1. For understanding Holmes’ actions/psychology, I think this dissertation on Columbine is useful.
e.g. an excerpt:
”Ultimately Eric and Dylan create and share a mutually destructive worldview, a malignant psychic process that leaves them outside of consensus reality, but desperate to connect to someone somehow. By connecting with each other, the shooters feed each others delusions, creating an ideal supportive environment for the development of the idea that these two are chosen, divine, and predestined to wreak havoc on those around them.….
In reality, mass murder is a road that usually ends in isolation, incarceration and eventually execution. However in Eric and Dylan’s fantasy, mass murder leads to true love, happiness, and international fame.”
2. A random bit: Earlier, Holmes had been “heavily involved in his local Presbyterian church” and he might have visited a local church weeks before his shooting spree.
3. A few relevant bits about the general characteristics/motives of mass murderers. They’re often acting out of resentment. Some comments by Jack Levin, a criminologist with expertise in mass murderers, might fit in this case: “In almost every case the motive is revenge….Usually the killer has suffered from some catastrophic loss; it could be a girlfriend, a loss of a place in the university—assuming he’s a student or faculty. Either way, in his eyes, it’s catastrophic. It’s the trigger, the catalyst, what pushes him over the edge....Usually the final straw sets in motion the planning stages. Sometimes the catastrophic losses occur months before the shooting. It’s a precipitant that triggers the planning stage.” (But I’ll note that some of Levin’s other generalizations don’t seem to fit here). I’ll also note that the list of “Characteristics of Mass Murderers” on this slide (of this presentation) seems to fit Holmes extremely well. Another critical feature is that mass murder killings frequently/typically have a copycat element; mass murderers are frequently obsessed with (one or more) prior mass murder cases.
4. This video on key characteristics of mass murderers is worth watching. The San Diego psychiatrist being interviewed points out that Holmes, who grew up in San Diego, would likely have been affected by the 2001 Granite Hill and Santana High School mass shootings (Holmes would have been 13 at the time) – i.e. that those San Diego mass shootings would have left an impression.
Moreover, Columbine High School is only about 12 miles from where Holmes was living in Aurora. Moreover, the Columbine shooting, which occurred on April 20, 1999, was heavily in the news this year around the anniversary of the event. There were stories that a miniseries was being made about the Columbine shootings - articles such as “The Columbine Effect: Why Hollywood Is Keeping The Story Alive”. Columbine High School was put on lockout due to a bomb threat four days before the shooting anniversary. Etc. I doubt that the stories about the Columbine anniversary escaped Holmes’ attention, and this was occurring coincident with his academic meltdown and only weeks before he began purchasing guns and ammo. And, like Klebold and Harris, Holmes attempted to use explosives in addition to guns (rigging his apartment).
5. So I’m pretty convinced that Columbine and the San Diego shootings were influences. A few additional thoughts – but they’re much more speculative. I came across this posting by “Jimbo” from Colorado at a “High School Memes”“Make Your Own Meme” site for Columbine High School – a South Park-based graphic stating “If you didn’t want to get shot in the face you shouldn’t have bullied a psychopath”. However, “Jimbo” is a common moniker and it could even be an allusion to the South Park character Jimbo Kern – so my instinct is that it’s probably NOT by a post by James Holmes.
However – somewhat more interesting. There’s a strong association between the Joker and “Columbine”. Supposedly, Paul Dini was originally going to call Harley (the Joker’s girlfriend) “Columbine”. And there’s a great deal of Batman fan fiction in which Columbine is the Joker’s paramour (e.g. here). There’s even a MySpace page for “Miss Columbine” (excerpt: ”Columbine Jones is Harley Quinn's split personality but when Joker pushed her off of a 6 story high building something in Harley snapped. When she woke up in the hospital (not Akham for once.) she knew something had changed because in the room Harley didn't wake up. Columbine did….”). All of this apparently originates from reference to Italian comic theater – Harley Quinn is a play on Harlequin,whose lover is Columbine.
