{"id":10089,"date":"2025-06-03T03:46:06","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T10:46:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/?page_id=10089"},"modified":"2025-06-03T03:46:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T10:46:08","slug":"film-may-have-fueled-kentucky-rampage","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/background\/behind-the-basketball-diaries\/the-basketball-diaries-controversies\/film-may-have-fueled-kentucky-rampage\/","title":{"rendered":"Film May Have Fueled Kentucky Rampage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Reuters, 5 December 1997<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WEST PADUCAH, Ky. (Reuters) – A fantasy scene in the 1995 film “The Basketball Diaries” may have inspired the Kentucky shooting rampage in which a 14-year-old boy killed three classmates and wounded five, a prosecutor said Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael Carneal, who faces murder charges after opening fire on a school prayer group Monday, has told authorities he remembers a scene in the movie that resembles the shootings, Commonwealth Attorney Timothy Kaltenbach said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I asked if he had ever seen this before, ever seen anything done like this, and he said, ‘Yes, I have seen this done in “Basketball Diaries.”‘ And I can tell you this, there is such a scene in ‘Basketball Diaries,”‘ Kaltenbach told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The movie, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio, was based on writer Jim Carroll’s 1978 memoir about a high school boy’s life filled with basketball, poetry and drugs. One scene features a fantasy in which the protagonist shoots classmates and a teacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I think that these movies are a factor, one factor that people come up with some of these ideas,” Kaltenbach said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bill Bond, principal of Heath High School, where the shootings took place, has said Carneal’s essays revealed a boy who felt he was constantly being ridiculed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three girls died in the attack, launched just as classes were set to resume Monday morning. The organs of one girl were donated for transplants, and two men have received her heart and lungs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the five wounded students, two girls remained in a hospital. Bond said one was paralyzed from the waist down, but a hospital spokesman would not confirm that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–Reuters Limited<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Webmaster’s note: Also in the Louisville Courier-Journal (5 Dec. 1997) page A7, it was reported that “…through an agent, (Jim) Carroll said yesterday he was ‘extremely saddened by the recent events in Kentucky.’ He denied any connection between his book, ‘written thirty years ago and the killings. What happened in Kentucky was a product of the pernicious violence of our time and the act of an unbalanced individual.'” <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was also a lead story on NBC NIGHTLY NEWS, showing film clips from the movie of DiCaprio shooting up his classroom. The reporters did point out that that was a dream sequence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sheriff and other officials in McCracken County also stated that they did not think the movie itself was a motive for the shootings.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to Paul for submitting this story to the website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reuters, 5 December 1997 WEST PADUCAH, Ky. (Reuters) – A fantasy scene in the 1995 film “The Basketball Diaries” may have inspired the Kentucky shooting rampage in which a 14-year-old boy killed three classmates and wounded five, a prosecutor said Thursday. Michael Carneal, who faces murder charges after opening fire on a school prayer group … Continue reading Film May Have Fueled Kentucky Rampage<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":4701,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"folder":[],"class_list":["post-10089","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P9VlUH-2CJ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4701,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/background\/behind-the-basketball-diaries\/the-basketball-diaries-controversies\/","url_meta":{"origin":10089,"position":0},"title":"The Basketball Diaries: Controversies","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Film and Book Blamed for Colorado Shootings Carroll's interview on NBC's Today show (5\/6\/99): https:\/\/youtu.be\/fV8zfL5DGhk?si=EYLaiEEiqZRbR2-J Carroll's appearance on Politically Incorrect (6\/8\/99) Complete transcript Linking of 'Basketball Diaries,' Columbine Shootings Upsets Author (5\/6\/99)By Nick Carter, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Jim Carroll Website Editorial (May 1999)by Cassie Carter, webmaster Columbine: Whose Fault Is\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/fV8zfL5DGhk\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4146,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/jim-carrolls-films\/scott-kalverts-the-basketball-diaries\/the-basketball-diaries-film-guide\/","url_meta":{"origin":10089,"position":1},"title":"The Basketball Diaries Film Guide","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"These pages offer reviews and commentary of Scott Kalvert's The Basketball Diaries (1995), a film based upon Jim Carroll's autobiographical book of the same title. Because the film is at best tangential to Jim Carroll's work and biography, what you will find here is not especially praiseful of the film.\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9047,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/background\/the-basketball-diaries-film-in-context\/","url_meta":{"origin":10089,"position":2},"title":"The Basketball Diaries Film in Context","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"March 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"These pages offer reviews and commentary of Scott Kalvert's\u00a0The Basketball Diaries, a film based upon Jim Carroll's autobiographical\u00a0book\u00a0of the same title. What you will find here is not especially praiseful of the film. Leonardo DiCaprio is a wonderful actor, as are all of the actors in the film, and they\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10086,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/background\/behind-the-basketball-diaries\/the-basketball-diaries-controversies\/parents-blame-shooting-on-hollywood\/","url_meta":{"origin":10089,"position":3},"title":"Parents Blame Shooting on Hollywood","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"June 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By James PrichardAssociated Press, 13 April 1999\u00a0 PADUCAH, Ky. (AP) -- The parents of three students killed during a shooting spree at a Kentucky high school are taking on the entertainment industry, claiming that media violence inspired the boy who fired the shots.\u00a0 The parents today announced their intent to\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4160,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/jim-carrolls-films\/scott-kalverts-the-basketball-diaries\/the-basketball-diaries-film-guide\/jim-carrolls-comments-on-the-basketball-diaries-film\/","url_meta":{"origin":10089,"position":4},"title":"Jim Carroll’s Comments on The Basketball Diaries Film","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Following a reading at Bowling Green State University in Ohio on 2\/20\/96, Carroll answered the question, \"What do you think of the film?\" He replied: I thought it was well made. I thought the performances were fantastic. I thought Leonardo waswonderful; I couldn't have asked for a better actor. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7343,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/jim-carrolls-films\/scott-kalverts-the-basketball-diaries\/the-basketball-diaries-film-guide\/another-fans-perspective\/","url_meta":{"origin":10089,"position":5},"title":"Another Fan’s Perspective","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"March 30, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Review of Scott Kalvert's The Basketball Diariesby\u00a0 Note: This review was written as an e-mail in response to my comments on the film's biographical inaccuracies. --Cassie Carter, Webmaster I have to agree with you completely on the subject of the movie\u00a0The Basketball Diaries. The movie is so different from the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10089"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10091,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10089\/revisions\/10091"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/folder?post=10089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}