Shooting at Arapahoe High School

This just in:

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Arapahoe High is about 10 miles from Columbine.

The shooter is dead by his own hand. Two are hurt.

How horrible must it be for the Harrises & Klebolds for their sons to be an inspiration to so many school shootings

gustopoet wrote:

This just in:

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Focus seems to be on confronting the specific teacher, and when he couldn't, moved on to impromptu plan B.

Plus, a malotov supposedly still in the school somewhere.

I was also reflecting on the Klebold's and Harris' - especially the Klebold's being in such close proximity.  It must reopen up all those wounds all over again. And, yes, for Sue and Tom to listen to/watch the news and fully understand that their own flesh and blood was responsible, with the help of the media,  for making school school shootings attractive for future "followers".  Such an infinite burden to bare.

InFiNiNEX5 wrote:

And, yes, for Sue and Tom to listen to/watch the news and fully understand that their own flesh and blood was responsible, with the help of the media, for making school school shootings attractive for future "followers". Such an infinite burden to bare.

I totally agree. What an horrible incident. Columbine has left indelible consequences on youth, promulgating the idea that "school shootings are fun and an apt revenge". Thank goodness there aren't any fatalities, aside from the perpetrator.

Holy shit. Seeing this happening must be such a massive trigger for everybody who survived Columbine (as this school is so close) and for Newtown survivors and family right before the 1st year anniversary. Again, right before the holidays...  

It's crazy that teenagers locked inside Arapahoe High School are actually texting, twittering and redditing as they wait it out. Imagine that from the Columbine library in 1999.

Also...

I want to ask: is there something wrong in Colorado????

JayJay wrote:

I want to ask: is there something wrong in Colorado????

Just what I thought!

tragedy79 wrote:

JayJay wrote:

I want to ask: is there something wrong in Colorado????

Just what I thought!

Oh let's see.. Colorado Springs.. various Black Projects going on, teens put on  SSRIs and other numerous conspiracy theories.  After all. There must be a reason marijuana was legalized to the sheeple there.   ;)

The unfortunate side effect of copy cat crimes and "If they did it there, I'm doing it there too," mentality. That's what happens when you get marked with "the worst school shooting ever."

Emergency Dispatch Tapes:
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This is the kid they identified, Karl Pierson. I read somewhere that he was apparently bullied but he "didn't seem to be bothered by it".

I wonder if he had thought about it for awhile, or just did it in an act of anger?

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This article here claims that Pierson (the shooter) had targeted staff member Tracy Murphy after Mr Murphy allegedly demoted then kicked Pierson off the debate team. After he had initially been demoted from the team he reportedly "half jokingly" threatened to kill Mr Murphy, who then suspended him for saying that. According to the article the shooter Pierson wanted to go to the Air Force Academy  and they don't look positively on suspensions. Pierson believed that Mr Murphy had ruined his life.
It then goes on to say apparently the shooter was not suspended from the school and attended classes the morning of the shooting.
A fellow staff member claimed that Mr Murphy was incredibly shocked and said "I docked Pierson from the speech and debate team and that just shocked him."
It sounds like there was some issue with him on the debate team and that's what he was angry about.
This article also mentions Pierson was bullied but it didn't seem to bother him.

Does anyone else think "Eric Harris" when you see this guy?  It is claimed by classmates he would read "The Anarchist Cookbook" as if it was the bible, his name was Karl Pierson.

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If anything I gather from that picture he looks like someone Eric Harris would campaign against, and possibly write on his shit-list. They share a mild similarity in appearance, and anyone with an internet connection can acquire the Anarchist Cookbook.

I don't think he looks anything like Eric. And by this picture, I'd agree, that he is acting like someone Eric wouldn't like and would hope was in the school if they were successful in blowing it up.

I get a completely different vibe from this guy than I do from Eric. I don't even see the similarity in appearance and am inclined to agree that he looks like someone Eric'd roll his eyes at (at the very least). Not to say that they may not have shared some common interests and convictions, but overall I don't see the connection.

