Read the following new site and respond to the following questions. Could anything have been done to prevent this tragedy? Could this happen here at PRHS? Why or why not?
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/kinkel/
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Kip did show signs of depression and he had a huge fascination with guns and also had depression. You shouldn't mix guns with depression. I think there could have been some ways to prevent what happened but there isn't really any way someone could have known he was going to commit murder. I do belive though that this could happen at our school because this could happen at any school. I think that if you instigate someone so much and push them so far then you never know when they are going to snap. Some people just get teased and teased and then the next thing someone knows someone is killed or hurt. Well our school some people could do this I think our school is safe enough from that but we don't have any way to check if guns are brought to school or not.
From a very young age, kip's parents had known that he showed signs of depression; he had difficulty in school, and was interested in explosives and guns. The tragedy that took place at Thurston High unfortunately could have been prevented. The truth is, his parents are the one's that had every opportunity in the world to stop him from making such detrimental decisions. First of all, his dad knowingly allowed him to purchase the guns that he used in these shootings. I think the fact that kip was so interested in explosives and guns should have been the first warning sign that something may not be right. When his parents brought him to therapy they came to the conclusion that he was depressed. This problem was corrected by the use of medication, which Kip stopped using three months before the shooting. Also, Kip had been in trouble before he decided to start killing people. He had been arrested, suspended, and caught shoplifting. All of these should have been warning signs that he may try to hurt someone in the near future. His therapist had even observed that he may try to harm himself or others, why then, was further action not taken? Why was Kip allowed to leave the police station after being found in possession of a weapon, and why was his house not searched immediately after this incident?
Unfortunately, this all could have been avoided. Kip was obviously a hazard to himself and others, but no one took any further action. The scary thing is, this could happen at any school, at any time. The security at schools especially rural schools such as PRHS, can not detect students who may be in possession of a weapon. Honestly, I am surprised that there are not more school shooting around the country. I think it is the job of parents and teachers to be aware of the warning signs, and have the knowledge to and capability to stop such tragedies from happening.
Wow this is hard to read,why did his parents just sit back and not do anything? I'm not saying this is anyones fault this could happen to anyone at any school. I think that he was pushed so far and he had noone to go to. I think his parents should have done more and kept and eye on him and his guns. It's sad to know that so many people could still be alive if people would just go and talk to someone. I think this is a problem that takes place all over the world people get lost and don't dare to talk to anyone. I think if our school offered more of a chance for people to go talk to someone or if our teachers worked more one on one with all of their students this would just make a better environment for everyone.
This whole thing could have been stopped if his parents saw a few key signs. Once he was off his meds, it probably was not a good thing of his father to give him his dream gun. Just the most simple thing could tick off a teen, and the fact that he thought he was alone all the time did not help the fact. His parents should have supported him in other ways instead of supporting his love of weapons. They should have been there just to talk one on one with him to get inside his mind. Killings such as this can happen at any moment anywhere, and there is always that possibility of it happening here at PRHS. There are a lot of students that feel alone, the students that do not belong in a group here that could just explode at any moment. For most teens there will always be that one day, and for some, everyday that makes them feel alone, as if they did not have anyone to talk to that could just make them do such a thing as killing innocent people.
Kip's parents understood the amount of his depression and his infatuation with guns. As the psychologist said his parents could tell that these were red flags in dangerous behavior. The problem is however that his parents may have believed it was a "phase". Also the diary entry that he wrote about feeling alone often killers who feel isolated have a tendency to commmit murder. The biggest thing about this case is although Kip is considered technically mentally unstable he made the choice to stop taking his medication and he also knew what he did was wrong.
A killing is very possible at PRHS. Many kids who go to this school have parents who hunt or own guns so their is a wide access to weapons that can kill. Also living in a rural area like we do it would be easier for a depressed person or isolated person to commit a mass school shooting. Even bringing a gun to school could be easy, we dont have security checks when we walk into the school so one could hide a gun in their bag.
there are many things that could of prevented this incident from happening. If kip's parents would have just watched over there child more then he wouldnt of been able to equip himself with guns and wouldnt of gone off his medicine. Teachers couldnt of predicted this would of happened the only people that could of and should of predicted this was his parents. Who gives there child a gun and doesnt watch over them more closely? As far as this happening at prhs, i believe it could, but it could happen anywheres, no matter the security of the school. Kids will find ways to bring guns into school.
