Frontline (1983–…): Season 18, Episode 2 - The Killer at Thurston High - full transcript
The troubled life of Kipland 'Kip' Kinkel, a 15-year-old Oregon high school student who killed his parents and two schoolmates.
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>>It has happened again--
death by gunfire
at another school...
>>Eugene, Oregon.
It had always been
a quiet place--
untouched, remote.
Then it changed.
>>We begin tonight
with a deadly shooting
at an American high school.
>>This time the boy was 15.
It was in the school cafeteria
that he went after
his fellow students.
>>A boy everyone knew
became a killer.
>>And once again
the violence unfolded
in front of
disbelieving teenagers.
>>At least one student
is dead in Springfield, Oregon.
>>Bloodshed at an American
school.
>>The latest in a shocking
series of shooting
during the school term,
killing kids and teachers.
>>We also know that a suspect
is in custody.
>>And at home.
>>His name is Kiplin Kinkel,
and he is 15...
>>He had also killed
his parents.
>>The bodies of a man
and a woman were found
in Kinkel's home.
They had been shot to death.
>>Tonight on "Frontline,"
The Killer at Thurston High.
>It was about 7:00 A.M. in
Hawaii.
>>Hello?
>>I get a phone call
from my friend,
and she says,
"I have some bad news.
There has been a shooting at
Thurston."
>>I hear kids screaming.
And I heard some, "Pop, pop,
pop, pop."
>>This mob was yelling, "He's
got a gun!
Get out of here!"
>>I could smell blood, and
looked and saw blood
spurting out of legs.
>>She's watching the news, so
she's giving me little bits
of information.
Finally I said, "Is that why
you're calling me?
Is Kip hurt?"
She said, "Well, Kip was
involved.
"I don't know any more.
"I'm watching
the news right now.
I'll call you back."
Click.
>>911, what is
your emergency?
>>Before Kip came to school, he
killed his parents.
>>I want to know
that my son is okay.
>>I need you to try
to relax.
There's total chaos.
>>And finally,
I was speaking
to a member
of the sheriff's department.
"Is it true?"
I said, "Are my parents dead?"
And she said, "Yes, they are."
And I turned the TV on, and
there was my house,
the helicopters flying all over
the place, and yellow tape.
Then, of course, the phone
started ringing
as people started finding out.
>>The people who knew
Kip Kinkel still spend time
trying to remember his life.
Looking for signs,
they see nothing remarkable.
But there were episodes,
moments, fragments.
The story begins
15 years earlier,
deep in these woods
just outside Eugene, Oregon.
>>They built a house out there.
They loved it out there because
it's a very natural setting.
It was quiet.
There's animals.
So they just loved the setting.
>>I mean, even in the design of
the house.
It was kind of this A frame,
kind of like you'd see
at a ski lodge
or something like that.
It was almost like going home
every night
to a recreation haven,
retreat.
>>Bill and Faith Kinkel
were determined
to live the good life
in Oregon.
They started a family, and named
their first child Kristin.
And six years later,
they would give her a brother.
They called Kipland "Kip"
for short.
Bill and Faith were
high school Spanish teachers.
Friends say they expected
their children would excel,
and Kip's sister Kristin did.
But it was a different story
when Kip started school.
His problems were bad enough
that Bill and Faith
reluctantly agreed
to hold him back in first grade.
That was really tough,
because then all of a sudden
here are all his friends
going on, and he's back.
>>He was mad, because
his friends got to go on,
And he didn't.
So he was kind of mad
at his parents about that.
He'd say something every now and
then, but I think he thought
that his friends would just,
you know, think different of him
or something.
I remember he would get his
threes and his E's confused,
and B's and D's.
And he'd always... when he'd
write, he'd write them wrong.
But it was really frustrating
for him,
as it would be for anyone.
And of course he felt bad
about himself,
because he didn't understand
what was wrong with him,
and why everybody else in his
family was so good at it.
Why couldn't he be good at it,
too?
>>It was diagnosed as dyslexia,
a learning disability.
>>He would have cared that he
was a disappointment.
They were a very successful
couple, high expectations.
I would think that you would
want to not disappoint them,
to do the right thing.
>>Look around.
See what I'm doing.
Kristin's busy driving.
>>Yes, don't ask her to turn
around, please.
>>No.
No.
But she's waving.
Everything looks under control
up there.
At least we hope.
>>Family movies show
ten-year-old Kip's efforts
to keep up.
>>Dang!
You've got to jump, Dad!
>>I think you're right, Kip.
>>It's kind of always
you grow up with an awareness
of a little bit
of inadequacy.
Sorry!
>>Kristin's going to show us
some some headstands.
>>Handstands.
>>Handstands.
Look at that.
Can you believe that?
Kip's doing a handstand.
I think that Kip needs some more
work.
But he's eager.
He's eager.
>>Of course he felt compared.
I know he felt compared.
I'm sure it was hard.
>>See Kristin?
Kristin continues to show her...
show us her her gymnastics
training
and truly being experienced.
>>I'm sure teachers did.
I'm sure friends of the family
did.
I'm sure my parents did, in
their own little way.
But as far as letting him be
aware of it,
they tried really hard not to,
because they know
how important that is.
>>Yeah, do a bunch of those.
Faster.
Play like you're a windmill
in an 80-degree...
or 80...
>>There she goes
into the hedge.
>>She has just entered the car,
adjusting the seatbelt.
>>And then Kristin
left for college.
Kip was left behind.
>>A kiss goodbye, off she goes!
Bye-bye!
>>I saw myself a lot of times
as a mediator
between my parents and my
brother.
My parents were getting older.
My parents were in
their mid 50s.
There's a huge generation gap
in between there.
You know, one little thing that
he would do would be awful.
And a lot of times I found
myself saying, "Settle down.
"Relax.
"Think about it.
"Think about the students
that you teach.
What he did was not that bad."
And when I left,
they didn't have that.
I'm sure...
I'm sure it was harder.
>>Without Kristen around
as a buffer,
Kip and his father Bill
began to have conflicts.
And at just this time,
there was trouble
with some kids
at the middle school.
>>I was saying, "Well, what's
it like in middle school?"
And he said, "Well, you know,
you could be getting a drink
of water at the water fountain,
and somebody pushes your head
into the water."
And I said, "I don't... that
seems really awful."
And he said... I said, "Did that
ever happen to you?"
And he said, "Yes, but not
anymore."
And I said, "Wow."
And he says, "Well, I just
don't get...
"I don't go
to the water fountain,
"Or I look around and make sure
there's nobody around me
before I get a drink now."
And he said, "I've had to learn
to kind of be alert."
>>In self defense, Kip waged
a campaign to get his parents
to enroll him
in a karate class.
>>I will...
>>I will...
>>...use my martial arts...
>>...use my martial arts...
>>...constructively
and defensively.
>>I think Kip was interested in
some self defense
because he just wasn't real
happy with some things
that some kids would say to him,
and he wanted to be able
to have the confidence of being
able to protect himself
if he needed to.
>>Even though Bill and Faith
thought karate was too violent,
they finally gave in
to Kip.
>>Let me help you.
>>Go ahead and punch him
right in the nose.
>>You're always, as a parent,
hunting for things
for them to feel good about.
And then he doesn't feel
like he was a disappointment.
I feel like that's why Faith
and Bill spent as much time
hunting for things
for him to do.
>>Karate was
one of those things.
Oftentimes kids with
the difficulties that he had,
it tends to wear on them
even more.
"I'm not like
all the other kids.
"I'm not as good
as they are.
"I have these problems,
and I'm a disappointment
to my parents."
And instead of having that
be able to help them
make some positive changes,
it tends to make them
make negative choices.
>>Kip started to hang
with the tough guys,
the kids who rode the school bus
every day.
>>The skaters, smokers group.
Like, definitely
getting in trouble.
Like these guys have spent time
in juvenile detention
and been expelled from school,
like, every year
since sixth grade, and just
endless trouble.
>>And then, at the local mall,
Kip and his new friends
got in trouble.
>>In about eighth grade,
he was stealing CDs
from, like, a local store.
They had, like, razor blades
that they'd just, like,
slice off the, like,
sensor.
I've heard them say they, like,
had over 100 each at times.
