Mass shooter's mom prayed for son's suicide - Denver
Sue Klebold told author she wished her son dead before hurting more people.
The mother of Columbine shooter, Dylan Klebold prayed for her son to commit suicide when she became aware that her son had carried out the mass shooting at his school in April 1999.
Klebold and Harris in this iconic image from the massacre.
Sue Klebold told Solomon that when police informed her that her son was a suspect, she prayed for her son to commit suicide. She said she was afraid of what might become of him if he had lived.
"And so while every other mother in Littleton was praying that her child was safe, I had to pray that mine would die before he hurt anyone else," she told Solomon.
Dylan Klebold teamed up with a friend, Eric Harris, and murdered 12 students and a teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado in 1999. The boys were 17 and 18 respectively.
Klebold said she was worried her son would be tried and executed.
The Klebold family has largely avoided the media following the shootings, but each new mass shooting brings back memories of Columbine to the public psyche. Before Columbine, there had been mass shootings, but never at a children's school.
Last week, a young man, Adam Lanza, went on a rampage and murdered 26 others, mostly children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut before turning a gun on himself. He also murdered his mother before going on his rampage.
The shooting brings public spotlight to the plight of the parents of such infamous killers.
For her part, Sue Kleblod has been criticized for her comments regarding her son. Victim's parents have spoken out against her interview as speaking only for her feelings and not acknowledging the pain of the victim's families.
However, the depth of a mother's despair, so great that she wishes her own son dead, cannot, and should not be trivialized.
Nothing should trivialize the impact of a mother's grief.
© 2012, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.
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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.
Keywords: Sue Klebold, Eric Harris, Columbine, shooting, suicide
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Mike,
Thank you for the correction.
Actually, there had been many school shootings prior to Columbine. Including an elementary school in Stockton, California in which 5 or 6 children under the age of ten were shot and killed.
This is so sad. If someone commits suicide, they lose the chance of going to Confession and doing penance on earth for their sins. The result = Hell or, if God gave them the opportunity to somehow repent, a long time in Purgatory. A mother should never want that for her child. I wish she had prayed that he surrender and repent instead.