Shadowing Practice: Every WORST School Shooting In 21 Minutes - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Disclaimer, we will be discussing tragic events that have taken place in the past.
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May everyone who's lost their lives in these events rest in peace, and may this video serve as a call to action for
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those in charge to make changes to prevent tragedies like this in the future.
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Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, April 16th, 2007.
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So it was Monday morning on April 16th, 2007, when everyone at Virginia Tech probably wished they could hit the snooze button on life.
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You know that feeling when you wake up and just wish the weekend didn't have to end?
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Little did they know, this Monday would turn out to be way worse than anyone could have imagined.
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You see, there was a student named Sunghee Cho, who wasn't exactly known for being the life of the party.
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In fact, he was quite the opposite.
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He was a bit of a loner, didn't talk much, and had some troubling behavior that had people worried about him.
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But unfortunately, things went from concerning to downright horrifying that day.
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It all started early in the morning around 7 .15 a .m at West Ambler Johnston Hall, a dormitory on campus.
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Cho first attacked a female student and a resident assistant who came to check on the commotion,
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but at this point the school didn't know exactly what was going on, so they treated it like an isolated incident.
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But Cho had other plans, and sadly it was just the beginning.
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Now, something really strange happened because after the first shooting, Cho actually went back to his dorm room,
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changed clothes, and mailed a package to NBC News.
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That's right, he essentially took a lunch break from his terrible plans to mail a 23 -page manifesto
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that contained some really explicit content and showed how much the guy just basically hated humans.
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Then, around 9 .40 a .m., Cho moved on to Norris Hall, an academic building where classes were underway.
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So he basically walked into a class, chained the doors shut, and began his second, more brutal attack.
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This time around, he was armed with two guns and moved through the classroom, firing on students and professors like it was target practice.
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And by the time it was over, 32 people had lost their lives and 17 others were injured.
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After about 10 minutes of horror, Cho turned one of the guns on himself, and by the time the police finally made it inside,
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the shooter had taken his own life.
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This was the deadliest school shooting in U .S history.
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Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newton, Connecticut.
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December 14th, 2012.
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It was Friday, December 14th, 2012, when students and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut were probably getting into the holiday spirit.
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Well, that holiday spirit took a very dark turn fast, and nobody could have seen this coming.
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Basically, 20 -year -old Adam Lonza, who had been suffering from mental health problems for a while,
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decided that December 14th would be a day of unspeakable violence.
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It all started around 9 .30am, but get this, before heading to the school, Lanza started his morning by fatally shooting his mother at their home.
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You'd think he could have just skipped breakfast or something, but nope, he had a twisted day to start.
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Afterward, he drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School, which was only about five miles away with two semi -automatic rifles and two handguns.
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Lanza started by shooting his way through a locked glass door at the school's entrance, which is never a good way to enter a building.
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Then he made his way to two classrooms, both full of first graders, and what happened next was just simply tragic.
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Within minutes, this guy had offed 20 children and six staff members who tried to protect them.
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The kids were all between six and seven years old, and the staff members, true heroes, did everything they could to shield their students.
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It was one of the most sad and heartbreaking things to happen on school grounds ever.
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In the horrific final act, the 20 -year -old monster unalived himself before the police could arrive.
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Umpqua Community College, Roseburg, Oregon, October 1st, 2015.
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Just imagine it's a normal Thursday morning and you're regretting
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that third cup of coffee and not really looking forward to the next class because, let's face it, not everyone is thrilled to discuss
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The Great Gatsby before noon.
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But at Umpqua Community College, what started as a typical day quickly turned into one of the worst days ever.
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Let's talk about a plot twist no one asked for.
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Now, Chris Harper Mercer was a 26 -year -old student at the college, but this wasn't your average guy stressing over midterms.
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Harper Mercer showed up on campus armed with six guns, a whole lot of ammo, in an attitude worse than Monday mornings.
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If he'd poured all that energy into his studies, he might have aced a few exams instead of failing humanity.
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He literally walked into his writing class, not to discuss Shakespeare, but to act out a horror story no one signed up for.
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It began at exactly 10 .38 a .m and apparently before shooting,
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he'd ask you about your religion as if he were hosting the world's most twisted quiz show.