I don't see it either.

He also seems to come across a bit snobby prep in some of the photos.

I don't understand people saying he's like Eric. There is this look in his eye in some pictures that kinda scares me, though. I wonder if he's been planning for a long time...

It's an interesting case as it happened at a school so close to Columbine. To respond to the OP i don't really see all that much about this guy that resembles Harris. Because it's such a recent case there's so much conflicting information been put out at the moment, but nevertheless it's still interesting to read.

Not sure if anyone noticed but a similar discussion is going on in this thread: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

queenfarooq wrote:

It's an interesting case as it happened at a school so close to Columbine. To respond to the OP i don't really see all that much about this guy that resembles Harris. Because it's such a recent case there's so much conflicting information been put out at the moment, but nevertheless it's still interesting to read.

Not sure if anyone noticed but a similar discussion is going on in this thread: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I've merged the two topics, as you are correct, this should be in the "other shooting" section. Thank you for pointing that out.

trench coat wrote:

Does anyone else think "Eric Harris" when you see this guy?  It is claimed by classmates he would read "The Anarchist Cookbook" as if it was the bible, his name was Karl Pierson.

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He is nothing like Eric, what a horrible comparison.

An interesting article about how Pierson appeared to his schoolmates and some of his ideological interests: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

This guy would likely be the first on Eric's shitlist. In terms of looks, comparing Eric to Karl Pierson is almost fatuous. Pierson was deeply engrossed with politics, where Eric wasn't (as far as I know?)... to compare them is like comparing chalk and cheese.

The only things they had in common is suicide, hatred in their hearts, and wanted to blow up their schools. Nothing in common though ok.

trench coat wrote:

The only things they had in common is suicide, hatred in their hearts, and wanted to blow up their schools.  Nothing in common though ok.

They have that in common with many different children, it doesn't make them a carbon copy of them.

trench coat wrote:

The only things they had in common is suicide, hatred in their hearts, and wanted to blow up their schools.  Nothing in common though ok.

I wonder if Pierson was "into" Columbine and if he took any direct inspiration from Eric. An interesting question for sure.

trench coat wrote:

Does anyone else think "Eric Harris" when you see this guy?

I don't think that this picture ("gangsta bling") is a good one for showing any potential similarities. Maybe this one is better?

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From what I can gather, Pierson was a Socialist which would put him into direct conflict with Eric's "KMFDM" philosophy. It appears both of the boys were bullied. Doesn't look like Pierson planned his attack very well. His "rampage" only lasted a couple of minutes and he didn't kill anyone other than himself. Not so far, anyway.

I don't think the two have all that much in common, but there are some physical similarities in that they both were "clean cut" nerdy kids. Also, they were both apparently bright and interested in military things.  

I sure wouldn't think it reasonable to call them "clones."

trench coat wrote:

The only things they had in common is suicide, hatred in their hearts, and wanted to blow up their schools.  Nothing in common though ok.

I haven't read all that much about this case, but Pierson wanted to blow up his school? As i say i haven't read too much but i didn't realize Pierson was wanting to blow up the school. I've come across a couple of mentions that he was apparently carrying a backpack containing up to three Molotov cocktails. However I was under the impression he entered the school with a gun with the intention of targeting a specific teacher. This article mentions the Molotov cocktails:http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/14/us/colorado-school-shooting/
I did mention previously that personally i don't feel like there was that much of a connection between Harris and Pierson. But just an interesting connection from this article: "He then fired a fifth round and ran to the library's back corner, "and there took his own life." It seems like Pierson originally entered the library though looking for the teacher he was targeting.

gustopoet wrote:

His "rampage" only lasted a couple of minutes and he didn't kill anyone other than himself. Not so far, anyway.

The other critically wounded victim is Claire Davis:http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/claire-davis-victim-in-arapahoe-high-school-shooting-not-doing-well-dad-tells-7news
From what i understand she was shot in the head and is still in critical condition.

