maintenance work at the Bath Consolidated School. Beginning in the spring, Kehoe began to carry the Pyrotol to the school. His plan would include stuffing the Pyrotol throughout the crawl spaces and rafters of the school. Using his background as an electrician, he ran a myriad set of wires to the explosive to effectively create a series of bombs. A total of 1,000 pounds of explosives were used to create the devices. This was only a small part of his overall plan.
On May 17, 1927, Kehoe loaded his pickup truck with an assortment of metal, tools, nails, and other similar items. Kehoe then placed a large number of explosives behind the seats of the vehicle. In his mind, the plot of revenge included making certain that he left nothing behind. Kehoe wired every building on his property with explosives and a flammable mixture. He tied up his animals in the barn with baling wire so they could not escape. He cut down the trees on his property and secured them to appear as if they were still standing. He then bashed in the skull of his terminally ill wife and dumped her body into a hog cart.
On May 18, 1927, at approximately 8:45 am, a large explosion was heard coming from the Kehoe farm. Kehoe’s farm erupted in a ball of fire. Kehoe was met by his neighbors as he pulled out of his driveway headed in the direction of the Bath Consolidated School. In minutes, a much louder explosion was heard from the area of the school. The explosion hurled students and teachers against the school walls, outside into the surrounding area, and trapped dozens more underneath the debris. Emergency response crews arrived to begin the task of trying to rescue the survivors underneath the school rubble. Thirty minutes after the explosion, Kehoe pulled his truck down the road and called for the school Superintendent to join him. He then detonated the bomb in his truck killing himself and others, including the Superintendent.
Kehoe’s carnage left 38 students dead, 7 teachers killed, and 61 individuals injured. To date, the largest mass murder on school grounds in the history of the United States. It could have been worse. Law enforcement officials removed more than 500 pounds of undetonated explosives from the school which had been wired into 8 different bombs. Kehoe left a sign at the driveway to his farm with the message “Criminals are made, not born.” Does the sign from years ago help in defining law enforcements ability to understand and prevent the acts of violence of today?
School shootings or mass killings are not random acts occurring out of the blue. An individual simply does not wake-up one day and decide this is the day I go and kill people. The progression to move from kill or don’t kill builds during a developing culmination of actions the individual engages during the cycle of moving. It is the culmination of a trial in the mind of the killer where the killer determines the day to extract a perverted thought of justice on others. It is a progression along a defined pathway. While there are many different words and terms used to define the pathway to violence, the areas of behaviors I have found to be useful fall along the lines of Grievance, Ideation, Planning, Preparing, and Attack related. The behaviors begin with a grievance against an unjust action, belief, or thought the individual creates. It is formulated from the thoughts of the individual and not from the collective thoughts of society or others. In simple terms, the grievance is through the eye of the beholder and no one else. It does not need to make sense to anyone else. It does not need to be grounded in facts or reasonableness. It is the perception of the intended killer and the thought process of the killer alone. Once a grievance is formed, an idea to commit the act occurs followed by formulation of a plan, preparation to carry out the plan, and finally attack behaviors. Individuals whether they are internal or external threats must progress through the stages.
On Friday, August 12, 1966, Charles Whitman climbed to the top of the tower on the University of Texas campus and began firing. His rampage left 13 people dead and 31 wounded. The day before, Whitman drove over to his mother’s house and stabbed her to death. After the killing, he drove back to his residence and stabbed his wife to death. Whitman continued his plan and piled peanuts, spam, sandwiches, water, rope, binoculars, a machete, a Bowie knife, a 6-mm Remington bolt action rifle with a 4-power scope, a second rifle, two pistols, and a revolver into a green duffle bag. The morning of August 12, 1966, he purchased additional firearms and ammunition from Sears. Whitman entered the tower reception area and immediately killed the receptionist. He then lugged his duffle bag to the top and secured his position in the tower. At 11:48 am, he began his rampage. Whitman is the first to go armed with a heavy arsenal of weapons and ammunition to sustain a long stand-off.