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He took the lives of nine people and injured nine others in a matter of minutes.
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By the time the police arrived, Harper Mercer was probably realizing his grand.. plan wasn't going to end the way he thought.
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There was a brief exchange of gunfire before he took his own life.
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He'd probably seen enough cop shows to know how things usually turn out for the bad guys.
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Spoiler alert, they don't ride off into the sunset.
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Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland, Florida, February 14th, 2018.
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It was Valentine's Day, a day for chocolate, love notes, and awkward crush confessions.
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Most students were probably hoping for a low -key day, maybe a candy gram or two,
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but instead they got an unwanted guest who was all about spreading terror instead of love.
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If Cupid had a worst nightmare cousin, this guy was it.
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So it all started when Nicholas Cruz, a 19 -year -old former student who was expelled the year before because of disciplinary issues,
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came back to exert revenge.
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He was initially removed from the school because he was always getting in trouble,
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bullying other students, and had a very bad history of seriously troubling behavior.
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Let's just say he wasn't exactly voted most likely to succeed, and his actions that day would seal his unfortunate legacy.
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At around 2 .19pm, Cruz took an Uber to the school as if he were just another student late for class,
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but instead of a backpack full of textbooks, he had an AR -15 rifle and a bag full of ammunition.
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He entered the school through an unlocked door and triggered a fire alarm, hoping to maximize the chaos by getting everyone out in the open.
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As students and staff started to evacuate, Cruz opened fire.
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It was a chaotic scene as he moved through the hallways, firing indiscriminately at students and teachers.
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Within six minutes, 17 people lost their lives, including both teachers and students, and another 17 were injured.
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The psycho Cruz eventually blended in with the crowd of fleeing students and walked off campus like nothing had happened.
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But not long after, police caught up with him about two miles away and he was taken into custody without a fight.
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The nation was left stunned
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and the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were left to pick up the pieces after this nightmare.
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Well, thankfully, Cruz was charged with 17 counts of first -degree murder
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and 17 counts of attempted murder for the lives lost and the injuries he caused.
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With these charges, the prosecutors were seeking the death penalty given the severity of his actions.
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However, on October 13, 2022, after a lengthy trial, a jury recommended that Cruz be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole,
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rather than the death penalty.
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But the jury's decision was based on a split vote, which meant that the death penalty couldn't be applied under Florida law,
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which required a unanimous decision for such a sentence.
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Perm State University, Perm, Russia, September 20, 2021
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Just imagine you're a student, minding your own business, maybe cursing your alarm clock for dragging you out of bed,
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and as you're strolling to class, you hear it.
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A loud bang that sounds like someone dropped their overpriced textbook, but way scarier.
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You freeze, your pulse quickens, and suddenly, the usual suspects of academic stress seem like child's play.
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This was the reality for many on September 20th, 2021, when 18 -year -old Timur Bekmansarov entered the campus with a weapon and opened fire.
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Timur wasn't your typical freshman.
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He wasn't worried about passing his finals.
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He was focused on carrying out a deadly plan he'd apparently been harboring for years.
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Before this, Timur had posted a manifesto online before the attack, revealing a disturbing fascination with mass shootings.
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He apparently saw himself as some kind of dark figure but the reality was a lot less cinematic.
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Instead of becoming infamous, he'd end up remembered as a symbol of senseless violence.
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As Tamar made his way across campus at around 11 a .m., panic spread faster than a gossip chain at a high school dance.
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This guy was just firing at random, targeting students and staff in his path.
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Imagine trying to get to your 11 a .m lecture, thinking the worst part of your day is the class itself,
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only to be faced with a gunman on a rampage.
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Students, professors, and staff scrambled for safety, turning classrooms and lecture halls into impromptu bunkers.
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Some barricaded doors with whatever they could find,
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desks, chairs, maybe even a few heavy textbooks that would finally serve a practical purpose beyond causing back pain.
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During the shooting, six people lost their lives and 47 others were injured, but luckily, Russian law enforcement arrived quickly and engaged Timur.
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During the confrontation, he was shot and injured by the police before being taken into custody.
