Wednesday, May 25, 2022

School Mass Murders From the World's Most Discouraging Book

 Obviously I am only up to 1947.

Como, Colo. (1895)

Before 5/8/1895: Man rumored to have put one of his daughters “in a delicate condition” took revenge on the school board, with whom he had existing bad history.  He murdered three directors of the school board.

Category: public

Suicide: no

Cause: revenge

Weapon: unknown[1]



[1] “Was Cool Murder,” Rock Island [Ill.] Argus, May 8, 1895, 1.

Allegheny Co., Penn. (1896)

2/?/1896: “During an exhibition given at the close of a writing school, a row occurred which resulted in the killing of three men and the wounding of fifteen.”  The instructor was charged with at least two of the killings.

Category: school

Suicide: no

Cause: altercation

Weapon: firearm[1]



[1] “Three Men Killed,” Marietta [Ohio] Daily Leader, Mar. 2, 1896, 1.

Bath, Michigan (1927)

05/18/1927: Treasurer of the local school board was angered by his property tax increase to pay for a new school building he had opposed, murdered 37 children and six adults as well as seriously injuring 44 others with a dynamite bomb in the basement of the school.  Only a wiring fault prevented other charges from taking down the rest of the building which would endangered 150 more students.  The murderer had already beaten his wife to death at their home before blowing up their house.  He blew himself up in his car in front of the school 30 minutes after the school explosion.

Category: public

Suicide: yes

Cause: Revenge

Weapon: explosive, blunt object[1]



 [1] “Fate Saves Scores in Blast When Maniac’s Plot Kills 43,” [Washington, D.C.] Evening Star, May 19, 1927, 1.

Austin, Tex. (1966)

8/1/1966: Sniper opens fire from a tower at the University of Texas, killing 14, and wounding another 33, after having killed his wife and mother.

Category: public

Suicide: no

Cause: likely mental illness, caused by brain tumor; murderer requested autopsy to look for evidence

Weapon: rifle[1]



[1] Kirk Heilbrun, Joel Dvoskin, and Anna Heilbrun, “Toward Preventing Future Tragedies: Mass Killings on College Campuses, Public Health, and Threat/Risk Assessment,” Journal of Psychological Injury and Law 2:94 (2009); J.M. Prutting, “Symposium On Medical Progress and the Postmortem,” Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, July, 1968, 794.

Fullerton, Cal. (1976)

07/12/1976: California State University, Fullerton custodian shot and killed seven people, wounding two.

Category: school

Suicide: no

Cause: mental illness

Weapon: rifle[1]



[1] Maria Bovsun, “Mass Murderer Who Killed 7 At Cal State Fullerton Begs to be Freed From Psychiatric Hospital,” New York Daily News, Jun. 11, 2016.

Winnetka, Ill. (1988)

5/20/1988: Woman under psychiatric treatment with a history of threatening phone calls delivered poisoned food and drink to her psychiatrist, ex-husband, two Northwestern University fraternities, people she barely knew, set fire to an occupied home, and used a handgun to murder one, and wound seven.  In spite of many different methods, she killed far less than she intended.

Category: public

Suicide: yes

Cause: mental illness

Weapon: poison, arson, pistol[1]



[1] George Papajohn and Joel Kaplan, “THE MANY FACES OF LAURIE DANN,” Chicago Tribune, Jun. 5, 1988, https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-06-05-8801040887-story.html,  Last accessed November 24, 2018.

A few where I know where and when but no other details.

University of Iowa (1991)

Unidentified November 1, 1991

Oh yes the 1958 Our Lady of the Angels arson, to which a 10-year-old confessed killed 95.  Of course there are a number starting in 1979.

2 comments:

  1. Here's another one: Cleveland Elementary School shooting in San Diego, 1979. "The principal and a custodian were killed; eight children and police officer Robert Robb were injured. A 16-year-old girl, Brenda Spencer, who lived in a house across the street from the school, was convicted of the shootings...A reporter reached Spencer by phone while she was still in the house after the shooting, and asked her why she committed the crime. She reportedly answered: 'I don't like Mondays. This livens up the day,' which inspired Bob Geldof and Johnnie Fingers to write the Boomtown Rats song 'I Don't Like Mondays.'"
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Elementary_School_shooting_(San_Diego)

    ReplyDelete