“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”
Albert Einstein
On April 20, 1999 America witnessed the deadliest high school shooting in it’s history. Two teenagers, Eric Harris and Dylan Kiebold, shot up Columbine High School in Littleton, CO. killing 13 people and wounding 21 others. After the massacre they killed themselves.
After that horrific incident politicians had multiple photo ops wherein they decried these shootings and vowed to take steps to ensure that no other such incident ever occurs. Of course we know today that nothing has been done and these terrible atrocities continue.
The Right has been successful in painting logical gun control measures as the Liberal Left’s desire to take away there guns. I can not speak for anyone but I have never heard any politician state that guns should be taken away. Everyone agrees that the there is a second amendment right to bare arms, but most reasonable people agree that something must be done to minimize these mass shootings.
The asinine arguments presented by many on the Right are that; guns don’t kill people, people kill people, or that, imposing tighter requirements on obtaining gun permits are not going to prevent these shootings.
To level minded people these arguments make no sense. But the Right, with its (once) powerful gun lobby, the NRA, and its most vociferous cheerleader Donald Trump continually shoot down safety measures as a farce.
Isn’t it ironic that in order to drive a car one must be licensed. Even though everyone must be licensed, drivers still have accidents and kill people. Yet we still insist that all drivers be licensed. Or that in order to cut hair, barbers and hair stylists must be licensed. I’m pretty sure that some of those licensed barbers and stylists have ruined a few heads of hair but we still require them to be licensed.
I had a conversation with an acquaintance the other day, he’s a regular guy. Retired as a cable layer from one of the large phone companies. His take on this whole issue is that A) the liberal left wants to take away their guns, B) the issue is mental health not gun (reforms) control.
As a social worker, I agree that mental health is an issue and that mentally ill people should not be carrying guns. However, these are two separate issues. We could, and should, be addressing mental health and in finding ways to ensure that everyone that needs mental health treatment is able to get it. But, gun (reforms) control is about guns not mental health. While it may be true that some mass shooters have mental health issues, it is not true that all mentally ill people are mass shooters. While technically guns don’t jump up and shoot people, that they require a human to operate them it does not mean that we should not develop rules and regulations and screening mechanisms to weed out those few folks that demonstrate a propensity toward violence. Reasonable thinkers know that even if we put these systems in place we can not avoid or prevent every single act of unwanted violence. BUT, if those systems help prevent even one such act isn’t it better than nothing, isn’t it worth it?
The thing is that violence and these horrific shooting sprees have become so common place that nothing gets done. People hear the news, feel bad, shake their heads then move on. After such terrible acts take place the media and the elected officials jump on the soap box to decry the ugliness of it all. The issue gets talked about until the next news cycle when another issue becomes headline news.
Government works for us. We, the voters are their boss we are their employers. Elected officials should do what we want and need them to do. If they do not, we should fire them. The way we fire them is by voting them out of office.
Apathy, the lack of interest in politics, is the biggest enemy of a democratic society.
VOTE YOUR CONSCIOUS, VOTE FOR THE CANDIDATE OF YOUR CHOICE. WHATEVER, JUST VOTE.
A partial list of every mass shooting sprees since the first one in 1999 at Columbine High School in the town of Littleton in Columbine, Colorado:
July 29, 1999. Mark Orrin Barton, 44, murdered his wife and two children with a hammer before shooting up two Atlanta day trading firms. Barton, a day trader, was believed to be motivated by huge monetary losses. He killed 12 including his family and injured 13 before killing himself.
September 15, 1999. Larry Gene Ashbrook opened fire on a Christian rock concert and teen prayer rally at Wedgewood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, TX. He killed 7 people and wounded 7 others, almost all teenagers. Ashbrook committed suicide.
December 26, 2000. Edgewater Technology employee Michael “Mucko” McDermott shot and killed seven of his coworkers at the office in Wakefield, MA. McDermott claimed he had “traveled back in time and killed Hitler and the last 6 Nazis.” He was sentenced to 7 consecutive life sentences.
July 8, 2003. Doug Williams, a Lockheed Martin employee, shot up his plant in Meridian, MS in a racially-motivated rampage. He shot 14 people, most of them African American, and killed 7 before killing himself.
