analyze information:

A person with a narcissistic personality disorder has a set of traits motivated by a desire to establish and defend an image as special, unique, or different in some way (Ackley, Mack, Beyer, & Erdberg, 2010). There are many people who share these personality traits and don't understand that they have a narcissistic personality disorder. In the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, 15 students and teachers were killed and 21 others injured by fellow students Eric Harris (18) and Dylan Klebold (17), before turning the guns on themselves (History, 2023). After reviewing some articles, I believe that Eric Harris was an oblivious narcissist because he was self-centered and had a grandiose insensitivity to himself and Dylan Klebold was a vulnerable narcissist because he was thin-skinned, sensitive, and vulnerable, but also believed he should receive special treatment (Ackley, et al, 2010). The reason why I say this is because of the teen's journal entries over the past year prior to the mass shooting (History, 2023). Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were both considered "outcasts" because they did not fit in any of the "popular group" settings because they were interested in goth and wore dark clothing. Harris in his journal entries discussed being different and unique thinking highly of oneself and wanting to be famous. So he came to Klebold about bombing the school because the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 was "weak" according to Harris (History, 2023). Harris and Klebold had been planning to bomb the school for a year and they did not show empathy for the victims or themselves. For example, when the bombs did not work, they had a plan B which was shooting the victims. Some of the victims were shot multiple times. A challenge that a forensic psychology professional may face when working with a person with an oblivious narcissist is that they are extroverts and want to talk about themselves and want to make themselves bigger than they really are (Ackley, et al., 2010). A challenge that forensic psychology professionals may face when working with vulnerable narcissists is that they are more introverts than extroverts and may not want to talk about themselves because of the fear of rejection, humiliation, or shame (Ackley, et al, 2010). The pre-offense event is that Harris and Klebold had planned the attack on the school for a year prior to the attack happening. Post-offense events that may have occurred if Harris or Klebold survived would be them going through the psychological evaluation process to determine if they were competent to stand trial and then go through the trial proceedings.

Ackley, C. N., Mark, S. M., Beyer, K., & Erdberg, P. (2010). Investigative and Forensic Interviewing: A personality-focused approach. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

History editors. (2023). Columbine shooting. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/1990s/columbine-high-school-shootingsLinks to an external site.