Where were you/what were you doing when Columbine happened?

I figured I may as well start bringing over some topics from the original board, so....where were you/what were you doing?

To be totally honest: I can't remember

Afterall it didn't happen in my country and I was like 19 or so, so I think I was a bit busy partying back then.

Sleeping probably.

Oh Tragedy ILY. I was starting to think I was the only one still interested in Columbine that was not in diapers when it happened.
Oh well. I guess that's what Tumblr will do to you.
I also didn't think much about it
Not my country, seemed like just another school shooting. After Luke Woodham, it was starting to seem routine :/
I do remember the TIME magazine cover though and being enormously annoyed with The Monsters Next Door. Even then I had a problem with calling people monsters, no matter what they had done.

I was almost 6, so I was in school when it happened.

My mam remembers it quite well, they broadcast it everywhere here apparently.
My mam NEVER cries and she said that she sobbed for weeks afterwards. It's strange to think almost 15 years later, it has the same impact on me that it did on her...

I know this thread is a bit older but anyway.

Back in 1999 I was 8 years old. But I remember it well. From what I remember they first broadcast about it here in Germany the next day, April 21st, because of the time lag. All channels had it in their evening news but from what I remember they reported very neutral about it without many emotions. It was a horrible event of course, but for most of us Europeans it was something that happened far away in America. And back then school massacres were mainly seen as "an American thing" that can only happen there because of their liberal gun laws.
Nobody here could imagine back in '99 that school shootings would be more common here someday too. The first "real" shooting/rampage in Germany was the Erfurt school massacre that happened on April 26th 2002. The assassinator's paragon was Columbine of course. (I remember that day very well too.) Before this event happened it seemed impossible that a massacre could happen on a German school and really nobody expected such a tragedy here too.
But anyway, I was 8 years old when Columbine happened, and I was old enough remembering that I watched it on in the TV news back then.

Areyoulistening - are you from the north of England?

I was 14 at the time. I saw it on the 10 o'clock news the day it happened (think we're 7 hours in front here so will have been about 3pm in Colorado and it was showing the live feeds.

I remember racing home from school the next day to find out more. It was full on blaming the TCM as the the gunmen.

There's usually a small article on 20th April in a couple of the papers which are stil inaccurate. I expect there will be more of the same next week.

Edit - just seen you are from Ireland. I've only ever heard Mancs & Geordies use mam for mum!

VintageBoy91 wrote:

I know this thread is a bit older but anyway.

Back in 1999 I was 8 years old. But I remember it well. From what I remember they first broadcast about it here in Germany the next day, April 21st, because of the time lag. All channels had it in their evening news but from what I remember they reported very neutral about it without many emotions. It was a horrible event of course, but for most of us Europeans it was something that happened far away in America. And back then school massacres were mainly seen as "an American thing" that can only happen there because of their liberal gun laws.
Nobody here could imagine back in '99 that school shootings would be more common here someday too. The first "real" shooting/rampage in Germany was the Erfurt school massacre that happened on April 26th 2002. The assassinator's paragon was Columbine of course. (I remember that day very well too.) Before this event happened it seemed impossible that a massacre could happen on a German school and really nobody expected such a tragedy here too.  
But anyway, I was 8 years old when Columbine happened, and I was old enough remembering that I watched it on in the TV news back then.

I didn't hear of Columbine at the time it happened, but I can remember the news about the Erfurt shooting very well. Do you remember any news about the shooting in Bad Reichenhall in November 1999? I didn't learn about that until 2009.

I was 4 at that time and that day was one of my aunt's 15 birthday. We were planning her party for that night when it happened and I remember the news with all the emergency live in the background. My whole family was really shocked but we still made the party with everyone thinking inside their heads that it could happen here someday too. I have a few pictures from that day btw.

Hale-Bopp wrote:

VintageBoy91 wrote:

I know this thread is a bit older but anyway.

