The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Columbine High School" ...
-
A week in the life of a high school
Gibbs reports that teacher have worries beyond test scores. TIME picked a Missouri school, because after Columbine, some schools turned into citadels, metal detectors at the doors, mesh backpacks required, but not this one.
Tags: teenagers; Columbine; metal detectors; violence; trust; bombs; guns; teachers; students
-
Columbine
60 Minutes II returns to "the site of the worst school shooting in U.S. history, Columbine High" and shows "how police and school officials bungled opportunities both to stop the massacre before it happened, and to save more people once it began."
-
The Killer at Thurston High
"In May 1998, a year before the massacre at Columbine High, 15-year-old Kip Kinkel murdered his mother and father, and then opened fire at Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon, killing two fellow students and wounding 25 others. In this first in-depth television examination of a school shooter, FRONTLINE reveals the intimate inside story of how the 'shy6 and likeable' Kip Kinkel from a solid middle-class family became the boy police call 'a cold-hearted killer.'"
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; crime; school shootings; violence
-
Stonewalled; The Lost Command; The Missing Motive; Killing Time; No One Told Mr. D
A Westword investigative series focuses on little-noticed aspects of the shootings at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999 and the reaction of the police. The stories uncover "troubling questions ... concerning what police officers knew about the killers prior to that day, the inadequate law enforcement response to the "siege" at the school, and the integrity of the investigation..." The series examines "the missteps by the sheriff and his investigators that alienated victims' families." The reporter points to a slow-moving operation that "allowed a heroic teacher to bleed to death over the course of four hours..." as an outrageous example of the wrong police reaction to the shootings. The series also reports on "gaps in the official record that continue to fuel allegations on stonewalling and cover-up."
Tags: schools; shooting; homicide; crime; media; coverage; FBI; law enforcement; federal court; Denver
-
Rampage Killers
New York Times study of the 102 killers in 100 rampage attacks in the last 50 years (including the 1999 Columbine School shootings in Littleton, Colo.) revealed that "at least half of the killers showed signs of serious mental health problems" prior to their murder sprees. The four-part series starts by painting a "statistical portrait" of rampage killers -- the investigation found that most are white males with higher education levels than typical murders. The second installment of the series reveals that these murders do not simply snap. In fact, the investigation found that in most cases, family and friends ignored these killers' warning signs. The third installment looks at how easy it is for individuals with a history of mental health problems to obtain firearms legally. The four installment tells the story of a rampage killer who has been corresponding with the father of one of his victims from prison.
Tags: murder; Columbine High School; Littleton; Colorado; rampage killers; mental health; mental illness; school violence; CAR
-
"Inside the Columbine High Investigation"; "Kill mankind. No one should survive."
These two Salon.com reports focus on the events surrounding the shooting at Columbine High School and information about how the official police investigation was conducted. The second report, "Kill mankind. No one should survive," included parts of Eric Harris's diary, read to the reporter by an unnamed source.
Tags: Columbine High shooting; murder; violence; school violence Kate Battan John Keikbusch Dylan Klebold anonymous sources
-
Doom rules
This story examines the Columbine tragedy from "the largely hidden world of adolescent rage and violent fantasy in which the killers lived and died. Combining original reporting, social observation, and detailed analysis of Eric Harris' game designs, drawings and writings, the piece moves beyond the usual scapegoats to a more complex interpretation of the massacre and its legacy. Major findings: that the killings had little to do with the 'Trenchcoat Mafia' but a great deal to do with the violent subculture at Columbine; that school and law enforcement officials ignored or misinterpreted many warning signs; that 'in a school full of kids desperate to stand out, two killers in training did not seem remarkable at all."
-
A School Under Siege
This special section gives a "minute-by-minute" account of the murders at Columbine High School led by Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. This story is told through the eyes of a few of the students who lived it.
Tags: Columbine shootings; school violence; guns; violence