At about 3 PM on March 22, 2005, a Minnesota high school on Red Lake Indian Reservation was rocked by a shooting rampage that culminated in 10 deaths and at least a dozen injuries. The killings began with the shooter, Jeff Weise, murdering his grandparents in his home and continuing at the school where he proceeded to fire bullets into a security guard, a teacher, other students, and finally, himself. After clearing the bodies and treating the wounded, family members and local authorities began the arduous task of discussing and analyzing the causes of the shooting.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, examination of online posts and interviews with friends and family revealed a deeply troubled youth that possessed both a difficult past and a history of psychiatric illness. Besides the obvious warning signs of suicidal and violent behavior, Mr. Weise also wrote stories in his journal fantasizing about how he would conduct such a school shooting. In addition to highlighting his internet activities, media attention has focused sharply on the parallels between the behavior of Jeff Weise and that of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.

Because all three school shooters listened to Marilyn Manson, wore trench coats, and subscribed to a brand of Nazism, the media has likened the Minnesota shooting to the one that took place in Columbine High School over four years ago. Even more disturbingly, before shooting, Mr. Weise held a gun to a victim’s head and asked his classmate if he believed in God. The action bears a striking resemblance to the fate of Columbine victim Cassie Bernall, who was shot for saying yes to the same question.

Though the individual circumstances surrounding the shooting seem different, there are enough associations for the event to eerily echo Columbine. The only really significant difference seems to be that the incident did not receive nearly as much press as Little Rock’s tragedy. Even more disturbing than overlooked ominous bodings and the shooting itself is the lack of national attention to the recurrence of an event that threw us into a tragic frenzy nearly five years ago. Though the shooting has been dubbed “the worst since Columbine,” it seems to have already risen and faded out of national headlines. The incidents of Columbine triggered a frenzy of finger pointing that led the American public to investigate every imaginable realm of cultural life, from the NRA to the world of bowling. The tragedy of Littleton was accompanied by books, movies, and an overwhelming outpouring of grief.

In terms of media response, the Red Lake shooting seems to bear more resemblance to the shooting 18 months ago in Cold Spring Minnesota at Rocori High School in which two students were shot. Or to the other 26 school shootings that have been recorded worldwide since April 20th, 1999. Perhaps we have become so accustomed to such incidents that we accept them with newfound resignation.

However, an analysis of distinctions between Red Lake and Columbine throws some light on the shortage of media attention. While the killers of Columbine came from relatively stable families in upper middle class suburbs, 16 year old Jeff Weise grew up without his parents on a reservation where 40% of the people are poor. Perhaps the important difference is that Mr. Weise’s behavior can be attributed to his troubled background, while there is no analogous explanation for Mr. Harris and Mr. Klebold.

The tragedy of Littleton seems to lie not in numbers, but in the greater ability of Middle America to relate to the victims and shooter. The story of a poor, suicidal Native American who subscribed to the Nazi standards of racial purity doesn’t hit nearly as close to home. Nor do the devastating effects of the incident on the Ojibwa tribe and Native American community. The various headlines and articles that discuss the impact of the shooting fcus on its small Native American community rather than on the nation as a whole indicate the manner in which the media wishes to portray the tragedy; as an isolated incident in an isolated community.

The tragedy of Littleton, Colorado triggered a frenzy of activity to re-establish a feeling of security in schools. The presence of metal detectors, school locker searches, and zero tolerance policies all bespeak a fear that Columbine may happen again. The frightening reality is that it already has. We just don’t hear about it anymore.