Back in 1999 I was 8 years old. But I remember it well. From what I remember they first broadcast about it here in Germany the next day, April 21st, because of the time lag. All channels had it in their evening news but from what I remember they reported very neutral about it without many emotions. It was a horrible event of course, but for most of us Europeans it was something that happened far away in America. And back then school massacres were mainly seen as "an American thing" that can only happen there because of their liberal gun laws.
Nobody here could imagine back in '99 that school shootings would be more common here someday too. The first "real" shooting/rampage in Germany was the Erfurt school massacre that happened on April 26th 2002. The assassinator's paragon was Columbine of course. (I remember that day very well too.) Before this event happened it seemed impossible that a massacre could happen on a German school and really nobody expected such a tragedy here too.  
But anyway, I was 8 years old when Columbine happened, and I was old enough remembering that I watched it on in the TV news back then.

I didn't hear of Columbine at the time it happened, but I can remember the news about the Erfurt shooting very well. Do you remember any news about the shooting in Bad Reichenhall in November 1999? I didn't learn about that until 2009.

Yes me too, I first heard about the Bad Reichenhall shooting in 2009 or 2010.

Mj2beat wrote:

I was 4 at that time and that day was one of my aunt's 15 birthday. We were planning her party for that night when it happened and I remember the news with all the emergency live in the background. My whole family was really shocked but we still made the party with everyone thinking inside their heads that it could happen here someday too. I have a few pictures from that day btw.

Interesting! Thanks for sharing your memories. ;)

VintageBoy91 wrote:

Hale-Bopp wrote:

VintageBoy91 wrote:

I know this thread is a bit older but anyway.

Back in 1999 I was 8 years old. But I remember it well. From what I remember they first broadcast about it here in Germany the next day, April 21st, because of the time lag. All channels had it in their evening news but from what I remember they reported very neutral about it without many emotions. It was a horrible event of course, but for most of us Europeans it was something that happened far away in America. And back then school massacres were mainly seen as "an American thing" that can only happen there because of their liberal gun laws.
Nobody here could imagine back in '99 that school shootings would be more common here someday too. The first "real" shooting/rampage in Germany was the Erfurt school massacre that happened on April 26th 2002. The assassinator's paragon was Columbine of course. (I remember that day very well too.) Before this event happened it seemed impossible that a massacre could happen on a German school and really nobody expected such a tragedy here too.  
But anyway, I was 8 years old when Columbine happened, and I was old enough remembering that I watched it on in the TV news back then.

I didn't hear of Columbine at the time it happened, but I can remember the news about the Erfurt shooting very well. Do you remember any news about the shooting in Bad Reichenhall in November 1999? I didn't learn about that until 2009.

Yes me too, I first heard about the Bad Reichenhall shooting in 2009 or 2010.

Hmm...the fact that it did not happen at a school, seems to have decreased the attention for the case a lot.

March-April 1999 are a very significant period in my personal life. The whole of 1999 was, really. I was busy handling some personal stuff so did not linger on Columbine much at the time, but I remember seeing the news the evening it happened and buying a bunch of newspapers the day after. The front page pictures were in color, something rare at the time. I was done with high school but my brother was a senior. At his school, trenchcoats were suddenly frowned upon and his class got a big speech on school shootings, male aggression and violent-themed jokes.

I was 14 at the time, so I was in school. I didn't actually find out about it until I got home. I only remember a little bit of the newscasts, specifically the pictures of E/D they used and the shot of Patrick Ireland crawling out of the library.

I'm pretty sure later that week my school had some kind of presentation on violence and all that stuff. And of course there were people showing up to school in trench coats for a while, just to get a rise out of people.

I dont remember much of the live news, but i do remember seeing it the day it happened when i returned from school, i also have a memory of me dissing the shooters claiming they had copied the matrix, at the tender age of 10 i knew no different, and related the trench coats to the movie. Funnily enough it was off a TV program that referenced columbine about 3-4 years ago that made me read up about the massacre amongst several other spree killings.

I was 28 at home in Washington state with 3 small children. I remember being terrified that something like this could happen to my children one day.

I had just gotten home from school, so I guess I was in school when it happened. I remember sitting in the kitchen and watching it with my Grandmother on the television. I remember when they showed the pictures of Dylan and Eric as the suspects. Other than that, I didn't really give the shooting much thought until years later.

I was almost 9, so I guess I was just playing or watching TV (here is 08.41 pm)

I'm basically the same age as e/d would have been if they were still alive so at the time I was 17.

I was at work and heard it on the radio. The following few days I read the newspapers and they were full of it (in the uk) and I read it all. I remember it all very vividly but never took the kind of interest which I do now.

