Kip Kinkel killed his parents and killed two students. He opened fire at Thurston High School, killing two students and wounding twenty-five. Kinkel had a very difficult childhood. His relationship with his father, friends and family played an important role in this horrific event. The day he killed his parents and opened fire in the high school is a day that will not be forgotten. This event hurt many people, shocked many, and gave many other kids the idea to bring violence into their school. Kip Kinkel was born on August 30, 1982 in Springfield, Oregon. Kip Kinkel and his family moved to Spain for a year in 1986, where he attended school and it was very difficult because his teacher did not speak English. When they returned to Springfield, he once again repeated first grade due to his physical development. From first grade on he continued to have learning problems, and by third grade he was eligible for special education services. In the fourth grade he was diagnosed with dyslexia by his family doctor who soon discovered that he suffered from attention deficit disorder. They became very concerned about his interest in violence. The Kinkels had to turn off the cable because they could no longer stop him from watching violent programs. Kip Kinkel was very competitive and had a very bad temper. When his sister moved to Hawaii and was no longer around to see what he was doing, he started hanging out with a new group of friends and got into big trouble. He and those three friends were caught shoplifting, purchasing explosive construction books on the Internet, and testing those explosives. At the end of his last two days of middle school he was suspended for two days for kicking a classmate in the head because h. ..... middle of paper ...... Kinkel was a very kind little boy; but he had many problems with the group of boys he hung out with, he had a difficult childhood and a close relationship with his father. Kip Kinkel was very close to his father and his friends. Unfortunately, he simply chose the wrong group of friends to hang out with and they were a bad influence on him. Kinkel felt very bad when it happened because it embarrassed his family. Kip Kinkel made a huge mistake when he shot his parents and opened fire at Thurston High School. Kinkel was a very smart boy who made a lot of mistakes. Kip Kinkel also had a very troubled childhood, as he had to see a doctor and was diagnosed with many illnesses and other disabilities. Works Cited “Chronology of the Life of Kip Kinkel.” PBS. PBS and Web. May 11, 2014.Hanes, Richard C. Crime and Punishment in America. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2005. Print.