I do believe that this tragedy could of been prevented in some ways. Kip was showing signs about how he feels towards people. He wrote what he felt down in his journal. You can tell when someone is depress and its not his fault tht no one reached out to help him. But you never know if the person doent opening up to you. They might just be having a bad day. Of course this could happen at PRHS it could happen any where. When you push someone to a certain point you dont know how they are going to react. When your in high school there is so much hate and drama that it effects people in different ways and you dont know how there gonna do. There no way of ever really knowing whats going to happen.
This whole thing could have been prevented if the parents paid more attention to what was going on in their child's life. Obviously, if a parent was to give their child a gun, you would hope that they had a level of trust in that kid. What I don't understand is...If the parents knew that Kip showed signs of depression for a long time, why would they think it would be okay to give him a gun? If the parents, siblings, teachers, or anyone else realized that Kip was having problems, why didn't they try to help him? Any one of these people could have prevented this tragedy. Unfortunately, in alot of schools, there is no way of knowing if a student has weapons on them. This could happen at any school, which is really scary. It could happen at PRHS because people offen don't realize when someone is troubled.
Could anything have been done to stop this from happening? Yes and no.
I say no because, according to the interviews, Kip was liked and had friends, they said that he was funny and was for the most part normal. So no one saw it coming. When it came to those whom he shoot at school, he said that he just shot at random people, it wasn't like he was bullied and had a hit-list.
I say yes because, according to the interviews and other clip, he was taking medication for depression, but he stopped taking them. Also, if his parents hadn't bought and gave him the guns, or at least didn't give him total access to the guns, he wouldn't have been able to kill and injure the people. Although he had firearms that the parents didn't know about.
But regardless of everything, it is clear that he needed help. In the police confession he says, and I quote, "Goddamn the voices inside my head!!"
I believe that many actions could have been taken to prevent the Thurston high school shooting. One issue I found hard to understand was why his family and teachers did not take Kip's mental issue more seriously then they did. It’s obvious that the warning signs of depression were present and I think that if Kip had gotten help earlier on, the shooting could have been avoided all together. The thing that really gets me is whey did the parents give Kip guns when he was in absolutely no condition to handle the weapons or the responsibility that goes along with owning a weapon? Another factor that contributes to the issue is the fact that the high school, much like PRHS, has absolutely no sense of security to keep their students protected from crimes.
I do believe that a tragedy like the one Kip performed on March 21, 1998 could take place at PRHS. One main reason for this is that the media has a huge affect on many teens and can provoke unheard of behavior. Also, the only sense of security that our school provides for the students while walking through the front door to the school in the morning is we are all greeted my Mr. Knowles who usually gives you a welcoming smile. Through that morning process, none of us are patted down to see if we have any weapons on us or put through a metal detector like a majority of high school students are across America. With that, it would be very easy for one of our peers to sneak through with a gun or other dangerous weapon. Seeing that we basically live in the middle of no where, it is common that many students either own a gun for hunting or have a parent that owns a gun for whatever reason. This could allow a student to be capable of possessing a weapon that could cause great harm. Also, since we live in a state that has four seasons; seasonal depression is very common amongst teens and could cause one to act out in a violent behavior.
Kip showed many signs of distress. His extreme interest with guns was a big sign. There were many ways in which this incident could of been avoided. He was getting guns as young as the age of when he was in the 8th grade... minors are not allowed to buy guns legally. His parents should of known their kid well enough to know that he had a problem. However, some parents just don't realize those problems. His parents could of never expected that they were going to be killed and that he would open fire on the school. The notes that he would write on homework assignments or in his notebooks should of been a huge connector.
I do believe that this could happen at our school. You never know if someone is troubled to the point that they feel like killing someone is going to solve the problem. I don't think that we would have the problem of a gunmen at our school right now but then again you may never know.. and that is a really scary thought.