>>Kip was eventually caught.
His parents, upset,
offered Kip a diversion.
He loved computers,
so they decided to let him
start spending time online.
>>He could just go up there and
do whatever he wanted.
You know, a lot of parents don't
check on their kids
when they're in their room.
Because they're in their room,
they're safe.
>>The police later
found the records
of Kip's Internet activity,
including visits to porn sites.
As he Web surfed, Kip often
listened to his favorite music.
>>♪Shoot, shoot, shoot
mother (bleep) ♪
♪Shoot, shoot, shoot
mother (bleep) ♪
>>He printed
and framed the words
from one of his favorites,
"The Reflecting God"
by Marilyn Manson.
At the same time, Kip developed
another interest--
he became fascinated
with explosives.
>>I think that's when he
started getting involved
with the bombs in his room, and
his parents never reall
checked on him.
He was at home, so they think
he's automatically safe,
but he was, you know, doing some
pretty bad stuff.
>>Him and a bunch of guys got
together and ordered
some bomb making books or bomb
making materials.
>>They used
the school's computer,
and had the materials
sent there.
And when it showed up,
they were caught.
>>And they called Faith and
Bill about it,
and they had to go down there.
But that was real upsetting
to her.
And Kip said that he felt like
it would be good to know
because he was interested in
becoming a policeman.
And so I think she probably
thought that was maybe true,
but probably not.
>>In time, Kip got the books
he wanted.
And years later,
the police found them
when they searched his room.
>>He and a group of friends
had ordered a book about
building bombs.
And in fact I think he even
did a report using that book.
For school.
Just because you order a book
doesn't mean that you're...
I don't know what to say
about that.
I mean, I...
>>And Kip had
another interest-- guns.
But Bill and Faith
had made it clear
that owning a gun
was not the Kinkel way.
>>My parents were both
really, really concerned
about it.
He had been interested in guns
from as far as I can remember.
From a little, little boy.
And he was not allowed
to have little soldiers.
He was not allowed to have
any kind of to
that had any kind of
violent anything.
I mean, violence in our house
was a huge no-no.
>>But the evidence
gathered by the police
tells a different story.
Kip had asked his parents
for a BB gun.
The police found two--
one fashioned to look like
an assault rifle, the other
with its stock sawed off.
Kip wanted a knife.
His parents gave him one.
Eventually he would gather
an entire collection.
Then Kip wanted
a real gun.
Bill asked a friend
what to do.
>>He did come to me.
because he knew
that I was raised around guns.
And he said he was
really concerned.
And he had such an obsession
with guns
that he thought maybe it was the
best thing to go ahead.
And I remember telling him, I
said, "Hey, if you don't buy him
a gun, it's going to be like
forbidden fruit."
He said "You know, that's
exactly what Faith and I
"were talking about, because
it's come to that point.
And as much as we don't want to,
we're at our wits' end."
>>Bill had been given a rifle
as boy.
On his 12th birthday,
Kip received it
from his father and mother.
>>He had worn them down.
And she didn't like the idea.
She wasn't comfortable with it.
You know, if she talked to
people that also felt that way,
"And yet what do I do?
"What do I do?
"We've been saying no, no, no,
no.
"It's not gotten any better.
"It just seems to be
getting worse.
"We're fighting more about it.
What else do I do?"
>>Then, more trouble.
On a school field trip,
Kip and one of the tough guys
were arrested.
>>They were tossing pebbles off
an overpass.
I don't think they were really
directed at the cars.
If they hit them, yeah, but if
they... they were just kind of
tossing them.
And one of them picked up, like,
a fairly decent sized rock
and tossed it over.
>>A passing car was hit.
It was Kip's first felony.
His parents picked him up
from jail.
>>Mr. Kinkel was angry
at the situation.
He was angry at the problems
that they were having with Kip.
And he was, like, at his...
the end of his rope,
trying to figure out how to
get this kid back
on the right path.
>>At that time, Bill must have
been frustrated.
I didn't ever see Bill angry
very much,
but I'm sure he must have been
frustrated.
And it's kind of, like, "How
much farther is this
going to have to go?"
I mean, it's kind of, like, "At
what point is Kip going to
"turn the corner and I'm not
going to have to go
bail him out anymore?"
So I mean, Bill and Faith had
pride.
They were highly, highly
respected people,
highly intelligent people, and
it's one of those things
where they had to wear whatever
Kip did, too,
in the eyes of their friends.
And there may have been some
shame for them.
>>Faith began lobbying
to take Kip to a psychologist.
Bill resisted, saying
it would cost too much,
and probably wouldn't help.
>>My mom was the one who said,
"This is what we need.
We should do this.
My dad wasn't too excited
about it.
I think he felt that
psychologists were kind of like
chiropractors, in the sense that
they may not be
as heavily needed as we think.
>>Finally, Bill relented.
Faith took Kip to see
Dr. Jeffrey Hicks.
She offered a list of worries--
Kip's temper, the shoplifting,
rock throwing incident,
explosives, knives, and guns.
After meeting with Kip,
the doctor wrote,
"He became tearful
when discussing
"his relationship
with his father.
"He reported his mother
views him as a good kid
"with some bad habits,
while his father sees him
"as a bad kid
with bad habits.
"He feels his father
expects the worst from him.
"He cannot discuss his feelings
with his father,
for fear he will become
angry with him."
Then Kip told the doctor
how he relieved his anger.
"Kip reported he makes
explosives from gasoline
"and other household items, and
detonates them
"at a nearby quarry to vent
feelings of anger.
"If he has a bad day at school,
he feels better
after detonating an explosive."
Soon after, on that bus ride
in to school,
Kip's anger surfaced
in another way.
>>They were making fun
of each other on the bus.
They get off the bus,
and a kid called him a name.
Kip jumped, kicked him
in the head.
He was called down
to the office.
Then he came back.
He shoves open the door
and stomps through.
And he was really, really upset.
He was yelling and screaming
and crying.
He wanted the kid's address.
And grabbed his stuff and left.
And that's when he
got suspended.
>>He'd already been caught
cheating and acting out
in class.
Now the school suspended him.
In therapy, Kip was telling
Dr. Hicks, "Eating is a chore."
Often he feels bored
and irritable.
He wakes up tired.
He was diagnosed with a major
depressive disorder.
The Kinkel's family doctor
prescribed Prozac.
A family friend said the
psychologist advised Bill Kinkel
to lighten up on Kip.
Bill tried.
He'd even talk about guns
with Kip.
And so, according to the
psychologist, did he.
Dr. Hicks was a gun enthusiast--
owned at least four pistols.
Two were high-end Glocks.
In therapy, he told Kip
he was very satisfied
with his Glocks.
Kip wanted one.
>>The older he got, he got into
more dangerous things.
She recognized
that they needed...
They were into something
they didn't really know
how to deal with.
>>Bill, hoping for
a connection with his son,
seemed ready to give him
a Glock.
Faith, torn, went along.
>>I think she felt like,
"I don't know what to do.
Maybe Bill's right."
Even though she couldn't see it
from her own point of view,
sometimes you feel like, if you
can't resolve a problem,
and you don't understand
somebody else's point of view,
at least let them try,
because that might be
a solution.
>>The psychologist
has told "Frontline"
he would never recommend a gun
to a patient like Kip.
But Kip really wanted the Glock.
He knew everything about it--
semiautomatic, ten rounds,
polymer plastic.
Law enforcement's first choice
in the drug wars.
And in a surprise move,
Bill decided to buy it.
>>That's the only thinking I
can come up with about the gun.
I can see a child like Kip just
not letting up.
Just like a dog with a rag, that
just won't let it go, you know?
And I can see where they finally
say, "Fine.
"Let's try this.
"We'll go do the gun safety
class.
"We'll do it together.
"You'll get it out of your
system, and then
it will be okay."
>>Bill set rules.
Kip had to pay off the gun.
It would be locked up.
Kip could only fire the gun
when Bill was with him.
And during that summer,
after nine sessions
with a psychologist,
Kip seemed better.
The therapy was over.
>>I remember my mom calling me
and... very excited,
telling me that Kip was doing
so much better.
The psychologist even said, "You
don't even have to come
see me anymore, you're doing
that much better."
