Columbine High School may be torn down: 'It's a macabre source of inspiration for shooters'

'While still rare, school shootings are growing in frequency'

(REUTERS)

Twenty years after the massacre that shocked America, officials are considering tearing down and replacing Columbine High School to stop copycat shooters drawing inspiration from the site.

The potential decision was announced by the school district superintendent, who said the Colorado school has become “a macabre source of inspiration” for would-be shooters and troubled people around the world.

Just months ago, as the 20th anniversary of the shooting approached, a woman flocked to the state with the intent to kill, for instance. Another shooting in a nearby Colorado STEM school also left one dead and eight injured that month.

Superintendent Jason E Glass said in a letter sent to the community in Columbine, notifying them that the idea to replace the building is being kicked about.

Mr Glass said in that letter that the project would require voter approval, and would cost some $70m “at some point”.

“Since that time, school shootings have become all-too-familiar in our nation,” Mr Glass wrote.

He continued: “From the horrors of the six and seven year olds taken at Sandy Hook, to last year’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, to the recent Douglas County STEM shooting in our neighbouring community – while still rare, school shootings are growing in frequency.”

He also said that the high school in Littleton, Colorado, “serves as a point of origin for this contagion of school shootings”.