I think the situation could of been prevented because Kips parents knew the amount of stress he felt, and the fact that he was depressed and tried to help him with medication, but they never really took anymore serious steps towards getting their son some counseling, someone to talk to. And the fact that Kip's parents knew he had guns and his dad bought him a gun at a young age didnt really help matters at all. Something like this could happen at PRHS..it could happen anywhere..i mean it already has from the recent shooting in Illinois, to back when we had the Columbine Shooting. It can happen anywhere at anytime. It just takes that one person, that one thing to push someone over the edge. It also takes major balls to walk into a school and blow away people you've gone to school with for your entire life, but it also takes a coward to have to do something like that just to get the message across that they need help.
I definitely think that the murders committed by Kip Kinkel could have been prevented. His parents knew that he was depressed, and his fascination with guns and explosives was far from normal. It must have been very hard for Kip's parents to try and understand him, but any reasonable parent should know better than to give a gun to a kid like that. I don't want to point fingers, but it was mostly the responsibility of the parents to prevent this tragedy from happening. I absolutely think that something like this could happen anywhere; Kip killed his parents because he was mentally unstable, not because of his location.
I think that maybe this could have been prevented because Kip had been taking prozack and stopped,he had depression, he may have been somewhat involved but he would right down how he hated himself.I think giving someone with depression guns and letting them know where to get them is dangerous. I think it could deff. happen in PRHS,it could happen anywhere, big school or little. Its capable. Any child with depression or being teased at all can get in the state of wanting to die or kill.
I think in some ways this could have been prevented, but some ways there was no way of stopping Kip. His parents knew that he had depression and a fasination with guns, but they overlooked it becuase they thought he would get better. Maybe they thought that by leaving him alone, he would out grow his facination. But by taking him off his depression medication and then buying him a gun? really? i think his parents didnt' know what he was capable of. also it could have been prevented if they had some how got a hold of his journals, but that is an invasion of privacy. There is a chance this could happen at PRHS, it could happen anywhere. kids are messed up and make bad choices. there are also so many negative media influences today that voilence is all around us. also with all the recent violence in school, it may give some students that have been considering doing something like this a reason to? or it could make kids see how much of an effect these voilent acts have on the school, students, faculty, town and the rest of the united states.
While I was reading this blog, I had a lot of emotions, questions and thoughts running through me. To answer the first question, I dont think hat there was anyway of preventing the killings. The family obviously tried everything they could, from parental help, to psychiatric help. Nothing seemed to work. If they smothered the kid, he would have been driven to dis-obey them. And if they let him do whatever he wanted, he would have. It was a lose-lose situation. As much as people like to think, it's pretty hard, and damn near impossible to help the "mentally insane". I believe they're that way for a reason, and theres really no way to change them. No one saw it coming, but it was coming for a while. You couldn't have prevented it, even if you tied him up.
I think that this could happen anywhere. I would strongly like to believe that it wouldnt happen here, but wouldnt everyone? There's no way that you can tell if something like that is going to happen, and like I said, theres really no way to help those who really need help. I'd like to think that the doctors and people out there are here to help, and will help, but I've seen so many cases where people have been helped temporarily, but never permanetly. It was a really tragic and devastating incident, but you couldn't stop it. The only thing you can really do is try and make things better, in any way, shape or form you possibly can.
I think that this could have been prevented if Kip's parents paid more attention to their son. The whole gun fascination should have tip his parents off to the fact that something was not right with the kid. And even if the therapy didn't work, the medication did. The parents could have made sure that he took his meds. This kind of thing could happen anywhere, but problems that start these killings stop long before it gets serious.
I think this could have been prevented, someone should know enough to not give someone who has depression or any problems like that a way to get guns. i feel that there was a very big lack of responsibility from Kips parents. His father allowed him to have the guns he used in the shooting and they did not check to see if he was taking his medication. They were also given plenty of warning signs. i feel that something like this could happen at PRHS because it can happen anywhere. All it takes is one thing to send someone over the edge if they are already in distress like kip was. Lets hope nothing like this ever happens at our school.
