The psychology behind the Columbine shooters

CNS Yearbook

This is a photo of Eric (left) and Dylan (right). These were their 1999 senior pictures.

“Everyone should be shot out into space and only those people I say should be left behind,” said Eric Harris, one of the perpetrators of the Columbine shooting. The shooting occurred on April 20th, 1999 at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, near Denver, and took the lives of 13 people. 

Alongside Eric was his best friend, Dylan Klebold. In the months leading up to the shooting, Eric and Dylan had journals in which they wrote in detail about their history of mental health problems and negative beliefs about the world.

Eric

According to Eric’s Journal, Eric described himself as a misanthrope, or a person who dislikes humanity. He wrote in long rants about the different ways he thought society was doomed to collapse. 

Psychologists have suspected Eric of having antisocial personality disorder, otherwise known as a psychopath. He was forced to take antidepressants to help manage his anger problems.

Eric had a fascination with German culture, using the slang and listening to German bands like KMFDM. He was so into German history that he often praised the ideology of Nazism, noting many of their perceived notions of people like Jews as understandable. It’s also suspected that the boys chose April 20th to attack because of Hitler’s birthday, or April 16th because of the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing.

Dylan

According to Dylan’s Journal, Dylan was always a melancholic teenager. “Ignorance is bliss,” he stated at the start of his journal. 

He enjoyed poetry and included some of his own writings in his entries. Most were about self-wallowing in his suffering. Based on analysis of his disturbing poetry, he’s been suspected to suffer from MDD, or major depressive disorder.

Dylan also showed much schizotypical behavior, believing the entire world was against him and that he could never truly find love. Unlike Eric, it hasn’t been confirmed if Dylan ever took any medication for either of these mental health issues.

Like Eric, he also obsessed over German culture and made edgy jokes about Hitler.

Columbiners

Unfortunately, an article on KTVU Fox details a niche part of the true crime community on the internet referred to as “Columbiners.” This group idolizes Eric and Dylan as well as other shooters. This community is most active on apps like TikTok, Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram, and they are increasingly drawing in more attention and more people.

Many of these Columbiners are teenagers and victims of bullying, so they see themselves in the shooters and even feel bad for them. They also want to come off as edgy or cool, so idolizing school shooters is their way of getting this across.

This rapid stream of Columbiners has led to multiple school shootings. For example, back in December of 2024, 15-year-old Natalie Runpow opened fire at Abundant Life Christian School, leaving two people killed and six injured. Like Eric and Dylan, she had a six page document in which she described her frustrations with humanity and how she looked up to different mass shooters. 

Authorities who looked into her social media accounts found that she was active in true crime community spaces, including these so-called Columbiners. 

Now

This is all to say that even 25 years after the Columbine shooting, the effects of it are still lurking in our society and among the youth. Especially those impressionable enough to fall down a path like Natalie.

If you or someone you know is showing patterns like Erik or Dylan, don’t be afraid to reach out a trusted adult. While gun violence is inevitable in this country, it certainly is preventable.