>>He'd taken Prozac
for three months.
Then Kip wanted to stop,
and his parents went along.
It was time to enter
Thurston High,
where his father had
retired as a legend,
and now tried to smooth the way
for his son.
>>I can remember Bill saying,
"Stoney, I need some help
"with my son.
"I'm a little concerned about
him getting a good start
"at Thurston High School.
You got any advice?"
And I said, "Well, Bill, why
don't we get him out
"for football?
"That might be a good place for
him to establish a good
"peer group, and I can guarantee
you he'll go home and he'll be
ready to go to bed at night."
And he said, "Great."
>>120-pound Kip
turned out for football.
They made him a lineman.
>>He was, like, second, third
string, so...
and he was a pretty scrawny guy,
so he wanted to
lift weights more with the rest
of the football players.
He just wanted to... told me
that he just wanted to be big,
and, like, stuff like that.
>>Two, three, four!
>>Football only seemed to make
Kip's isolation worse.
He sometimes wrote out random
thoughts.
"I sit here all alone.
"I am always alone.
"I don't know who I am.
"I want to be something
I can never be.
"I try so hard every day.
"But in the end, I hate myself
for what I've become.
"I sound so pitiful.
People would laugh at this if
they read it."
But Kip's mom, Faith, apparently
didn't see her son's anguish.
>>I remember one comment
when she said,
"I think we've
turned the corner."
And I feel like she always felt
that and believed it.
And I think you need
to believe it.
And maybe the comment was more
of that desperate hope,
trying to convince herself.
"We're turning the corner.
"We're going to get better.
Wish I could believe it.
>>By now, Bill had once again
given in to Kip's lobbying
for a gun.
This time it was a .22 caliber
Ruger semiautomatic rifle.
The Kinkel house
was becoming an arsenal.
The police would later find it--
a nine millimeter
Glock from Bill,
the semiautomatic Ruger rifle
Bill also bought,
a .20 gauge sawed-off shotgun,
the Marlin rifle Bill had
as a young boy that he gave Kip
for his 12th birthday,
a lever action rifle
Bill had as a bo
and had once hidden
in the garage,
a .22 caliber Ruger pistol
Bill had had for years,
another secretly acquired
.22 caliber handgun,
and thousands of rounds
of ammunition.
Answer to an essay question:
"I really wouldn't know
how to answer this question,
"because my cold, black heart
has never and never will
"experience true love.
"I can tell you one about love.
"It does more harm than good.
"I plan to live in
a big black hole.
"My firearms will be
the only things
"to fight my isolation.
"I would also like to point out
love is a horrible thing.
It makes things
kill and hate."
At this time,
Kip's first teen romance
had come to an end.
>>She would not reject him, but
kind of lead him on,
just be, like, "Oh, I don't
know," you know?
Or she'd be, like, "Well, we can
just we can be friends,"
but then... I don't know.
So he was getting
really frustrated.
You know, he didn't know
what to do.
>>Kip's romance began
just when his English class
started to study
"Romeo and Juliet."
>>I would not be surprised at
Kip's love of the play,
Shakespeare's " "Romeo and
Juliet."
>>Vange Bigham, a friend of
Faith's, teaches English
at the other Springfield
high school.
>>I see that every year, the
beginning of second semester.
Sometimes we like to think it's
in conjunction with Valentine,
the young lovers
and all of that.
>>Kip's class watched
a modern retelling of the stor
starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
>>What, art thou drawn
among these heartless hinds?
Turn thee, Benvolio,
and look upon thy death.
>>If you think about it,
all the issues
that Kip was dealing with, his
love of you know,
those violent feelings, or
whatever...
>>Peace?
I hate the word.
>>The angst and tension with
his parents.
At one point the father in there
says, "My hand itches,"
he wants to hit that kid so bad.
It's... all of the things that
Kip would have been dealing with
are probably in that play.
I bet he identified with a lot
of it.
>>The police later found
letters mentioning
"Romeo and Juliet" passed
between Kip and his girlfriend.
>>The question that I will give
my students is,
whose fault is it?
Is it the kids?
I mean, they committed suicide.
Is it the friar?
Is it the prince, because he let
this stuff go on?
Is it the parents?
Guess who they always blame.
The parents.
"I feel like everyone is against
me, but no one ever
"makes fun of me, mainly because
they think I'm a psycho.
"There is one kid above all
others that I want to kill.
"I want nothing more than to put
a hole in his head.
"The one reason I don't: hope
that tomorrow will be better.
As soon as my hope is gone,
people die."
By the end of his freshman year,
May of 1998,
Kip and his friends
were talking about
a new phenomenon--
school shootings.
In September, Pearl City,
Mississippi.
>>...teenager opens fire,
killing and wounding classmates
as they pray...
Later that fall,
Paducah, Kentucky.
>>...another mystifying
shooting in a school.
The shooters were very young.
>>At least four people
are known dead.
In the spring, Jonesboro,
Arkansas.
>>...shooting spree
at a middle school.
>>The boys with the guns
were 11 and 13, we are told.
They killed four people
and wounded a dozen.
>>He reacted to the other
school shootings,
their shortcomings, almost,
like, how they failed.
He talked about how... not that
he'd do it that exact way,
like, go to school and shoot
people, but if he was going to
go out, he'd try to take as many
people out with him.
And also, if he was going to
shoot people, like, at a school,
that he'd kill himself.
And like, he couldn't believe
that the other kids
didn't just shoot themselves
instead of sitting there
and being arrested.
So that's what he'd said.
>>At home, the truce
with his father was over.
Kip told friends Bill was
trying to take away his guns.
Faith's friends remember
she always looked
tired and worried.
>>I think the great fear was
that she didn't know him,
that she could not understand
him, and what was happening
between them.
Where was this little boy that
she loved all these years?
I think that was the fear, that
it would be something maybe
where they would lose him
forever.
>>Then, one morning
at Thurston High,
Kip bought a stolen
.32 caliber Baretta.
He hid it in his locker
and went to class.
But police had been tipped off
that Kip Kinkel had paid $110
for the gun.
>>Kip and I were in study hall
when the hall monitor came in
and grabbed Kip to go with him.
I mean, he didn't do it
in a violent way.
He just, you know,
"Can you come with me?"
And Kip got up and left.
>>I patted him down for any
weapons,
and I noticed that Kip was
extremely nervous.
And with that, complete surprise
to me, he said,
"Well, I'm gong to be square
with you guys.
The gun's in my locker.
And that's exactly where I
found it, in a bag.
I looked into the bag.
There was a black Baretta .32
caliber semiautomatic pistol.
In checking the weapon, I
determined that is was
fully loaded with eight rounds
of ammunition in the clip.
>>Kip was certain
he would be expelled.
>>Within ten minutes, we had a
black and white
out in front of my window.
I can remember distinctly seeing
Kip in the cuffs
and driving off.
>>After Kip was booked,
the police called Bill.
>>He seemed quite surprised,
quite shocked that his son
had been arrested and brought
to the police department.
In fact, he says, "Kip?
Kip had a gun at school?"
I said, "Yes," and then asked
him if he could come
to the police department.
And he says, "I'll be right
there."
>>Kip was charged with
possession of a firearm
in a public building,
and the felony charge
of receiving a stolen weapon.
He was released to his father.
>>And with that, I asked him if
he had any other questions.
And he said,
"No, that'll be fine."
He got up, he put his hand
on Kip's shoulder,
and the two of them walked out
and left the police department.
>>I think getting expelled from
school, that his parents
would really come down hard on
him for that.
And that's a big thing.
>>I can see Bill just having
gathered all those guns,
"This is gone.
That'll be the last time
you'll ever see this.
>>I can just imagine
what happened.
Bill laid the law down to him.
Said, "Okay, that's it.
You know, "This is going to end
right here,
"one way or the other.
He's either going to straighten
up or he's going to ship out."
Then, according to police, while
Bill sat the kitchen counter,
Kip came down the stairs
from his bedroom,
armed with a Ruger rifle.
He aimed at the back
of his father's head
and fired.
(gunshot)
Faith was still in town, unaware
of Kip's expulsion and arrest.
>>He was closer with his mom.
So I think
because he killed his dad,
he couldn't go back.