Kip had a fascination with guns that was unusual. It seems that we was a very confused kid that really needed help. Maybe if his parents had talked to him instead of buying him guns to make him happy things would have been different. Often times kids who bring guns to school feel misunderstood and do not understand themselves. In world where human interaction is replaced by technology, that usually depicts violence it is not that surprising that to kip and others like him violence seem to be the way out. In our culture today it is hard not to be desensitized to the violence around us. I think this may have been avoided if only someone had talked to him and let him share his feelings. Of course this could happen at our own school, although we all like to pretend that it couldn't. No one thinks that the loner we all make fun of may come it school that next day with a gun. I think maybe we all should take the time and think about that. We all live in a bubble and we think nothing bad can happen to us because we live in "Plymouth, NH", but in reality it certainly can.
yes, i think that that this could have been prevented. his parents should have picked up on his depression and shit and his dad should have made sure that there was no access to guns at all no matter what. his father should have had a guns safe even at his house so that he could be sure that this kind of shit wouldnt happen. yes, i definitely think that this could happen at prhs because you know that there has gotto be some troubled youth in all environments.
yes, i think that this could have been prevented. his father should not have had his gun out of a safe or something like that just to make sure that something like this wouldnt happen. his parents should have realized the emotional status of there child and shouldve known not to have guns lying around the house. yes, i definatly think that that it could happen at prhs becaus eyou know there are crazy youth running around everywhere and ya.
I think that although no one could have truly known what Kip was capable of a lot of his behaviors seemed off and should have been looked at more closely. I believe that some of his actions should have raised a red flag, especially since nger and depression don’t seem like good things to be mixed with weapons and opportunity. Even from a young age Kip had exhibited a high level of frustration and anxiety as noted by one of his teachers. As he got older his parents should have been concerned with his interest in weapons, violence, and anti-social behavior along with teachers, such as his Spanish one, voicing concerns with certain issues. His parents also obviously knew he had some issues so I don’t understand why he was bought guns by his father. Even after the counseling and being taken off Prozac when he was supposedly doing better, his father talked to a stranger about his troubled son. This to me raises concern of why Kip wasn’t put back into counseling or so on if his father still believed there was something wrong. No one wants to believe there’s something wrong with their child but it’s their responsibility to do so.
In my opinion an incident like this could pretty much happen anywhere, even though many of us don’t think it could. Living in the area we do, a majority of kids, or their parents, own guns and have access to them. Added to that is the fact that our school doesn’t check kids entering the building and doesn’t have metal detectors to set off such weapons. In every school across the country there’s that chance that an event like this could take place.
I hate reading this stuff. I think situations like this are really hard because after they happen everybody is
"monday morning quarterbacking"
everybody was trying to think of things that could have prevented this situation (as most students have listed) but the truth is if everyone went around on a hunch that someone was going to do something, then the world would be in shambles. I'm definitly not condoning what this kid did, but I think that it happened, it was a tragedy, but in order to prevent it, people have to move on. Some things could have been done, like between the parents and their son, not showing him guns, and not allowing his fasination to build up about them, but I think that would have only postponed Kip's actions. Again I believe it comes down to the should have, could have, and would have.. but in reality I don't think anything could have been done. Unfortunitly because problems like this can occur out of the blue (a student finally "snapping") that it can happen at PRHS. As much as we don't want it to, I think it is impossible to prevent this 100%, because there is always the 'outsider' there is always the person who is different, and even with all the amazing programs we have available at the school (friends of Rachal, sports, guidance etc.) I think it is very hard to prevent it because it is very hard to identify an upcoming problem.
I think that this event could have been prevented. I can see where Sarah is coming from...this could happen at PRHS or anywhere because there will always be people who feel like "outsiders", but there are always warning signs as well. Sometimes people overlook them or don't think that they're as serious as they really are...when the signs are overlooked or dissmissed, that's when things like this happen. The people in this situation didn't take his depression and his fascination with guns seriously enough unfortunately.
I believe that the Thurston High School shooting and of his parents could have been prevented. From Kip's younger years up to when the crimes were committed, he showed signs of depression, violence, and an obsession with guns and explosives. I feel that the therapist, teachers, and sadly his parents as well did not heed enough to the warning signs of Kip's mental downfall. It was a mistake for Kip's father to buy him guns knowing that he showed signs of violence. Since Kip was doing better on Prozac, why did they allow him to come off of it? Maybe coming off of the medication, caused to him become more depressed than before he took it. Medication can cause certain side effects with different people, whether they are on or off it.
This could happen at PRHS because no school is immune to this type of tragedy. Teachers, parents, and counselors should never ignore warning signs or red flags no matter how minor it may seem.