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In the days that followed, grief and disbelief watched over Perm State University.
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People struggled to understand why such an event had taken place, but, like that confusing calculus problem you just can't solve, some questions remain unanswered.
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Columbine High School, Littleton, Colorado, April 20th, 1999.
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It was a sunny Tuesday, and students at Columbine High School were probably more focused on homework, gossip, and their plans for the weekend.
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However, two seniors, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, had something far worse in mind.
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The thing is, these two weren't your average high school pranksters.
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They were angry, cruel kids, and their humor was darker than a black hole.
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The crazy part about this whole story is that these guys were actually known for being very smart.
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Though, as it turned out, they used their brains for all the wrong reasons.
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Apparently, they had even been planning this attack for over a year, making videos, writing in journals, and amassing weapons.
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If they put that much effort into a school project, they may have gotten an A -plus instead of being terrible human beings.
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The tragic showdown started on April 20th, 1999, around 11 .19am, when Eric and Dylan entered Columbine High School armed with guns,
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homemade explosives, and twisted ambitions.
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They initially planted propane bombs in the school cafeteria, hoping they'd explode and cause mass casualties.
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Luckily, if you can say that, the bombs didn't go off as planned, but that didn't stop them.
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They started shooting students outside the school and then moved into the library, where they spent the next 20 minutes targeting and terrorizing their classmates.
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By the time it was over, they had taken the lives of 12 students and one teacher and injured over 20 others.
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After their rampage in the library, Eric and Dylan moved around the school for a while, seemingly unsure of their next move.
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Then they started to fire shots at empty rooms all over again, basically taunting survivors.
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Eventually, they returned to the library and turned their guns on themselves.
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The entire ordeal lasted about 47 minutes, but it left a lasting impact that would be felt for decades.
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Red Lake Senior High School, Red Lake, Minnesota, March 21st,
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2005 You see, Red Lake is a tight -knit community on the Red Lake Indian Reservation where life is usually pretty calm.
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It's the kind of place where everyone knows everyone, so it's safe to say that March 21st,
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2005 wasn't exactly what anyone had in mind for a normal day.
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That morning, life went from small -town sleepy to nightmare mode faster than a toddler can destroy a clean living room.
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It all started when Jeff Weiss, a 16 -year -old student at Red Lake Senior High School
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who had been struggling with a lot of family issues and mental health struggles, finally decided to take a very dark approach to his problems.
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Now Jeff was a bit of a loner who spent hours and hours online posting and watching dark and violent content.
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Weiss started his day of horror at home where he tragically shot his grandfather who was a tribal police officer
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and his grandfather's girlfriend.
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Then he took his grandfather's guns and a bulletproof vest
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and drove to Red Lake Senior High School in his grandfather's squad car.
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It's like bring your grandparent to school day, but on a whole new horrifying level.
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Weiss arrived at the school around 2 .45 p .m and shot his way through the entrance to begin his rampage.
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This guy moved from room to room, firing at random, and in just a matter of minutes, he offed seven people at the school.
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Five students, one teacher, and one security guard.
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Imagine being in your last period thinking you're almost home free and then hearing gunshots.
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It's the kind of plot twist that no one signs up for.
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The school went into immediate lockdown with students and teachers scrambling for cover.
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It was chaos, fear, and confusion all wrapped into one terrible scene.
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He eventually injured several other people before offing himself.
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Oikos University, Oakland, California, April 2nd, 2012.
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It was a Monday, and you know how Mondays are.
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People drag themselves out of bed, grumble over their coffee, and wonder why weekends don't last longer.
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But sadly for students and staff at Oikos University, a small religious college in Oakland, this particular Monday turned into a nightmare nobody saw coming.
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So El Goh, a 43 -year -old former nursing student at Oikos University, had dropped out of the nursing program a few months earlier
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because apparently he felt disrespected and isolated by some of the staff and students.
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Well, he was very unhappy with how things had gone down at the school, but instead of venting by maybe writing an angry Yelp review,
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Goh decided to take things to the ultimate extreme.
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Armed with a .45 caliber handgun and a chip on his shoulder big enough to serve as a second weapon,
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go walked into the school that morning with the worst kind of comeback plan.
