My son was a Columbine shooter. This is my story | Sue Klebold

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4.1 • 11.9K Ratings

🗓️ 24 October 2017

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This TED Talk features activist Sue Klebold, recorded live at TED Med 2016.
0:14.0	The last time I heard my son's voice was when he walked out the front door on his way to school.
0:24.4	He called out one word in the darkness, by.
0:29.0	It was April 20th, 1999.
0:33.0	Later that morning at Columbine High School, my son Dylan and his friend Eric killed 12 students
0:40.5	and a teacher and wounded more than 20 others before taking their own lives.
0:47.4	13 innocent people were killed, leaving their loved ones in a state of grief and trauma.
1:01.0	Others sustained injuries, some resulting in disfigurement and permanent disability. But the enormity of the tragedy can't be measured only by the number of deaths and injuries that took place.
1:08.0	There's no way to quantify the psychological damage of those who were in the school
1:13.7	or who took part in rescue or cleanup efforts.
1:18.1	There's no way to assess the magnitude of a tragedy like Columbine,
1:22.8	especially when it can be a blueprint for other shooters who go on to commit atrocities of their own.
1:29.9	Columbine was a tidal wave, and when the crash ended, it would take years for the community and for society to comprehend its impact.
1:40.5	It has taken me years to try to accept my son's legacy.
1:46.0	The cruel behavior that defined the end of his life
1:49.0	showed me that he was a completely different person from the one I knew.
1:53.0	Afterwards, people asked,
1:56.0	how could you not know?
1:58.0	What kind of a mother were you?
2:03.7	I still ask myself those same questions.
2:07.9	Before the shootings, I thought of myself as a good mom.
2:13.7	Helping my children become caring, healthy, responsible adults was the most important role in my life.
	...

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