Whitman, along with a list of other school shooters and mass killers, revealed another trait law enforcement must continually recognize and will encounter. It is not uncommon for school shooters prior to their actions to kill persons close to them. The message is clear. Shooters have prepared themselves to die and many will not leave anyone behind. Police negotiations with school shooters will usually fail. The mind of the shooter is focused on murder, being famous, and vindication. There is a small difference in the murder rates of external threats, those persons who enter a school campus with no direct association with the school, compared to internal threats, those individuals who have an association with the school. The external threat individual is not always looking for a high casualty rate but does intend to commit murder to prove and justify a point. Internal threats are focused on obtaining the highest casualty rate possible. Putting it simply, it is a game to see who can break the record for the largest number of deaths and become more famous than the last shooter.
On Tuesday, April 20, 1999, an event occurred that continues today to direct the actions of school shooters. After months of planning, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold set in motion their murderous rampage at Columbine High School. Arriving on the school campus, Harris and Klebold carried two propane tanks made into bombs into the school cafeteria. The bombs had been wired with a timing device to explode at 11:17 am. After setting the devices, the two detonated a small explosive device in a field away from the school. The purpose of the smaller device was to hopefully draw the police to this area and away from the school. The two then sat and waited for 11:17 am to arrive. Realizing the bombs did not go off as planned, at 11:19 am, the two pulled out their firearms and proceeded to fire at students and staff. In addition to the two propane tank devices, their plan included the construction of numerous pipe bombs and other types of explosive devices. Not only did the two fire their weapons during the encounter, they continually threw pipe bombs. In the end 12 students and one teacher were killed and 23 others wounded.
The event received media coverage across the world. Harris and Klebold became martyrs for others to follow. The video tapes and writings of the two were broadcast over and over. Today, using any internet search engine, one can easily continue to find videos of the two, their intended plan and copies of their writings describing their joy of getting even against persons in the school. The media created the ability for someone who has very little chance of ever being recognized or being famous to, in a moment of violence, become the lead story across the world news.
Not only do school shooters want to kill; many times, they want the world to hear them. Using the internet mediums, school shooters have posted dossiers of their plans and reasoning for the world to view. Along with the video(s), it is not uncommon for the shooter to send a manifesto or leave one behind to be found. The document will tell the world why the shooter was justified to commit the violence. School shooters will use the events of the past to formulate their plans and build the justification for their plans to attack and kill.
The Columbine shooters’ use of explosive devices will continue to be a major concern for law enforcement. It is highly probable that explosive devices, such as pipe bombs will continue to become more prevalent in future events. An example of the use of the Columbine shooters to formulate a plan of action occurred several years ago. A local high school student in South Carolina was found to have been experimenting with explosives and bombs in developing a plan to attack his high school. Law enforcement officials conducting the investigation found several references to the incident at Columbine. The student was fascinated with the incident and had spent hours watching video about the event. This is just one of many references found by law enforcement officers tied to school violence.
On November 20, 2006, Sebastian Bosse, walked onto the campus of the Geschwister School in Emsdetten, Germany wearing a black trench coat and a gas mask. Bosse, a former student at the school, was armed with two sawed-off shotguns, an explosive belt containing numerous explosive devices and pipe bombs. Police would later find 13 pipe bombs distributed around the campus. A search of Bosse’s residence revealed additional explosive devices. Bosse is a prime example of what campus law enforcement agencies can reasonably expect to encounter. He had spent months experimenting with explosive devices in wooded areas around his home. He spent more than two years planning his attack. In June 2004, a video of Bosse was distributed where he was observed talking about his revenge and indicating that he was planning a school shooting.
The point in addressing Bosse is to stress that campus law enforcement agencies must practice failure in their active shooter training programs. Also, school safety action plans must practice failure. During Bosse’s shooting and bombing spree, 16 police officers were injured by the explosion of smoke grenades and the resulting smoke filling rooms. While being chased through the school, Bosse continued to deploy grenades. Too often, active shooter training programs are conducted in a sterile environment. The police officers responding to the scene are already aware of what the scenario contains. They easily make entry and neutralize the shooter. The same can be said for the school training program in conducting a safety action plan exercise. The training is almost always conducted in a sterile training environment. Campus law enforcement administrators must incorporate obstacles utilizing various unknowns in the training program, both for law enforcement and school staff. Active shooter training should incorporate doors being locked, bombs being placed in corridors, and other similar type obstacles. Staff and students going through a training program should experience a scenario where corridors are blocked by bombs, fire or other obstacles. It is as simple as placing someone at a corridor or exit door and making the statement, “sorry, this door is not accessible, and you have to find another way out.” Practice the unexpected and see if your plan of action works!