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He walked into the class, lined up the students, and demanded that they say who was Christian, and then, without waiting for a debate,
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he opened fire, killing seven people and injuring three others.
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Honestly, if he'd been looking for a way to be the least -liked alumni of all time, he nailed it.
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Imagine sitting there, thinking you're about to learn about anatomy or pharmacology, pharmacology and suddenly it's like you're in the middle of a bad action movie.
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Goh then moved around the school taking aim at anyone who dared to cross his path.
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The students were ducking, hiding, and probably wondering why they hadn't just skipped class that day.
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Now here's where
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Go really went full amateur hour.
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After wreaking havoc, he tried to make a getaway in a victim's car.
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He didn't exactly have a well -thought -out exit plan.
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Instead of heading for a border or something dramatic, he went to, wait for it, a grocery store.
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Yep, he ended his grand escape at a Safeway as if he was about to shop for dinner after committing mass murder.
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Go seemed to be playing a real -life game of Grand Theft Auto but without any skill or planning.
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Imagine the cops' faces when they found him wandering around a grocery store.
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Sure enough, he was arrested without a fight and was hit with multiple murder and attempted murder charges, as you'd expect.
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Initially, he was found unfit to stand trial due to mental health issues, but after a stint in a psychiatric hospital,
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he was declared competent, and in 2017, he pleaded no contest.
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He got a life sentence without the possibility of parole, which is the justice system's way of saying, you're done, buddy.
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West Nickel Mines Amish School, BART Township, Pennsylvania, October 2nd, 2006.
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Just picture a tiny one -room schoolhouse nestled in the peaceful Amish countryside of Pennsylvania.
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This is the kind of place where high -tech means you have a chalkboard and loud means a cow just wandered by.
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It's literally the last place you'd expect violence, but on that day, violence showed up uninvited.
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It all started when a 32 -year -old truck driver called Charles Carl Roberts IV,
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who had a lot of unresolved anger and guilt, finally lost it.
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Now, the crazy part of this is that Charles wasn't even Amish, and by all appearances, was just another guy from the area.
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In fact, he was a married man with kids.
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Unfortunately, Charles also had a lot of demons chasing him, and had always loved the idea of hurting little girls.
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Charles arrived at the West Nickel Mines Amish School around 10 .30 a .m and walked in with a gun,
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a bag full of ammunition, and a twisted plan.
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First of all, he ordered the male students, the teacher, and some adults to leave, leaving behind only the female students,
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10 girls ranging in age from 6 to 13.
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Right there, you can tell that this guy clearly had taken a wrong turn on the road of life.
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As if things weren't bad enough, Roberts barricaded the doors and even brought along lumber to seal himself inside.
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It was like a deranged version of a do -it -yourself home project gone horribly wrong.
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Instead of building a birdhouse or a garden shed, he turned the schoolhouse into a makeshift prison.
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Tragically, after holding the girls hostage and making a series of increasingly disturbing threats, Robert started shooting.
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By the time he turned the gun on himself, he had killed five girls and wounded five others.
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It was an act of incomprehensible cruelty made worse by the innocence of the young lives he targeted.
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Just think, one moment these girls were doing their schoolwork, probably dreaming about lunch or recess, and then everything turned into a nightmare.
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You know, heroes with capes swooping in.
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Just the raw horror of a man who had completely lost his way.
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Santa Fe High School, Santa Fe, Texas, May 18th, 2018.
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You see, Santa Fe is a small town,
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the kind of place where everyone knows each other's business and where people go to the same couple of diners.
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Or high school on a Friday morning was probably filled with sleepy teenagers, coffee -chugging teachers, and the buzz of weekend plans.
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So by the time school started at Santa Fe High, the day was already leaning into that lazy Friday vibe.
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But inside one of those classrooms, a storm was brewing, and no one knew just how close it was to breaking.
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Then we have Dimitrios Pagortzis, a 17 -year -old junior who up until that morning was just another kid in the hall.
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Maybe he blended it in so well that you wouldn't have given him a second look.
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Instead of grabbing books and binders, Bogortzies armed himself with a shotgun and a .38 revolver
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and stepped onto campus that fateful Friday morning not to take a pop quiz, but to unleash a nightmare.