For once i agree with Dubey. Articles like this are hard to read. There were so many things that could have been done to prevent this. First of all he was depressed so he really shouldn't have been allowed to have guns. If he stole the guns or bought them on his own(which he did) is a little different. At least his parents wouldn't have entertained the idea of violence. Second his father shouldn't have given him a gun at the time that Kip was taken off his medications. That was a pretty big no-no. Could it happen in our school? I suppose so. It could happen anywhere. There are always people who are going to feel left out and get made fun of. Its just a part of life. I hope that this would never happen in our school but it could.
Well first off you shouldn't mix guns with depresion ever thats where the parents first went wrong. then the parents seemed to sit back and not do anything about Kip's problem with depression. This could happen at our school or any other school. Murder and depression are everywhere and most people dont know how to stop depression and sometimes no one takes the time to make sure this person will get help and doesnt end up commiting murder like Kip did.
ok thing it should have never gotten this far. we as people see sign in people that are having a bad time with there lives and what not but our society has chosen not to address the issues until something major happens. we say we compassionate people we are always to late to help the person it come always come to late. we are cable of helping but chose not to for the most part. yes we can blame the parents for missing the sign but every one did so if any own to blame it all of the people with in the school.
This is a situation that no one ever likes to think is possible. Try as we may, many of us cannot come to terms with the fact that something like this is a very real scenario and steps towards something like this happening again are forever proceeding around us. Most of us start off n life with some sort of trust from our parents and family. Over the years this trust is molded but for the most part, unless a child has done something extreme to loose their parents' trust, its still there. Therefore as a parent when your child begins to show signs of an obsession with something like guns the parents, even if they know the obsession plus the illness do not mix, they try to convince themselves that their child would never do such a thing. That's why when something of this magnitude does happen; the lack of family's prevention is only to be expected.
So when Kip was arrested for buying a gun from a kid at school an alarm went off for his parents but it was too little too late on their behalf. The obsession with guns was too advanced and now the only other thing that could have helped Kip was involvement on behalf of the school. An influence, outside that of his parents, could have noticed the problem and helped address Kip's issue of depression and gun obsession. A situation like this could happen at PRHS but as long as everyone in the school feels like they have someone they can rely on or go to for an issue, a case like this could be prevented.
What happend at Thurston High definately could have been prevented. Someone in that state of mind shouldnt have access to guns and thats mostly the parents faults. Kip needed a lot more help than he was getting, his whole life he showed that he was depressed and troubled. If his parents had caught this in time or at least got him back on his meds than this probably could have been prevented. The school should also receive some of the blame. The teachers or students should be able to see if there is something drastically wrong with a person in their school. Also the school should recognize if a student is being teased to that degree to make them snap like that. Something like this could happen at our school because you never know when someone is going to snap or get mad enough to react in that way. There are probably people in our school that have access to guns as well. Its a tough call but I think I'll try not to tease anyone.
I believe as a parent, you need to know what's normal and abnormal when it comes to your child. If you have a son who is completely fascinated with guns and weapons, and he is depressed; that should be cause for worry. However, I think Kip had to reach a very intense level of depression and fascination to murder his family and everything. It's possible that it could happen in Plymouth, it could happen anywhere. but if people take notice to today's teenagers and children; it is easily preventable.
I think the father is incredibly irresponsible for getting his kid a gun, especially since he was diagnosed with depression. I don't think that any child, depressed or not, should ever have the ability to access guns in a matter of seconds. I understand that some of the guns belonged to the father when he was younger, but times have changed, and the media uses guns and violence in almost every movie, which does not promote the proper use of guns, therefore leading kids to have the wrong idea about how and where, and what to use them on. And sadly, I think this kinda stuff can happen anywhere, wherever kids have access to guns, it can happen; and today, guns are pretty easy to get ahold of. I think our school in particular is okay, because for the most part everyone gets along, and those who have access to guns, would rather shoot deer than people. I'd think this was more of a concern in larger populated areas, or where hunting isn't an option. I think it's a tragedy that something like this happened, and I WISH, there was something more that people could do to fix this.
no nothing could have been done to stop the tragedy because u can't read peoples minds and unless they expressed it to someone then no one would have known. sadly yes this can happen at any school anywhere it just takes one kid that isnt right to get upset and kill people.