It was only in the last 2-3 years that I've become fascinated with it and that stemmed from looking around a bookshop for something interesting and came across Cullen's book.

I was at school (6th grade at the time). I remember coming home and my parents watching the events on TV.

I was 8 at the time and the only thing that really stuck with me was seeing Patrick Ireland falling out of the window. I remember just standing there in front of the tv in awe not knowing what to say.

Was 9 years old. I cant really remember what I was doing, I have a feeling I was on holiday though.

I don't live in the US so it wouldn't have been plastered all over the newspapers and on TV like it would have been there.

It was 4 am and I was 9 years old. I was sleeping as that was happening. Didn't hear it on the news either (watched only cartoons on TV , but I don't remember seeing my parents watch that or anything about it either) the earliest thing I remember I saw that was a shitstorm was 9/11. Found out about columbine around 3 years ago.

Sorry for resurrecting a year old thread. I just figured it'd be a good first post for me.

On 4/20/99, I was a couple months away from my 9th birthday. I walked home from school that day to find my mom sitting on the couch with her eyes glued to the television. Being on the east coast, news coverage of the massacre had only broke shortly before I got home (2:45-3pm ET.) I remember seeing the footage of students running away from the building with their hands on their head and asking my mom what was going on. She told me that there was a bombing at a high school and after that I really didn't give the event much thought until years later.

I didn't realize it at the time but looking back, I don't think it's a coincidence that starting the following year (August of 1999) the school district I was in implemented strict dress code policy, which included uniforms. Columbine certainly had something to do with that decision.

I do not remember the particular day. However 1999 was not in any way special. I was in 8th grade (which would roughly correspond to US junior high). Unlike 2000 which was a big year in my life, 1999 was forgettable.

I was seven years old and in the first grade. I remember watching it on the news with my parents that night. I don't believe I watched the whole thing, but I remember seeing Rachel Scott's body on the ground and just wondering why no one was stopping for her. It really messed me up.

Being so young and seeing that really warped my view of social interactions with others
I'm very suspictious of others

i was 18 years old and because i am from germany, i wasn´t at school at this time of the shooting.

I was 6 years old in first grade when Columbine happened. I don't remember that exact day but I can imagine I found out when I got home with my parents telling me. The only thing I can remember were the days after Columbine when my parents would watch the news specials (Kinda like Dateline) on the incident, explain what happened, motives, etc.

While I may not remember the segment as well anymore, I still won't forget the part when the narrator said "The shooters then made their way back to the library one last time". I even recall seeing some Doom gameplay being shown at one point.

My mom's dog passed away that day. I was at her house consoling her when we saw the news. Altogether a pretty crappy day.

I was at school, my last year of high school was coming to a close. I am pretty sure we hadn't yet had our prom at the time. We didn't get to learn anything during the schoolday, I only found out about the shooting upon getting back home.

I was 17 (almost 18) at the time. I heard about it at school..went home & watched some news coverage. I didn't follow the case too long, unfortunately; I became interested again around 2012. I remember everyone being affected by it, talking about it at school & stuff. It seemed like a surreal time. Felt strange that people my age were killing & being killed.

I was 9 years old so i do not remember much but i do remember some news reports about it .

3 years old in Montessori school.

Very Very young, thankfully too young to remember. I think the first thing I ever found out about columbine was how Eric told Brooks to go home. That really stuck with me and in turn begin my interest in Columbine. Its funny how one thing leads to another.

I was five years old and in kindergarten at the time, but my mother sheltered me from the news until I was about seven years old, so I don't remember seeing the news firsthand. The first major tragedy I remember is the September 11 attacks.

I was administering psychiatric sessions with violent child offenders to help rehabilitate them, so that case caught my eye immediately, as it was important in my field of work. Tragic incident and day, that one.

I was in school (or skipping class) when it happened. I just turned 16. I recall seeing the kids fleeing from the school with their hands in the air. What I remember most was them showing the clips of them yelling into the camera, from the hitman for hire video. Then the suicides were announced and I didn't think about it until recently. I do however remember feeling kinda anxious when I heard about the suicides, more so than with the shootings, and I'm not sure why, oh well.

Dead.