Timeline of events, in diagram form: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
It was taken from this article: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] which suggests Pierson purchased the gun used in the attack "days before."

Karl Pierson's parents have also spoken out:

Quote :

"We are shattered by the tragic events," the parents said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Claire Davis and her family. They, and she, have suffered unimaginably, and we pray for her full recovery. We also pray for the entire Arapahoe High School community, as we know your lives are forever changed by this horrific event.
As parents, we loved our son Karl dearly and we are devastated by what happened Friday. We cannot begin to understand why Karl did what he did. We ask for privacy during this unthinkably difficult time and hope that you will respect our need for time to grieve."

His father apparently contacted the Denver Post wanting to discuss the schools discipline of his son. He claims he and his ex wife have attended multiple disciplinary hearings at the school earlier in the year.  He goes on to say "I'm not the guy who is going to have the answers on this," "Tracy Murphy is the key player."  From: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

queenfarooq wrote:

I did mention previously that personally i don't feel like there was that much of a connection between Harris and Pierson. But just an interesting connection from this article: "He then fired a fifth round and ran to the library's back corner, "and there took his own life." It seems like Pierson originally entered the library though looking for the teacher he was targeting.

That qualifies as a similarity! And a creepy one at that. Question remains: how "into" Columbine was Pierson? It would be something if we eventually find out that he had a specific interest in or even obsession with Eric and Dylan.

gustopoet wrote:

Question remains: how "into" Columbine was Pierson? It would be something if we eventually find out that he had a specific interest in or even obsession with Eric and Dylan.

It's an interesting question, however I've not come across anything that would suggest he had a particular interest in Columbine, maybe others have.

Speaking of the Columbine connection, I came across this article:
Arapahoe Student’s Mother’s Husband Was A Student At Columbine In 1999
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The Colorado school-shooting gunman wrote the Latin phrase Alea iacta est — meaning "The die has been cast" — on his arm, along with numbers and letters that investigators believe outlined his plan for carnage, officials said Thursday.

But police now suspect he may have had other targets because of the markings found on his forearm after he critically wounded senior Claire Davis and killed himself.

The numbers and letters he wrote next to the Latin phrase "correlate directly with the identification of the Library and specific classrooms located in the immediate area," the Arapahoe Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

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and!

He also was a fan of the bomb-making manual "Anarchist's Cookbook," a revelation that led the author to forcefully call for it to be taken out of print.

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ETA: "Temporarily Out of Stock"    Gee, I wonder why..
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InFiNiNcEX5 wrote:

He also was a fan of the bomb-making manual "Anarchist's Cookbook," a revelation that led the author to forcefully call for it to be taken out of print.

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ETA: "Temporarily Out of Stock"        Gee, I wonder why..
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IIRC though, Mr. Powell has converted to some form of Christianity and has been trying to pull the book from circulation for a while.
I can understand him wanting to do at least what he can to remove it, but books/works of literature are basically the hardest thing to effectively ban, lol.
Yeah, they can pull it from major retailers and such but it'll still be easy as hell to obtain the information contained from the internet and whatnot   .

Quote :

The Colorado school-shooting gunman wrote the Latin phrase Alea iacta est — meaning "The die has been cast" — on his arm, along with numbers and letters that investigators believe outlined his plan for carnage, officials said Thursday.

 I'm kinda curious as to what exactly made that phrase significant to him.

Claire Davis died today:
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LPorter101 wrote:

Claire Davis died today:
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That's really sad.

queenfarooq wrote:

LPorter101 wrote:

Claire Davis died today:
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That's really sad.

That is really, really too bad.   

InFiNiNcEX5 wrote:

queenfarooq wrote:

LPorter101 wrote:

Claire Davis died today:
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That's really sad.

That is really, really too bad.   

Terrible...What a sad Christmas time for this family.   

