Ramsey's father was sent to prison when he was seven, and then his mother slipped into alcoholism. Ramsey and his siblings were then sent to foster homes, and in at least one he was sexually abused. Often, his own foster brothers would pay other students to beat him up as a sick game. He suffered from depression from as young as 10 and was contemplating suicide five years before the shootings.
Ramsey was reportedly picked on frequently at school. According to friends, Ramsey was very smart and was often, ironically, called names such as "retard", "spaz", "screech", or "braindead".
Evan Ramsey did an interview with Anderson Cooper titled "In The Mind of a Killer" in which he blamed the videogame, Doom, for the school shooting.
Ramsey is reported to claim he did not understand his actions would really kill people.