On October 2, 2006, Charles Roberts entered the West Nickels Mines School located in Pennsylvania, armed with a pistol, a shotgun, and a rifle. Additionally, Roberts carried approximately 600 rounds of ammunition, a stun gun, two knives, tools, boards, eye bolts, screws, tape, and flex cuffs. Roberts arrived at the school and immediately took over the classroom displaying the firearms. After unloading the boards and other items from his truck, Roberts used the boards and eye bolts to secure the windows and doors of the classroom. Roberts released 15 male students, a pregnant teacher and others, but kept 10 female students as hostages. He then used the flex cuffs to secure the females. After the police arrived on the scene, Roberts began shooting the children and eventually killed himself. Roberts murderous spree resulted in the deaths of five innocent children. Roberts’ actions are the first time that a school shooter, as part of their planning, brought items to secure the building from outside access. Later, Seung Cho would also install barriers to slow down law enforcement’s response.
On April 16, 2007, at approximately 7:00 am, a student at Virginia Tech entered her dormitory located in West Ambler Johnston Hall. Approximately 20 minutes later, the student, along with a resident advisor, was killed by Seung Hui-Cho. It is not known exactly how Cho had gained entry to the building, but it can be speculated that he either “piggybacked” his way in or was let in by a student. The Virginia Tech Police responded to the scene and initiated a murder investigation. At approximately 9:30 am, Cho secured the entrance doors of Norris Hall with a chain and several Brinks locks. It was learned that Cho had probably conducted a trial run day prior to the shooting event. At the very least, Cho did conduct surveillance of the building. His rampage resulted in the injury and death of 53 students and faculty members who attended or taught class in Norris Hall. Several witnesses who survived the shooting rampage in Norris Hall reported that Cho showed no emotion as he moved from room to room shooting individuals. On the day of the shooting rampage, in addition to two firearms and 19-gun magazines, Cho carried with him a backpack. Inside the backpack were a knife and a hammer along with other items. During the spree, it was determined that Cho fired 174 rounds in the nine-minute shooting incident.
Like the two Columbine shooters, Cho created several videos that have him expressing his desire to seek vengeance on others. On the day of the shooting incident, Cho mailed his video to NBC News in New York, along with a 23-page picture and text manifesto. The videos and written manifesto mention the Columbine shooters and go into detail explaining why Cho believed he was justified in killing.
Seung Hui-Cho became a new martyr and hero to individuals thinking about committing violence on school grounds. Already numerous internet websites can be found that praise Cho’s actions. In April 2008, law enforcement agencies working together in Nevada and Virginia intercepted an individual making plans to conduct a future incident. The individual had created several websites praising Cho, had obtained several firearms which included pistols and assault rifles, and had even acquired a bullet proof vest
Though a motive cannot be determined as to why Cho committed the first two murders, we can speculate that a possible motive was to create a diversion. We know that Cho had studied aspects of the two Columbine shooters and they also used a diversionary tactic to begin their attack. Campus law enforcement administrators should be cognizant that diversionary tactics will continue to be planned by school shooters to misdirect the police. Additionally, since both Cho and Roberts used forms of barriers or locking mechanisms to prevent the police from gaining access, it can be expected that future incidents will deploy this same tactic.
The current trend of school shooters is to carry large capacity magazines, knives, restraining devices, and survival gear. The future school shooter will continue to study the events of the past and feel the need to obtain multiple large capacity magazines for their firearms. Additionally, law enforcement should expect to see an increase in the use of body armor. Shooters are likely to do pre-surveillance and trial runs prior to the actual event.
The widespread publication of Columbine, Cho, and others will provide school shooters with continued chapters of “lessons learned.” We will continue to see twisted versions of the messages delivered by the Columbine shooters and Seung Hui-Cho in future manifestos and writings. The events at Columbine and Virginia Tech will continue to be the blueprints of reinforcement to attack and kill. As additional events continue to take place additional reference materials will be created for shooters to study and learn. As modern events unfold individuals will twist and turn the messaging left behind by the next killer to support their plan to kill.