 

Apparently this shooter went bowling the morning of the shooting. Not sure if he thought that E&D did too. I know that is a popular notion after the Moore movie.

Z_Splatter wrote:

Apparently this shooter went bowling the morning of the shooting. Not sure if he thought that E&D did too. I know that is a popular notion after the Moore movie.

I have also read this: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

"Like the Columbine High School gunmen 14 years ago, Pierson also took himself bowling shortly before the shooting, Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said during the news conference."

Hmm, I think this paper also believed E/D went bowling on 4/20.
I've not read a huge amount about this particular case but I've still not come across anything that would suggest this guy had a particular interest in the Columbine shootings. There are a number of coincidences of course but i'm not sure if i personally believe (yet) that this shooting was somehow motivated or connected to Columbine.

Here is another article that talks about the bowling: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
It also states: "Robinson said there was no direct evidence Pierson was inspired by or had interest in the Columbine massacre."

queenfarooq wrote:

It also states: "Robinson said there was no direct evidence Pierson was inspired by or had interest in the Columbine massacre."

Ah let's see: he went bowling, then to the school with a shotgun and Molotov cocktails to kill people, then shot himself in a back corner of the library.

But he didn't have any interest in Columbine?!

If you ask me, that's even weirder than if he was obsessed with Columbine.

gustopoet wrote:

queenfarooq wrote:

It also states: "Robinson said there was no direct evidence Pierson was inspired by or had interest in the Columbine massacre."

Ah let's see: he went bowling, then to the school with a shotgun and Molotov cocktails to kill people, then shot himself in a back corner of the library.

But he didn't have any interest in Columbine?!

If you ask me, that's even weirder than if he was obsessed with Columbine.

E&D didn't even go to their bowling classes on the morning of the shooting. Even if Karl was interested in Columbine, he probably sucked at it.   

[quote="Lananas"}
E&D didn't even go to their bowling classes on the morning of the shooting. Even if Karl was interested in Columbine, he probably sucked at it.   [/quote]

Not to mention his 80 sec "rampage." It's not a funny situation but some aspects of it sure seem to have a black humor about them.

Video I found of students evacuating:

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From Tumblr..

Cameron Rust, a security guard at Arapahoe High School, talks about why the shooting last December was preventable, with special focus on the negligence of Arapahoe’s administration to respond to potential/perceived/actual threats.

Prior warnings - specific to December 13, 2013:

Security team and teachers bring up concerns from the previous year regarding Karl Pierson.
Death threat from Karl Pierson directly to Tracy Murphy was made.

The security team reported to Administration that Karl was looking up guns, on his computer, in the school cafeteria. Administration came back and told the security team it was Karl’s personal computer and he can do what he wants.

Administration makes comments such as “We will read about that kid (Karl) in the news someday, it just won’t be at Arapahoe.”

Karl began drawing symbols on his math tests.

Karl began using the word “Comrade.”

Many teachers can refer to many other incidents that were reported to Administration regarding Karl.
The majority of things reported on Karl were never in his school file.

Day before the incident Karl was sent home due to anger outburst to another teacher.

Security team was in the process of going outside the school Administration to bring the above and other issues to the public’s attention, unfortunately that was unable to happen prior to December 13th.
Rust has since been placed on paid leave and has basically been isolated from the school’s administration, in his opinion, “based on warnings, documentation, and voicing our opinions, to Arapahoe High School Administration prior to December 13, 2013. What other reason would the school have to exclude us or not include us, from every healing event that has taken place since Claire’s death?”

Please help spread this. Arapahoe High School’s administrators are not responsible for Karl Pierson’s actions, but they ought to be held accountable for their negligence.

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This guy researched school shootings. Most notably Columbine and Sandy Hook. He even made a powerpoint on Columbine. One theory by Dr Langman also suggested he originally wanted to shoot up the school on dec. 14th, the anniversary of Sandy Hook but school would be closed that day so Dec. 13th was the closest he could get.