And he... I mean, how is he
supposed to tell Mom,
"I killed Dad," you know?
How would... I can't even
imagine how you would say that.
And so I think from that point,
from when he pulled the trigger,
it was... it was all over.
>>Around 6:00,
Faith came home.
Kip told police that as Faith
was walking up the garage steps
into the house, he said, "I love
you, Mom," and fired.
(two gunshots)
Two shots struck the back of
Faith's head.
(gunshot)
A third pierced her forehead
above the left eye.
(gunshot)
Kip fired another
into her left cheek.
(gunshot)
And another at close range
into the center
of his mother's forehead, and
another into her heart.
(gunshot)
Alone, his father's body
locked behind the bathroom door,
his mother dead
on the garage floor,
Kip Kinkel played a favorite CD,
hitting the "continuous repeat"
button on the CD player.
It would play the soundtrack
from the movie he had watched
in English class,
"Romeo and Juliet."
>>The way I think of it,
he'd already killed his parents,
and I think he didn't know
what to do.
Like, when he was little,
when he got mad,
he got frustrated.
And he gets himself in a corner
and doesn't know where to go,
or he just doesn't
think straight,
and he just doesn't know
what to do.
And I think he really
wanted to kill himself,
but didn't have the guts to.
He didn't...
he couldn't do it.
He's... I don't know.
He's like a little boy.
He just couldn't do it.
>>Kip loaded the Glock.
He filled a gym bag
with extra ammo.
He taped two bullets
to his chest
and a knife
around his ankle.
He left behind some homemade
bombs and wrote this note:
"I have just killed my parents.
"I am a horrible son.
I wish I had been aborted."
Then a new line to this dark
narrative Kip was creating,
something he had never mentioned
to his psychologist.
"My head just doesn't work
right.
God damn these voices
inside my head."
And then he waited
for the dawn.
>>He wanted to take out
himself, and he wanted
to take out his schoolmates,
some of...
just not to go out alone.
It was his weakness.
He was always worried about
being alone all the time,
isolated and stuff like that.
>>The next morning,
Kip dressed for school.
He put on a trench coat to hide
the Ruger semiautomatic rifle.
He put on a hat with the logo
from his favorite band,
Nine Inch Nails.
And for the first and only time
in his life,
15-year-old Kip Kinkel
drove alone
in his parents'
Ford Explorer.
Kip arrived at Thurston
at 7:45 A.M.
He parked down the end
of this road.
It took nearly four minutes
to walk the road
by the tennis courts.
As he rounded this corner,
the school surveillance camera
captured these shots of him.
The hallway was nearly empty.
As he walked along,
he bumped into a friend.
>>And I didn't know it was Kip
until Kip turned around
and was like, "Okay, you need
to get out of here, Adam.
Something bad's
going to happen."
And Adam was just like,
"What are you talking about?"
Kip was just... you know,
not an expression on his face.
And Adam goes, "Well, what
are you going to do?"
And that's when, you know,
Kip just turned around,
didn't even look at Ben,
and fired.
(gunshot)
Not even caring, or nothing.
Like, he had no emotion
about anything.
(phone ringing)
>>911, what is your emergency?
>>This is Thurston High School.
We have a gun on campus.
There's someone shooting.
We need help right away.
(gunshot)
>>16-year-old Ben Walker
was shot in the head.
>>911, what is your emergency?
>>I believe
there's been a shooting.
Kids are running everywhere.
>>Do you know the juvenile's
name at all?
>>Ten seconds later,
Kip reached the cafeteria.
>>I am responding.
My ETA to the school
is two.
(gunshot)
Shooting from the hip,
he fired 48 shots
from the semiautomatic rifle.
It took less than a minute.
Kip hit 24 students.
He walked up to one of them,
put the rifle
to 17-year-old
Mikael Nickolauson's head
and fired.
(gunshot)
>>As I ran across the
courtyard, one of our young men
screamed at me,
"It's Kinkel."
And then I immediately ran
through the cafeteria
and jumped over
a couple of kids.
The first thing that hit me was
I could smell blood.
And looked, and quiet, but saw a
lot of kids down,
a lot of wounds, blood spurting
out of legs
and those sorts of things,
and felt fear,
because I didn't realize
that Kip was being tackled
off to the left.
>>911, what is your emergency?
>>There's been a shooting
at Thurston High School.
>>Okay.
>>Kip's rifle was out of
ammunition.
He pulled the Glock from his
belt just as he was rushed
by a group of students.
Kip got off one shot.
They beat him into submission,
and he screamed, "Just kill me!"
>>Confirming the shooter
is in custody.
Is that correct?
>>I copy.
Shooter in custody.
>>84.
>>84, go ahead.
>>We need all the medic units
we can get.
>>There will be a third medic
to stage for the location there.
There's one there,
and another...
>>Go ahead.
>>Confirming the scene...
>>The scene is secure.
We have the suspect
in custody.
We have not
accounted for the...
>>The police hustled Kip
out of the cafeteria.
In custody, he pulled the knife
taped to his leg
and attacked a police officer
shouting, "Just kill me!
Just shoot me!"
>>Where's the shooter?
>>The shooter is with...
>>I want the entire school
shut off.
I want it completely
under our control.
Put up your barricade tape.
>>The police headed
for the Kinkel residence.
>>There was some concern as to
the welfare of his parents.
Well, we could tell
upon approach that there's
loud opera-type music playing.
And it's very loud, and it's to
the point of being distracting.
And the house
is completely dark.
And we notice only one vehicle
in the driveway.
That's a Volkswagen van.
And for all intents
and purposes,
it appears that
no one is home.
And the first open door we come
to was in the front
of the residence
on the main floor.
It's best described
as eerie.
The music's coming
from somewhere on the right
of the room.
There's a fireplace
on the left of the room.
There's the smell of wood smoke
from an open fireplace.
The room is cool, and you can
tell that it's probably heated
with wood, so it's got a cabin
type... or except that
its really kind of...
it's eerie.
It's dark.
The music's loud.
There's bullets on the floor.
It's to the point
where we are yelling over it.
We're trying
to announce ourselves,
that we're the police,
we're here,
to whoever may be
in the residence.
And you have to yell
to be heard over that music.
It's a CD of "Romeo and Juliet,"
and it was set on
continuous play, so it was
playing when we got there,
and it had been playing over
and over, apparently.
>>Blood spots
on the carpet.
>>And you have some indication
that Bill and Faith Kinkel
are going to be dead.
I believe a paper clip from the
office is used to unlock
the bathroom door
on the main floor.
And just inside
that bathroom door,
I see a gentleman that's
obviously deceased.
He's laying on his back.
He's covered with a sheet.
His feet are up
against the door.
We have to kind of move his feet
away from the door
so we can get in there
and check on him.
At this point, we're still
missing one parent.
And we're going through
systematicall
and checking doors.
And it is found that a small
door just off the main hallwa
has a narrow flight of stairs
that goes down.
And we go down in there.
And there's evidence
on the floor.
There's a considerable amount
of blood on the floor.
And on the basement floor, on
the concrete,
we find Faith Kinkel.
She's also deceased
and covered by a sheet.
(Kip sobbing)
>>The voices Kip said
he was hearing
might have been key
to his defense in a trial.
But in September of 1999, he
dropped his claim of insanity.
He pled guilty to four counts of
first degree murder,
26 counts of attempted murder.
Judge Jack Mattison sentenced
him to a term of 111 years
in prison, with no chance
for parole.
Explore more of this report
at Frontline's Web site.
Examine what some experts say
about predicting
schoolyard killers.
Read more from
Kip Kinkel's journal.
View the interviews
with his sister and friends.
Study psychiatrist reports
about Kip,
and read the statements
of the victims
Next time on "Frontline,"
the film critics sa
skillfully examines
the President's
religious beliefs.
>>He said, "I believe
that God wants me
to be President."
>>"Frontline" gives
an enlightening look
that coolly and calmly
helps viewers understand.
Don't miss this
thought-provoking
non judgmental documentary.
>>Faith can change lives.
I know, because it
changed mine.
>>The Jesus Factor.
Educators and organizations
can purchase a cop
of Frontline's "The Killer
at Thurston High"
by calling PBS Video
at 1-800-PLAY-PBS.
