Kip Kinkel was born in
1982 to
school teachers Bill and Faith Kinkel. Kip had difficulty in school and repeated first grade before being diagnosed with
dyslexia several years later.
In middle school, Kip and his friends used the school's Internet connection to order books on explosives. Kip also began shoplifting and bought a sawed-off shotgun from a friend, hiding it in his room.
Kip's parents were aware of their son's emotional problems and his somewhat frightening interest in guns, knives and bombs. In 1997, they sent him to a counselor. In April of that year, Kip was suspended from school for kicking another student in the head, and was upset that the other boy was not suspended for shoving him in the first place. Not long after, Kip was again suspended, this time for throwing a pencil at a student.
Kip began taking Prozac on the recommendation of his counselor, and several weeks later began showing marked improvement. His father, in an attempt to bridge the gap between him and his son, bought a Glock 9mm handgun. He made sure Kip understood that he was only allowed to use the gun under parental supervision. Kip was very excited about the gun, and later bought another gun from a friend, hiding it from his parents. Kip's father then bought another gun -- a .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle.
In the fall of 1997, Kip began his freshman year at Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon.
On May 20, 1998 Kip was expelled from school after a gun was found in his locker. He was taken to the police station, where his father later picked him up and took him home.
When they got home, Kip shot and killed his father.
Three hours later, his mother came home. He shot and killed her, too.
The next morning, Kip strapped a knife to his leg and took a backpack full of ammunition, his father's .22 rifle and two handguns to school. He shot and killed two students and injured twenty-five others, and attacked a police detective with his knife when the detective attempted to subdue him.
One year later, Kip pleaded guilty to four counts of murder and 26 counts of attempted murder. Two months later, he was sentenced to 111 years in prison without the possibility of parole.
This writeup was written using facts gleaned from various sources around the web. If you see any erroneous information, please let me know.