'' Bang , Bang , You 're Dead ! '' was written in the wake of three school shootings : Thurston High School ( Springfield , Oregon ) on May 21 , 1998 , Heat High School ( Paducah , Kentucky ) on December 4 , 1997 , and Westside Middle School ( Jonesboro , Arkansas ) on March 23 , 1998 . The names of the cities in which these shootings took place are echoed multiple times within the script
Heat High School
Heath High School shooting
Bang Bang You're Dead (play)