>>Support for Frontline
is provided b
U.S. News and World Report.
For over 70 years, a commitment
to playing it straight,
getting it right.
Frontline is made possible
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PBS station from
viewers like you.
is provided b
U.S. News and World Report.
For over 70 years, a commitment
to playing it straight,
getting it right.
Frontline is made possible
by contributions to your
PBS station from
viewers like you.
>>It has happened again--
death by gunfire
at another school...
>>Eugene, Oregon.
It had always been
a quiet place--
untouched, remote.
Then it changed.
>>We begin tonight
with a deadly shooting
at an American high school.
>>This time the boy was 15.
It was in the school cafeteria
that he went after
his fellow students.
>>A boy everyone knew
became a killer.
>>And once again
the violence unfolded
in front of
disbelieving teenagers.
>>At least one student
is dead in Springfield, Oregon.
>>Bloodshed at an American
school.
>>The latest in a shocking
series of shooting
during the school term,
killing kids and teachers.
>>We also know that a suspect
is in custody.
>>And at home.
>>His name is Kiplin Kinkel,
and he is 15...
>>He had also killed
his parents.
>>The bodies of a man
and a woman were found
in Kinkel's home.
They had been shot to death.
>>Tonight on "Frontline,"
The Killer at Thurston High.
>It was about 7:00 A.M. in
Hawaii.
>>Hello?
>>I get a phone call
from my friend,
and she says,
"I have some bad news.
There has been a shooting at
Thurston."
>>I hear kids screaming.
And I heard some, "Pop, pop,
pop, pop."
>>This mob was yelling, "He's
got a gun!
Get out of here!"
>>I could smell blood, and
looked and saw blood
spurting out of legs.
>>She's watching the news, so
she's giving me little bits
of information.
Finally I said, "Is that why
you're calling me?
Is Kip hurt?"
She said, "Well, Kip was
involved.
"I don't know any more.
"I'm watching
the news right now.
I'll call you back."
Click.
>>911, what is
your emergency?
>>Before Kip came to school, he
killed his parents.
>>I want to know
that my son is okay.
>>I need you to try
to relax.
There's total chaos.
>>And finally,
I was speaking
to a member
of the sheriff's department.
"Is it true?"
I said, "Are my parents dead?"
And she said, "Yes, they are."
And I turned the TV on, and
there was my house,
the helicopters flying all over
the place, and yellow tape.
Then, of course, the phone
started ringing
as people started finding out.
>>The people who knew
Kip Kinkel still spend time
trying to remember his life.
Looking for signs,
they see nothing remarkable.
But there were episodes,
moments, fragments.
The story begins
15 years earlier,
deep in these woods
just outside Eugene, Oregon.
>>They built a house out there.
They loved it out there because
it's a very natural setting.
It was quiet.
There's animals.
So they just loved the setting.
>>I mean, even in the design of
the house.
It was kind of this A frame,
kind of like you'd see
at a ski lodge
or something like that.
It was almost like going home
every night
to a recreation haven,
retreat.
>>Bill and Faith Kinkel
were determined
to live the good life
in Oregon.
They started a family, and named
their first child Kristin.
And six years later,
they would give her a brother.
They called Kipland "Kip"
for short.
Bill and Faith were
high school Spanish teachers.
Friends say they expected
their children would excel,
and Kip's sister Kristin did.
But it was a different story
when Kip started school.
His problems were bad enough
that Bill and Faith
reluctantly agreed
to hold him back in first grade.
That was really tough,
because then all of a sudden
here are all his friends
going on, and he's back.
>>He was mad, because
his friends got to go on,
And he didn't.
So he was kind of mad
at his parents about that.
He'd say something every now and
then, but I think he thought
that his friends would just,
you know, think different of him
or something.
I remember he would get his
threes and his E's confused,
and B's and D's.
And he'd always... when he'd
write, he'd write them wrong.
But it was really frustrating
for him,
as it would be for anyone.
And of course he felt bad
about himself,
because he didn't understand
what was wrong with him,
and why everybody else in his
family was so good at it.
Why couldn't he be good at it,
too?
>>It was diagnosed as dyslexia,
a learning disability.
>>He would have cared that he
was a disappointment.
They were a very successful
couple, high expectations.
I would think that you would
want to not disappoint them,
to do the right thing.
>>Look around.
See what I'm doing.
Kristin's busy driving.
>>Yes, don't ask her to turn
around, please.
>>No.
No.
But she's waving.
Everything looks under control
up there.
At least we hope.
>>Family movies show
ten-year-old Kip's efforts
to keep up.
>>Dang!
You've got to jump, Dad!
>>I think you're right, Kip.
>>It's kind of always
you grow up with an awareness
of a little bit
of inadequacy.
Sorry!
>>Kristin's going to show us
some some headstands.
>>Handstands.
>>Handstands.
Look at that.
Can you believe that?
Kip's doing a handstand.
I think that Kip needs some more
work.
But he's eager.
He's eager.
>>Of course he felt compared.
I know he felt compared.
I'm sure it was hard.
>>See Kristin?
Kristin continues to show her...
show us her her gymnastics
training
and truly being experienced.
>>I'm sure teachers did.
I'm sure friends of the family
did.
I'm sure my parents did, in
their own little way.
But as far as letting him be
aware of it,
they tried really hard not to,
because they know
how important that is.
>>Yeah, do a bunch of those.
Faster.
Play like you're a windmill
in an 80-degree...
or 80...
>>There she goes
into the hedge.
>>She has just entered the car,
adjusting the seatbelt.
>>And then Kristin
left for college.
Kip was left behind.
>>A kiss goodbye, off she goes!
Bye-bye!
>>I saw myself a lot of times
as a mediator
between my parents and my
brother.
My parents were getting older.
My parents were in
their mid 50s.
There's a huge generation gap
in between there.
You know, one little thing that
he would do would be awful.
And a lot of times I found
myself saying, "Settle down.
"Relax.
"Think about it.
"Think about the students
that you teach.
What he did was not that bad."
And when I left,
they didn't have that.
I'm sure...
I'm sure it was harder.
>>Without Kristen around
as a buffer,
Kip and his father Bill
began to have conflicts.
And at just this time,
there was trouble
with some kids
at the middle school.
>>I was saying, "Well, what's
it like in middle school?"
And he said, "Well, you know,
you could be getting a drink
of water at the water fountain,
and somebody pushes your head
into the water."
And I said, "I don't... that
seems really awful."
And he said... I said, "Did that
ever happen to you?"
And he said, "Yes, but not
anymore."
And I said, "Wow."
And he says, "Well, I just
don't get...
"I don't go
to the water fountain,
"Or I look around and make sure
there's nobody around me
before I get a drink now."
And he said, "I've had to learn
to kind of be alert."
>>In self defense, Kip waged
a campaign to get his parents
to enroll him
in a karate class.
>>I will...
>>I will...
>>...use my martial arts...
>>...use my martial arts...
>>...constructively
and defensively.
>>I think Kip was interested in
some self defense
because he just wasn't real
happy with some things
that some kids would say to him,
and he wanted to be able
to have the confidence of being
able to protect himself
if he needed to.
>>Even though Bill and Faith
thought karate was too violent,
they finally gave in
to Kip.
>>Let me help you.
>>Go ahead and punch him
right in the nose.
>>You're always, as a parent,
hunting for things
for them to feel good about.
And then he doesn't feel
like he was a disappointment.
I feel like that's why Faith
and Bill spent as much time
hunting for things
for him to do.
>>Karate was
one of those things.
Oftentimes kids with
the difficulties that he had,
it tends to wear on them
even more.
"I'm not like
all the other kids.
"I'm not as good
as they are.
"I have these problems,
and I'm a disappointment
to my parents."
And instead of having that
be able to help them
make some positive changes,
it tends to make them
make negative choices.
>>Kip started to hang
with the tough guys,
the kids who rode the school bus
every day.
>>The skaters, smokers group.
Like, definitely
getting in trouble.
Like these guys have spent time
in juvenile detention
and been expelled from school,
like, every year
since sixth grade, and just
endless trouble.
>>And then, at the local mall,
Kip and his new friends
got in trouble.
>>In about eighth grade,
he was stealing CDs
from, like, a local store.
