Zero Day

Andre Kriegman (born July 17, 1982) and Calvin "Cal" Gabriel (born February 5, 1983) are two friends living in New Stratford, Connecticut, USA. The two begin filming on June 23, 2000, announcing their intention to commit a school shooting at Iroquois High School, where they are both students. They call their plan "Zero Day" and themselves "The Army of Two". Both teens are troubled, as Cal exhibits signs of depression and suicidal ideation alongside his unmedicated ADD, while Andre varies between apathetic, hateful, or vindictive towards his peers and surroundings, and is drawn toward firearms and explosives. Neither of them are bullied or abused at home, putting emphasis on their internal strife rather than outside factors. The majority of the film is portrayed through a Camcorder and shows them documenting their planning and preparation for the attack, while hiding it from their friends and families. Their motive for the attack is inconclusive, with several conflicting or insufficient reasons being stated throughout the movie, especially during their penultimate video suicide note recorded on April 25, 2001. Scenes include casual adolescent activities, such as the two attending Andre's birthday party, egging the house of a fellow student they don't like, and Cal going to prom, while Andre works at a local pizza establishment. The rest of the entries are dedicated to the planning of the attack. In one of these video entries, Cal notes the origin of the name "Zero Day": when Cal and Andre originally planned to attack the school on the first day that the temperature would drop to zero degrees Fahrenheit, after they had finished their preparations. However, this only occurred once, during which Andre was sick, and so they set May 1, 2001, as the new date. Wanting their attack to have a memorable name, they agreed to keep the original title. The two arrive at school on the day of the attack and prepare their plans and weapons in Andre's car. Andre says that he could never have carried out Zero Day without Cal's help, a sentiment that the latter echoes. The video camera is set on the hood of the car and continues to film as they both run into the school through its west entrance, armed with a large number of firearms stolen from Andre's father and cousin, including both handguns and long guns, as well as homemade explosives and knives. Henceforth, the massacre is shown through the viewpoint of several black-and-white security cameras throughout the building, with audio of a 911 dispatcher playing in the background, who is attempting to persuade the two out of the attack and into surrendering peacefully. This dialogue is heard via the cellphone of student Omar Walters, who was previously shot and killed in the library. Neither of the shooters acknowledge the dispatcher, though she can evidently hear them and parrots useful information to the police. Shooting at anyone they see and threatening and taunting several witnesses, Andre and Cal kill a total of eleven students, one school resource officer and wound eighteen others via gunfire or shrapnel from their homemade pipe bombs. Eventually, the two see law enforcement surrounding the school after fourteen minutes of the incident in progress. After debating over whether to exchange gunfire with police, the pair decide to commit suicide by gunshot inside the library of the school. On May 10, nine days after the shooting, a group of youths film themselves driving to a makeshift memorial outside the school for those slain in the attack. It consists of fourteen wooden crosses, including both Andre and Cal. The group locates the pair's crosses, before subsequently setting them on fire and swiftly escaping the area. The film ends on a shot of the two crosses burning in the dark.