It seems that yes this could have been prevented, it seems obvious that Kip's behavior was such that he should not be allowed access to guns, or other deadly devices. This could definatly happen here at PRHS. They don't search all of the student everyday when they come in, anybody could hide weapons and then use them at anytime. This could be solved if everybody was searched daily, but that deprives us of our freedom, and the likelyhood of someone coming in and shooting people is so small that the effort is not worthwhile. They could also give everybody a gun. Then if anybody saw that someone was going to start shooting people they could shoot them first. This would also dissuade people from coming in the first place. If you wanted to start shooting people but knew that they all had guns too might it make you think twice about it?
Kip Kinkle a younge boy fascinated with guns but very depressed. His father decided to buy him more guns to make him happy :)!. Unfortunatly kip decided to cap his highschool peers :(. Who could have posibly seen that one coming? To keep this Thurston high school shooting from happening I do think a few actions could have been taken. One, when a child is depressed and or moody guns are a bad present to get them. Instead maybe parents should try to get their children involved with programs that create friends for their kid. Also kips family spending more bonding with him might have helped. If worst comes to worst we could just post a medal detector in front of every school :)!. Finally, I think Thurston high school should get a new guiddance conselor.
kip did show that he was depressed. his parents did try to help him but then they gave up on trying. instead of meds, they should have had him talk to someone. they also should have not given him guns at a young age or knowing that he was depressed.
i do think that this could happen at our school! it could happen anywhere, all there neeeds to be is a depressed person with no help and no one trying to help.
i think that this situation could have been prevented. i say this because there must have been something that triggered him to think those thoughts then act upon them.
i do feel that something like that could happen here. but i feel that it can happen anywhere. everywhere people are bullied and feel ignored. Everywhere there are "normal" acting people that turn violent.
Anyone who you suspect to be mentally ill should not be given weapons. Seriously. I usually wouldn't trust someone with a gun even if they were mentally stable. It seems to me like the parents really dropped the ball on this one. However, it probably couldn't have been avoided, considering he had gotten some of the weapons himself illegaly.
This situation could have been prevented. Kip was showing signs of depression as well as show an usual interest in guns. From right there the parents should have known to keep dangerous tools away from him. This situation could happen anywhere, including Plymouth. If a kid feels ignored or bullied then that provokes them even more to bring a gun to school.
HAHA i think i was supposed to do this a while ago.
Theres no question that this tragedy could have been prevented. When someone mixes REALLY strong emotions (and in this case depression) and deadly weapons... then however things end up later on are not going to be good. His parents instead of keeping him away from weapons rewarded him with them when he was good or when they thought his depression was under control... dont you think its a little weird that a CHILD that collects and has a fettish with guns, is never going to rebel or even shoot one off? And also as sad as this is, i think that something like this could happen anywhere! You are not going to find a school where everyone is smart, happy and having fun.. there is always going to be someone left out and sad and a homelife that is not good.
I think a ton of thing could have been done to pervent what happend. The depression was a huge sigh that Kip should not be playing with guns and should be going to some sort of therapy. The father when he taked about his son had an understanding of how his son was different. No child with that type of fascination guns should be given a gun with out supervision. I believe that this could happend at Plymouth High School. Every school has kids that have different problems. Hopefully though now kids are starting to understand how far their actions can push some one. And hopefully teachers are learning about the signs of students that need some one to talk to and get them some help.
The question is "could this have been prevented?", and my answer is a very clear YES. There was no reason for this to happen, his parents obviously didn't care enough for their son not to get him help, but instead they provided his murder weapons. I have nothing against guns because guns don't kill people. PEOPLE KILL PEOPLE. But to just ignor the distress signs of their boy is just neglect. This whole situation could have simlpy been prevented by somthing like counseling or even this new rare technology COMMON SENSE. - Steez
This is a tragedy from every angle. Kip is insane, or was insane, and killed his own parents who he himself claimed to be good people. It's still a mystery and probably forever will be what is was specifically that brought him to the edge and compelled him to shoot his father in the back of the head, drag the body into the bathroom and cover it, wait a few hours for his mother to arrive home and shoot her after telling her you love her, then waiting the night, going to school the next day and open firing at fellow students. But Kip had shown signs of depression, and had been on Prozac, and wanted to buy guns against the better judgment of his own father so it begs the question why didn't anyone ask what was wrong with him? We're analyzing it now, after it's too late, but why didn't anyone see the signs and profile him as a student who needed help and tried to actually help him and get to the root of the problem. Maybe he still would have committed what he did had someone tried to help but in actuality the problem could have been prevented.