They had, like, razor blades
that they'd just, like,
slice off the, like,
sensor.
I've heard them say they, like,
had over 100 each at times.
>>Kip was eventually caught.
His parents, upset,
offered Kip a diversion.
He loved computers,
so they decided to let him
start spending time online.
>>He could just go up there and
do whatever he wanted.
You know, a lot of parents don't
check on their kids
when they're in their room.
Because they're in their room,
they're safe.
>>The police later
found the records
of Kip's Internet activity,
including visits to porn sites.
As he Web surfed, Kip often
listened to his favorite music.
>>♪Shoot, shoot, shoot
mother (bleep) ♪
♪Shoot, shoot, shoot
mother (bleep) ♪
>>He printed
and framed the words
from one of his favorites,
"The Reflecting God"
by Marilyn Manson.
At the same time, Kip developed
another interest--
he became fascinated
with explosives.
>>I think that's when he
started getting involved
with the bombs in his room, and
his parents never reall
checked on him.
He was at home, so they think
he's automatically safe,
but he was, you know, doing some
pretty bad stuff.
>>Him and a bunch of guys got
together and ordered
some bomb making books or bomb
making materials.
>>They used
the school's computer,
and had the materials
sent there.
And when it showed up,
they were caught.
>>And they called Faith and
Bill about it,
and they had to go down there.
But that was real upsetting
to her.
And Kip said that he felt like
it would be good to know
because he was interested in
becoming a policeman.
And so I think she probably
thought that was maybe true,
but probably not.
>>In time, Kip got the books
he wanted.
And years later,
the police found them
when they searched his room.
>>He and a group of friends
had ordered a book about
building bombs.
And in fact I think he even
did a report using that book.
For school.
Just because you order a book
doesn't mean that you're...
I don't know what to say
about that.
I mean, I...
>>And Kip had
another interest-- guns.
But Bill and Faith
had made it clear
that owning a gun
was not the Kinkel way.
>>My parents were both
really, really concerned
about it.
He had been interested in guns
from as far as I can remember.
From a little, little boy.
And he was not allowed
to have little soldiers.
He was not allowed to have
any kind of to
that had any kind of
violent anything.
I mean, violence in our house
was a huge no-no.
>>But the evidence
gathered by the police
tells a different story.
Kip had asked his parents
for a BB gun.
The police found two--
one fashioned to look like
an assault rifle, the other
with its stock sawed off.
Kip wanted a knife.
His parents gave him one.
Eventually he would gather
an entire collection.
Then Kip wanted
a real gun.
Bill asked a friend
what to do.
>>He did come to me.
because he knew
that I was raised around guns.
And he said he was
really concerned.
And he had such an obsession
with guns
that he thought maybe it was the
best thing to go ahead.
And I remember telling him, I
said, "Hey, if you don't buy him
a gun, it's going to be like
forbidden fruit."
He said "You know, that's
exactly what Faith and I
"were talking about, because
it's come to that point.
And as much as we don't want to,
we're at our wits' end."
>>Bill had been given a rifle
as boy.
On his 12th birthday,
Kip received it
from his father and mother.
>>He had worn them down.
And she didn't like the idea.
She wasn't comfortable with it.
You know, if she talked to
people that also felt that way,
"And yet what do I do?
"What do I do?
"We've been saying no, no, no,
no.
"It's not gotten any better.
"It just seems to be
getting worse.
"We're fighting more about it.
What else do I do?"
>>Then, more trouble.
On a school field trip,
Kip and one of the tough guys
were arrested.
>>They were tossing pebbles off
an overpass.
I don't think they were really
directed at the cars.
If they hit them, yeah, but if
they... they were just kind of
tossing them.
And one of them picked up, like,
a fairly decent sized rock
and tossed it over.
>>A passing car was hit.
It was Kip's first felony.
His parents picked him up
from jail.
>>Mr. Kinkel was angry
at the situation.
He was angry at the problems
that they were having with Kip.
And he was, like, at his...
the end of his rope,
trying to figure out how to
get this kid back
on the right path.
>>At that time, Bill must have
been frustrated.
I didn't ever see Bill angry
very much,
but I'm sure he must have been
frustrated.
And it's kind of, like, "How
much farther is this
going to have to go?"
I mean, it's kind of, like, "At
what point is Kip going to
"turn the corner and I'm not
going to have to go
bail him out anymore?"
So I mean, Bill and Faith had
pride.
They were highly, highly
respected people,
highly intelligent people, and
it's one of those things
where they had to wear whatever
Kip did, too,
in the eyes of their friends.
And there may have been some
shame for them.
>>Faith began lobbying
to take Kip to a psychologist.
Bill resisted, saying
it would cost too much,
and probably wouldn't help.
>>My mom was the one who said,
"This is what we need.
We should do this.
My dad wasn't too excited
about it.
I think he felt that
psychologists were kind of like
chiropractors, in the sense that
they may not be
as heavily needed as we think.
>>Finally, Bill relented.
Faith took Kip to see
Dr. Jeffrey Hicks.
She offered a list of worries--
Kip's temper, the shoplifting,
rock throwing incident,
explosives, knives, and guns.
After meeting with Kip,
the doctor wrote,
"He became tearful
when discussing
"his relationship
with his father.
"He reported his mother
views him as a good kid
"with some bad habits,
while his father sees him
"as a bad kid
with bad habits.
"He feels his father
expects the worst from him.
"He cannot discuss his feelings
with his father,
for fear he will become
angry with him."
Then Kip told the doctor
how he relieved his anger.
"Kip reported he makes
explosives from gasoline
"and other household items, and
detonates them
"at a nearby quarry to vent
feelings of anger.
"If he has a bad day at school,
he feels better
after detonating an explosive."
Soon after, on that bus ride
in to school,
Kip's anger surfaced
in another way.
>>They were making fun
of each other on the bus.
They get off the bus,
and a kid called him a name.
Kip jumped, kicked him
in the head.
He was called down
to the office.
Then he came back.
He shoves open the door
and stomps through.
And he was really, really upset.
He was yelling and screaming
and crying.
He wanted the kid's address.
And grabbed his stuff and left.
And that's when he
got suspended.
>>He'd already been caught
cheating and acting out
in class.
Now the school suspended him.
In therapy, Kip was telling
Dr. Hicks, "Eating is a chore."
Often he feels bored
and irritable.
He wakes up tired.
He was diagnosed with a major
depressive disorder.
The Kinkel's family doctor
prescribed Prozac.
A family friend said the
psychologist advised Bill Kinkel
to lighten up on Kip.
Bill tried.
He'd even talk about guns
with Kip.
And so, according to the
psychologist, did he.
Dr. Hicks was a gun enthusiast--
owned at least four pistols.
Two were high-end Glocks.
In therapy, he told Kip
he was very satisfied
with his Glocks.
Kip wanted one.
>>The older he got, he got into
more dangerous things.
She recognized
that they needed...
They were into something
they didn't really know
how to deal with.
>>Bill, hoping for
a connection with his son,
seemed ready to give him
a Glock.
Faith, torn, went along.
>>I think she felt like,
"I don't know what to do.
Maybe Bill's right."
Even though she couldn't see it
from her own point of view,
sometimes you feel like, if you
can't resolve a problem,
and you don't understand
somebody else's point of view,
at least let them try,
because that might be
a solution.
>>The psychologist
has told "Frontline"
he would never recommend a gun
to a patient like Kip.
But Kip really wanted the Glock.
He knew everything about it--
semiautomatic, ten rounds,
polymer plastic.
Law enforcement's first choice
in the drug wars.
And in a surprise move,
Bill decided to buy it.
>>That's the only thinking I
can come up with about the gun.
I can see a child like Kip just
not letting up.
Just like a dog with a rag, that
just won't let it go, you know?
And I can see where they finally
say, "Fine.
"Let's try this.
"We'll go do the gun safety
class.
"We'll do it together.
"You'll get it out of your
system, and then
it will be okay."
>>Bill set rules.
Kip had to pay off the gun.
It would be locked up.
Kip could only fire the gun
when Bill was with him.
And during that summer,
after nine sessions
with a psychologist,
Kip seemed better.
The therapy was over.
