We all remember the moment we first heard the word ‘Columbine.’
Hours after a dozen High School students were murdered the country mourned with the parents, siblings and friends of those now-deceased students.
In our homes each of us reflected on the horror of the message each family members recived that day. Their child was gone. How would we survive we wondered. Few of us however, let our compassion reach out to the parents of the shooters. How could we, they brought a cold-blooded killer into this world. Their child killed mine. And surely in the parent’s darkest hours, the agony of their loss spilled over into a hatred of the shooters…and maybe even their parents.
Yet here today we get insight into the challenge faced by one shooter’s mother. A challenge that may have left this distraught human being with more grief than even the pain-ridden parents would ever know.
Sue Klebold is the mother of Dylan Klebold, one of the two shooters who committed the Columbine High School massacre, murdering 12 students and a teacher. She’s spent years excavating every detail of her family life, trying to understand what she could have done to prevent her son’s violence. In this difficult, jarring talk, Klebold explores the intersection between mental health and violence, advocating for parents and professionals to continue to examine the link between suicidal and homicidal thinking.
VIDEO: My Son Was A Columbine Shooter. This Is My Story
sources: Ted Talks