This danger is very real. Real enough that any kid in any high school could have the mind to pull off something so devastating. Where ever there are guns sold and desperate kids there are going to be stories like this. It sucks but it happens.
I believe alot could of been done to prevent this tragety. Kip deffenently showed signs of depression. and what suprised me is that his dad bought him guns and just had guns and ammo lying around the house. And his dad knew that Kip had problems. I read through his inteview with one of the police officers and he kept repeating i had to do it was the right thing. But what suprised me was that he saw his friends before he went into the school cause he told them to go the other way. this could happen here it could happen anywhere. The thing with Kips Parents was they knew he hung around the bad crowd and he was making bombs and Hidding weapons in his room so i think if they went in and checked on him maybe they could of prevented this.
i think that there could have been plenty of way to have pervented this insedent but kip did show alot of signs of his depresion and upsesion with guns.
I believe that this was preventable to a certain extent. His parents could have kept a closer watch on their guns and their son. I also believe that this is completely possible to happen anywhere includeing PRHS. A lot of kids like guns and/or own guns. Guns are acceptable up in new hampshire and many other states because of hunting. but there is nothing keeping a kid from sneaking a gun into school. we dont have any security going into school or other public places. it is very possible to bring concealed weapons to many places. This could happen anywhere.
That's so sad. Personally I think he has some obvious phsycological problems. Depression is a deffinte answer to his ourburst. I don't understand why he killed his parents, he said they did nothing wrong, maybe he wasn't loved enough, or no one payed enough attention to him. Whatever the reason, there is no denying that what he did was wrong. He was angry, and maybe he was hurting. He liked guns and knifes, so maybe the psychologist should have done something, talked more into it, figured him out some more. The truth is it is no one elses fault but Kips. The timing was wrong in thinking he would turn so fast. No one could predict it obviously. This could happen in our school too. Anyone can snap (knock on wood) someone could just be having a really horrible time.
This is a situation where it is not the responsibility of the state to deprive kip of his civil liberties as defined by the bill of rights. It is the responisbility of the parents gaurd him against things that would propell him to take such action. This could happen at our school and there would be nothing we could do to stop it, however i think that we have a good procedure to execute if a situation like this would occur and there is a good community feel about the school that i think makes us all feel a little safer. PS. this was posted 2:49 the day that the blog was closed
it seemed like his dad was pretty good to the kid. i dont think much of his depression could have stemmed from his home life. it seemed like he had a healthy relationship there. perhaps they could have talked to him more about school and what was going on there. if they had found out he was having problems there this might have been avoided. without knowing anyone first hand that has had this problem its hard to say if it would be easy to see signs of depression and if they were liable to commit and vicious acts.
Could anything have been done to prevent this tragedy? Well, I think the answer is a resounding, "yes!" This story is so terribly sad and really just sick. The fact that his parents allowed him to own any kind of firearm is disgusting. I just can't imagine the type of person that would buy there 13, 14, 15 year old child buy a gun: a tool whose only purpose is to injure or kill. The parents knew that Kip suffered from severe depression, and he was on medication for said depression for some time. His parents knew that he had an unhealthy interest in bombs and guns, and still his father proceeded in buying him not one but two guns, on two separate occasions! I think this could have been prevented by a) his parents refusing to condone this morbid interest and b) having some kind of intervention and sending him to get some serious pyschiatric help. As for whether or not this could happen at PRHS I think that it definitely could. As you know, people living in the NE are particularly prone to a depressive disorder known as SAD (seasonal affective disorder). Depression is not uncommon among adolescents and young adults, and there is no doubt that teasing, bullying, and the like occur in our school on a daily basis. This, unfortunately, is the nature of human beings: we just love to put others down. School shootings can happen at any time, in any place, and more direct measures should be taken to ensure that the probability of this goes down for good.
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