>>I remember my mom calling me
and... very excited,
telling me that Kip was doing
so much better.
The psychologist even said, "You
don't even have to come
see me anymore, you're doing
that much better."
>>He'd taken Prozac
for three months.
Then Kip wanted to stop,
and his parents went along.
It was time to enter
Thurston High,
where his father had
retired as a legend,
and now tried to smooth the way
for his son.
>>I can remember Bill saying,
"Stoney, I need some help
"with my son.
"I'm a little concerned about
him getting a good start
"at Thurston High School.
You got any advice?"
And I said, "Well, Bill, why
don't we get him out
"for football?
"That might be a good place for
him to establish a good
"peer group, and I can guarantee
you he'll go home and he'll be
ready to go to bed at night."
And he said, "Great."
>>120-pound Kip
turned out for football.
They made him a lineman.
>>He was, like, second, third
string, so...
and he was a pretty scrawny guy,
so he wanted to
lift weights more with the rest
of the football players.
He just wanted to... told me
that he just wanted to be big,
and, like, stuff like that.
>>Two, three, four!
>>Football only seemed to make
Kip's isolation worse.
He sometimes wrote out random
thoughts.
"I sit here all alone.
"I am always alone.
"I don't know who I am.
"I want to be something
I can never be.
"I try so hard every day.
"But in the end, I hate myself
for what I've become.
"I sound so pitiful.
People would laugh at this if
they read it."
But Kip's mom, Faith, apparently
didn't see her son's anguish.
>>I remember one comment
when she said,
"I think we've
turned the corner."
And I feel like she always felt
that and believed it.
And I think you need
to believe it.
And maybe the comment was more
of that desperate hope,
trying to convince herself.
"We're turning the corner.
"We're going to get better.
Wish I could believe it.
>>By now, Bill had once again
given in to Kip's lobbying
for a gun.
This time it was a .22 caliber
Ruger semiautomatic rifle.
The Kinkel house
was becoming an arsenal.
The police would later find it--
a nine millimeter
Glock from Bill,
the semiautomatic Ruger rifle
Bill also bought,
a .20 gauge sawed-off shotgun,
the Marlin rifle Bill had
as a young boy that he gave Kip
for his 12th birthday,
a lever action rifle
Bill had as a bo
and had once hidden
in the garage,
a .22 caliber Ruger pistol
Bill had had for years,
another secretly acquired
.22 caliber handgun,
and thousands of rounds
of ammunition.
Answer to an essay question:
"I really wouldn't know
how to answer this question,
"because my cold, black heart
has never and never will
"experience true love.
"I can tell you one about love.
"It does more harm than good.
"I plan to live in
a big black hole.
"My firearms will be
the only things
"to fight my isolation.
"I would also like to point out
love is a horrible thing.
It makes things
kill and hate."
At this time,
Kip's first teen romance
had come to an end.
>>She would not reject him, but
kind of lead him on,
just be, like, "Oh, I don't
know," you know?
Or she'd be, like, "Well, we can
just we can be friends,"
but then... I don't know.
So he was getting
really frustrated.
You know, he didn't know
what to do.
>>Kip's romance began
just when his English class
started to study
"Romeo and Juliet."
>>I would not be surprised at
Kip's love of the play,
Shakespeare's " "Romeo and
Juliet."
>>Vange Bigham, a friend of
Faith's, teaches English
at the other Springfield
high school.
>>I see that every year, the
beginning of second semester.
Sometimes we like to think it's
in conjunction with Valentine,
the young lovers
and all of that.
>>Kip's class watched
a modern retelling of the stor
starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
>>What, art thou drawn
among these heartless hinds?
Turn thee, Benvolio,
and look upon thy death.
>>If you think about it,
all the issues
that Kip was dealing with, his
love of you know,
those violent feelings, or
whatever...
>>Peace?
I hate the word.
>>The angst and tension with
his parents.
At one point the father in there
says, "My hand itches,"
he wants to hit that kid so bad.
It's... all of the things that
Kip would have been dealing with
are probably in that play.
I bet he identified with a lot
of it.
>>The police later found
letters mentioning
"Romeo and Juliet" passed
between Kip and his girlfriend.
>>The question that I will give
my students is,
whose fault is it?
Is it the kids?
I mean, they committed suicide.
Is it the friar?
Is it the prince, because he let
this stuff go on?
Is it the parents?
Guess who they always blame.
The parents.
"I feel like everyone is against
me, but no one ever
"makes fun of me, mainly because
they think I'm a psycho.
"There is one kid above all
others that I want to kill.
"I want nothing more than to put
a hole in his head.
"The one reason I don't: hope
that tomorrow will be better.
As soon as my hope is gone,
people die."
By the end of his freshman year,
May of 1998,
Kip and his friends
were talking about
a new phenomenon--
school shootings.
In September, Pearl City,
Mississippi.
>>...teenager opens fire,
killing and wounding classmates
as they pray...
Later that fall,
Paducah, Kentucky.
>>...another mystifying
shooting in a school.
The shooters were very young.
>>At least four people
are known dead.
In the spring, Jonesboro,
Arkansas.
>>...shooting spree
at a middle school.
>>The boys with the guns
were 11 and 13, we are told.
They killed four people
and wounded a dozen.
>>He reacted to the other
school shootings,
their shortcomings, almost,
like, how they failed.
He talked about how... not that
he'd do it that exact way,
like, go to school and shoot
people, but if he was going to
go out, he'd try to take as many
people out with him.
And also, if he was going to
shoot people, like, at a school,
that he'd kill himself.
And like, he couldn't believe
that the other kids
didn't just shoot themselves
instead of sitting there
and being arrested.
So that's what he'd said.
>>At home, the truce
with his father was over.
Kip told friends Bill was
trying to take away his guns.
Faith's friends remember
she always looked
tired and worried.
>>I think the great fear was
that she didn't know him,
that she could not understand
him, and what was happening
between them.
Where was this little boy that
she loved all these years?
I think that was the fear, that
it would be something maybe
where they would lose him
forever.
>>Then, one morning
at Thurston High,
Kip bought a stolen
.32 caliber Baretta.
He hid it in his locker
and went to class.
But police had been tipped off
that Kip Kinkel had paid $110
for the gun.
>>Kip and I were in study hall
when the hall monitor came in
and grabbed Kip to go with him.
I mean, he didn't do it
in a violent way.
He just, you know,
"Can you come with me?"
And Kip got up and left.
>>I patted him down for any
weapons,
and I noticed that Kip was
extremely nervous.
And with that, complete surprise
to me, he said,
"Well, I'm gong to be square
with you guys.
The gun's in my locker.
And that's exactly where I
found it, in a bag.
I looked into the bag.
There was a black Baretta .32
caliber semiautomatic pistol.
In checking the weapon, I
determined that is was
fully loaded with eight rounds
of ammunition in the clip.
>>Kip was certain
he would be expelled.
>>Within ten minutes, we had a
black and white
out in front of my window.
I can remember distinctly seeing
Kip in the cuffs
and driving off.
>>After Kip was booked,
the police called Bill.
>>He seemed quite surprised,
quite shocked that his son
had been arrested and brought
to the police department.
In fact, he says, "Kip?
Kip had a gun at school?"
I said, "Yes," and then asked
him if he could come
to the police department.
And he says, "I'll be right
there."
>>Kip was charged with
possession of a firearm
in a public building,
and the felony charge
of receiving a stolen weapon.
He was released to his father.
>>And with that, I asked him if
he had any other questions.
And he said,
"No, that'll be fine."
He got up, he put his hand
on Kip's shoulder,
and the two of them walked out
and left the police department.
>>I think getting expelled from
school, that his parents
would really come down hard on
him for that.
And that's a big thing.
>>I can see Bill just having
gathered all those guns,
"This is gone.
That'll be the last time
you'll ever see this.
>>I can just imagine
what happened.
Bill laid the law down to him.
Said, "Okay, that's it.
You know, "This is going to end
right here,
"one way or the other.
He's either going to straighten
up or he's going to ship out."
Then, according to police, while
Bill sat the kitchen counter,
Kip came down the stairs
from his bedroom,
armed with a Ruger rifle.
He aimed at the back
of his father's head
and fired.
(gunshot)
Faith was still in town, unaware
of Kip's expulsion and arrest.
