Just as with every unexplainable tragedy, psychologists, law enforcement officials and pundits are hunting for the reasoning behind the massacre in Littleton, Colo.

Was it the violent video games that inspired teen-age killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold to shoot 13 members of their high school class? Was it their reported love of shock rocker Marilyn Manson? And what about their parents?

Both the boys’ parents issued apologetic statements shortly after the shootings, proclaiming their shock about the shooting spree.

Like the rest of the country, they said, they still are trying to find out what happened, what turned their children from bright, ambitious kids to killers.

It’s probably not possible to explain what exactly happened to those boys or what made them so angry. But one thing is for sure: It certainly wasn’t their taste in music.

One of the most frustrating things about incidents such as Littleton is that nobody ever seems to learn from them. Society is too willing to lay the blame on other factors.

It’s easy to understand why people want a simple explanation for shootings. It’s easier to blame a staple of pop culture than it is to realize nobody intervened until after it was much too late.

Nobody wants to admit that these kids desperately needed help, and no one seemed to reach out to them.

In light of what happened last week, it’s extremely embarrassing to acknowledge that a teacher never called their parents, telling them there may be reason to be concerned.

It’s embarrassing to admit that their parents either didn’t notice the warning signs or didn’t care.

And it’s more embarrassing to note that the boys’ peers were extremely insensitive to them and their needs.

Technology and musicians who wear make-up are easy scapegoats for incidents such as this. However, it does not take a sociologist with a degree in human behavior to know that there was something deeply wrong within the two boys long before they started building their highly stocked arsenals.

People who obviously are crying out for attention deserve more than others ignoring them. The young men are certainly to blame for what happened, but there are factors besides their love of black trench coats that inspired their action. From every report issued after the shootings, it’s obvious that they needed help, no matter what influenced their anger.

It’s important to remember the tragedy at Littleton, but it’s more important to learn from it.