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If his goal was to be remembered, he succeeded, but for all the wrong reasons.
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At around 7 .30 a .m., Bogortzies walked into his art class and opened fire on his classmates and teachers, targeting them with a terrifying calmness.
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He moved through the room leaving chaos and heartbreak in his wake
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and by the end of it he had successfully taken the lives of 10 people, 8 students and 2 teachers and injured 13 others.
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It all happened so fast that most students didn't even have time to react.
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Some hid in closets, others under desks and everyone was trying to make sense of the nightmare unfolding around them.
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After his rampage, Bogortzies didn't try to make a grand escape.
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Instead, he surrendered to the police without a fight.
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He simply gave himself up like he was ready for it to be over as quickly as it had started.
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There was no dramatic final stand, no high -speed chase, just a quiet end to a morning of unimaginable horror.
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Bogorsi was charged with capital murder and aggravated assault, facing the possibility of life in prison.
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But because of his age, he wasn't eligible for the death penalty.
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His trial has been delayed multiple times due to mental health evaluations, leaving the community and the victim's families without closure.
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It's like watching a bad movie where the villain doesn't even face the music at the end.
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For now, Bogortzies is in a mental health facility, a place far removed from the storm he created, and he remains there awaiting trial.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Every WORST School Shooting In 21 Minutes”. This video has 224 sentences and 3580 words to shadow. The speech runs for 20:38. The speaker talks at a natural 174 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 80% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| nightmare noun | /ˈnaɪt.mɛɚ/ | A very unpleasant or frightening dream. |
| twist verb | /twɪst/ | To turn the ends of something, usually thread, rope etc., in opposite directions, often using force. |
| horror noun | /ˈhɒɹ.ə/ | An intense distressing emotion of fear or repugnance. |
| penalty noun | /ˈpɛn.əl.ti/ | A legal sentence. |
| classroom noun | /ˈklɑːsɹʊm/ | A room, often in a school, where classes take place. |
| chaos noun | /ˈkeɪˌɑs/ | The unordered state of matter in classical accounts of cosmogony. |
| tragic adjective | /ˈtɹæd͡ʒɪk/ | Causing great sadness or suffering. |
| chase verb | /t͡ʃeɪs/ | To follow at speed. |
| desk noun | /dɛsk/ | A table, frame, or case, in past centuries usually with a sloping top but now usually with a flat top, for the use of writers and readers. It often has a… |
| dramatic adjective | /dɹəˈmætɪk/ | Of or relating to the drama. |
| nurse noun | /nɝs/ | Anyone performing this role, regardless of training or profession. |
| entrance noun | /ˈɛn.tɹəns/ | The action of entering, or going in. |
| seal noun | /siːl/ | A stamp used to impress a design on a soft substance such as wax. |
| drag verb | /dɹæɡ/ | To pull along a surface or through a medium, sometimes with difficulty. |
| succeed verb | /səkˈsiːd/ | To follow something in sequence or time. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| move around verb | To relocate to new homes repeatedly; to not live in any one place for long. | |
| act out verb | /ˌækt ˈaʊ̯t/ | To perform something specific. |
| bring along verb | To escort or carry an item or person to a destination. | |
| carry out verb | /ˈkæ.ɹi aʊt/ | To hold while moving it out. |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. | |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. | |
| go off verb | To explode. | |
| leave behind verb | To abandon. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | wasn't exactly known · was armed · were injured |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | School, which was · entrance, which is · student who was |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have taken · has been delayed |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 43 contractions and reduced forms, such as wasn't, didn't, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: grandfather /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌfɑðɚ/, thrill /θɹɪl/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: ammunition /ˌæmjuˈnɪʃən/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, shield /ˈʃild/, confusion /kənˈfjuːʒən/, crush /kɹʌʃ/
- Long words — get the stress right: ammunition /ˌæmjuˈnɪʃən/, manifesto /ˌmæn.əˈfɛs.toʊ/, successfully /səkˈsɛs.fə.li/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, automatic /ˌɔː.təˈmæt.ɪk/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like nightmare, twist, horror.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.