Kip Kinkel - Special Education, The Columbine Massacre, Thurston High School, A Day Of Tragedy, The Trial
following randall killing life
Born August 30, 1982 (Springfield, Oregon)
Murderer
Kip Kinkel confessed to killing his parents on May 20, 1998, and then opening fire the following day at Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon, killing two and wounding twenty-five. The following year he was sentenced to 111 years in prison. His case focused national attention on the continuing tragedy of school violence that plagued America in the late 1990s.
For More Information
Books
Bonilla, Denise M., ed. School Violence. New York: H. W. Wilson Company, 2000.
Levinson, David, ed. Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2002.
Periodicals
King, Patricia, and Andrew Murr, "A Son Who Spun Out of Control." Newsweek (June 1, 1998): pp. 32–33.
Sullivan, Randall, "A Boy's Life: Part I." Rolling Stone (September 17, 1998): pp. 76–85, 106–107.
Sullivan, Randall, "A Boy's Life: Part II." Rolling Stone (October 1, 1998): pp. 46–54, 72.
Additional Topics
Kipland (Kip) Philip Kinkel was the second child born to Faith Zuranski and Bill Kinkel. His sister, Kristen, was nearly six years old when Kip was born in 1982. Both Bill and Faith were educators and took their children camping, hiking, and skiing almost every weekend. The Kinkel family moved to Spain for a year in 1986 and Kip entered his first year of formal schooling. His teacher did not speak…
Eleven months after the Thurston tragedy, the scene was repeated in Littleton, Colorado. In April 1999 Columbine High School seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold brought an arsenal of weapons into school and opened fire. The boys arrived at their school, located in an affluent Denver suburb, wearing trench coats and carrying automatic weapons. They wounded twenty-six students and killed thirteen …
Kip's fascination with firearms continued, however, and he begged his father to buy him a gun. Recently, Kip had secretly bought a .22-caliber pistol from a friend and kept it hidden from his parents. Bill Kinkel did not own any weapons but after resisting for some time decided on a new tactic. He reasoned that buying Kip a legally registered gun and teaching him how to properly use and car…
Throughout the fall of 1997 and into 1998 the United States experienced a sudden outbreak of school shootings, each highlighted in the national media. Schools were on alert and there was little tolerance for weapons violations. On May 20, 1998, Kip and another freshman were arrested at Thurston High School on charges involving the possession and sale of a stolen handgun. Kip was taken to the Sprin…
Less than twenty-four hours after his initial arrest, Kip Kinkel was back in the custody of the Springfield Police Department. Secured in an interview room and locked in handcuffs, Kip managed to retrieve a hunting knife he had taped to his leg and attacked the returning detective. He was quickly subdued. During the ensuing interview, Kip confessed to killing his parents. The recovery of their bod…
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