>>He was closer with his mom.
So I think
because he killed his dad,
he couldn't go back.
And he... I mean, how is he
supposed to tell Mom,
"I killed Dad," you know?
How would... I can't even
imagine how you would say that.
And so I think from that point,
from when he pulled the trigger,
it was... it was all over.
>>Around 6:00,
Faith came home.
Kip told police that as Faith
was walking up the garage steps
into the house, he said, "I love
you, Mom," and fired.
(two gunshots)
Two shots struck the back of
Faith's head.
(gunshot)
A third pierced her forehead
above the left eye.
(gunshot)
Kip fired another
into her left cheek.
(gunshot)
And another at close range
into the center
of his mother's forehead, and
another into her heart.
(gunshot)
Alone, his father's body
locked behind the bathroom door,
his mother dead
on the garage floor,
Kip Kinkel played a favorite CD,
hitting the "continuous repeat"
button on the CD player.
It would play the soundtrack
from the movie he had watched
in English class,
"Romeo and Juliet."
>>The way I think of it,
he'd already killed his parents,
and I think he didn't know
what to do.
Like, when he was little,
when he got mad,
he got frustrated.
And he gets himself in a corner
and doesn't know where to go,
or he just doesn't
think straight,
and he just doesn't know
what to do.
And I think he really
wanted to kill himself,
but didn't have the guts to.
He didn't...
he couldn't do it.
He's... I don't know.
He's like a little boy.
He just couldn't do it.
>>Kip loaded the Glock.
He filled a gym bag
with extra ammo.
He taped two bullets
to his chest
and a knife
around his ankle.
He left behind some homemade
bombs and wrote this note:
"I have just killed my parents.
"I am a horrible son.
I wish I had been aborted."
Then a new line to this dark
narrative Kip was creating,
something he had never mentioned
to his psychologist.
"My head just doesn't work
right.
God damn these voices
inside my head."
And then he waited
for the dawn.
>>He wanted to take out
himself, and he wanted
to take out his schoolmates,
some of...
just not to go out alone.
It was his weakness.
He was always worried about
being alone all the time,
isolated and stuff like that.
>>The next morning,
Kip dressed for school.
He put on a trench coat to hide
the Ruger semiautomatic rifle.
He put on a hat with the logo
from his favorite band,
Nine Inch Nails.
And for the first and only time
in his life,
15-year-old Kip Kinkel
drove alone
in his parents'
Ford Explorer.
Kip arrived at Thurston
at 7:45 A.M.
He parked down the end
of this road.
It took nearly four minutes
to walk the road
by the tennis courts.
As he rounded this corner,
the school surveillance camera
captured these shots of him.
The hallway was nearly empty.
As he walked along,
he bumped into a friend.
>>And I didn't know it was Kip
until Kip turned around
and was like, "Okay, you need
to get out of here, Adam.
Something bad's
going to happen."
And Adam was just like,
"What are you talking about?"
Kip was just... you know,
not an expression on his face.
And Adam goes, "Well, what
are you going to do?"
And that's when, you know,
Kip just turned around,
didn't even look at Ben,
and fired.
(gunshot)
Not even caring, or nothing.
Like, he had no emotion
about anything.
(phone ringing)
>>911, what is your emergency?
>>This is Thurston High School.
We have a gun on campus.
There's someone shooting.
We need help right away.
(gunshot)
>>16-year-old Ben Walker
was shot in the head.
>>911, what is your emergency?
>>I believe
there's been a shooting.
Kids are running everywhere.
>>Do you know the juvenile's
name at all?
>>Ten seconds later,
Kip reached the cafeteria.
>>I am responding.
My ETA to the school
is two.
(gunshot)
Shooting from the hip,
he fired 48 shots
from the semiautomatic rifle.
It took less than a minute.
Kip hit 24 students.
He walked up to one of them,
put the rifle
to 17-year-old
Mikael Nickolauson's head
and fired.
(gunshot)
>>As I ran across the
courtyard, one of our young men
screamed at me,
"It's Kinkel."
And then I immediately ran
through the cafeteria
and jumped over
a couple of kids.
The first thing that hit me was
I could smell blood.
And looked, and quiet, but saw a
lot of kids down,
a lot of wounds, blood spurting
out of legs
and those sorts of things,
and felt fear,
because I didn't realize
that Kip was being tackled
off to the left.
>>911, what is your emergency?
>>There's been a shooting
at Thurston High School.
>>Okay.
>>Kip's rifle was out of
ammunition.
He pulled the Glock from his
belt just as he was rushed
by a group of students.
Kip got off one shot.
They beat him into submission,
and he screamed, "Just kill me!"
>>Confirming the shooter
is in custody.
Is that correct?
>>I copy.
Shooter in custody.
>>84.
>>84, go ahead.
>>We need all the medic units
we can get.
>>There will be a third medic
to stage for the location there.
There's one there,
and another...
>>Go ahead.
>>Confirming the scene...
>>The scene is secure.
We have the suspect
in custody.
We have not
accounted for the...
>>The police hustled Kip
out of the cafeteria.
In custody, he pulled the knife
taped to his leg
and attacked a police officer
shouting, "Just kill me!
Just shoot me!"
>>Where's the shooter?
>>The shooter is with...
>>I want the entire school
shut off.
I want it completely
under our control.
Put up your barricade tape.
>>The police headed
for the Kinkel residence.
>>There was some concern as to
the welfare of his parents.
Well, we could tell
upon approach that there's
loud opera-type music playing.
And it's very loud, and it's to
the point of being distracting.
And the house
is completely dark.
And we notice only one vehicle
in the driveway.
That's a Volkswagen van.
And for all intents
and purposes,
it appears that
no one is home.
And the first open door we come
to was in the front
of the residence
on the main floor.
It's best described
as eerie.
The music's coming
from somewhere on the right
of the room.
There's a fireplace
on the left of the room.
There's the smell of wood smoke
from an open fireplace.
The room is cool, and you can
tell that it's probably heated
with wood, so it's got a cabin
type... or except that
its really kind of...
it's eerie.
It's dark.
The music's loud.
There's bullets on the floor.
It's to the point
where we are yelling over it.
We're trying
to announce ourselves,
that we're the police,
we're here,
to whoever may be
in the residence.
And you have to yell
to be heard over that music.
It's a CD of "Romeo and Juliet,"
and it was set on
continuous play, so it was
playing when we got there,
and it had been playing over
and over, apparently.
>>Blood spots
on the carpet.
>>And you have some indication
that Bill and Faith Kinkel
are going to be dead.
I believe a paper clip from the
office is used to unlock
the bathroom door
on the main floor.
And just inside
that bathroom door,
I see a gentleman that's
obviously deceased.
He's laying on his back.
He's covered with a sheet.
His feet are up
against the door.
We have to kind of move his feet
away from the door
so we can get in there
and check on him.
At this point, we're still
missing one parent.
And we're going through
systematicall
and checking doors.
And it is found that a small
door just off the main hallwa
has a narrow flight of stairs
that goes down.
And we go down in there.
And there's evidence
on the floor.
There's a considerable amount
of blood on the floor.
And on the basement floor, on
the concrete,
we find Faith Kinkel.
She's also deceased
and covered by a sheet.
(Kip sobbing)
>>The voices Kip said
he was hearing
might have been key
to his defense in a trial.
But in September of 1999, he
dropped his claim of insanity.
He pled guilty to four counts of
first degree murder,
26 counts of attempted murder.
Judge Jack Mattison sentenced
him to a term of 111 years
in prison, with no chance
for parole.
Explore more of this report
at Frontline's Web site.
Examine what some experts say
about predicting
schoolyard killers.
Read more from
Kip Kinkel's journal.
View the interviews
with his sister and friends.
Study psychiatrist reports
about Kip,
and read the statements
of the victims
Next time on "Frontline,"
the film critics sa
skillfully examines
the President's
religious beliefs.
>>He said, "I believe
that God wants me
to be President."
>>"Frontline" gives
an enlightening look
that coolly and calmly
helps viewers understand.
Don't miss this
thought-provoking
non judgmental documentary.
>>Faith can change lives.
I know, because it
changed mine.
>>The Jesus Factor.
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