March 12, 2005. A Living Church of God meeting was gunned down by 44-year-old church member Terry Michael Ratzmann at a Sheraton hotel in Brookfield, WI. Ratzmann was thought to have had religious motivations, and killed himself after executing the pastor, the pastor’s 16-year-old son, and 7 others. Four were wounded.
March 21, 2005. Teenager Jeffrey Weise killed his grandfather and his grandfather’s girlfriend before opening fire on Red Lake Senior High School, killing 9 people on campus and injuring 5. Weise killed himself.
March 25, 2006. Seven died and 2 were injured by 28-year-old Kyle Aaron Huff in a shooting spree through Capitol Hill in Seattle, WA. The massacre was the worst killing in Seattle since 1983.
October 2, 2006. An Amish schoolhouse in Lancaster, PA was gunned down by 32-year-old Charles Carl Roberts, Roberts separated the boys from the girls, binding and shooting the girls. 5 young girls died, while 6 were injured. Roberts committed suicide afterward.
February 12, 2007. In Salt Lake City’s Trolley Square Mall, 5 people were shot to death and 4 others were wounded by 18-year-old gunman Sulejman Talovic. One of the victims was a 16-year-old boy.
April 16, 2007. Virginia Tech became the site of the deadliest school shooting in US history when a student, Seung-Hui Choi, gunned down 56 people. Thirty-two people died in the massacre.
December 5, 2007. A 19-year-old boy, Robert Hawkins, shot up a department store in the Westroads Mall in Omaha, NE. Hawkins killed 9 people and wounded 4 before killing himself. The semi-automatic rifle he used was stolen from his stepfather’s house.
February 7, 2008. Six people died and two were injured in a shooting spree at the City Hall in Kirkwood, Missouri. The gunman, Charles Lee Thornton, opened fire during a public meeting after being denied construction contracts he believed he deserved. Thornton was killed by police.
February 14, 2008. Steven Kazmierczak, 27, opened fire in a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University, killing 6 and wounding 21. The gunman shot and killed himself before police arrived. It was the fifth-deadliest university shooting in US history.
March 29, 2009. Eight people died in a shooting at the Pinelake Health and Rehab nursing home in Carthage, NC. The gunman, 45-year-old Robert Stewart, was targeting his estranged wife who worked at the home and survived. Stewart was sentenced to life in prison.
April 3, 2009. Jiverly Wong, 41, opened fire at an immigration center in Binghamton, New York before committing suicide. He killed 13 people and wounded 4.
November 5, 2009. Forty-three people were shot by Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan at the Fort Hood army base in Texas. Hasan reportedly yelled “Allahu Akbar!” before opening fire, killing 13 and wounding 29 others.
August 3, 2010. Omar S. Thornton, 34, gunned down Hartford Beer Distributor in Manchester, CT after getting caught stealing beer. Nine were killed, including Thornton, and two were injured.
January 8, 2011. Former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) was shot in the head when 22-year-old Jared Loughner opened fire on an event she was holding at a Safeway market in Tucson, AZ. Six people died, including Arizona District Court Chief Judge John Roll, one of Giffords’ staffers, and a 9-year-old girl. 19 total were shot. Loughner has been sentenced to seven life terms plus 140 years, without parole.
September 6, 2011. Eduardo Sencion, 32, entered an IHOP restaurant in Carson City, NV and shot 12 people. Five died, including three National Guard members.
October 14, 2011. Eight people died in a shooting at Salon Meritage hair salon in Seal Beach, CA. The gunman, 41-year-old Scott Evans Dekraai, killed six women and two men dead, while just one woman survived. It was Orange County’s deadliest mass killing.
February 27, 2012. Three students were killed by Thomas “TJ” Lane, another student, in a rampage at Chardon High School in Chardon, OH. Three others were injured.
April 2, 2012. A former student, 43-year-old One L. Goh killed 7 people at Oikos University, a Korean Christian college in Oakland, CA. The shooting was the sixth-deadliest school massacre in the US and the deadliest attack on a school since the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre.
April 6, 2012. Jake England, 19, and Alvin Watts, 32, shot 5 black men in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in racially motivated shooting spree. Three died.
May 29, 2012. Ian Stawicki opened fire on Cafe Racer Espresso in Seattle, WA, killing 5 and himself after a citywide manhunt.
July 20, 2012. During the midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, CO, 24-year-old James Holmes killed 12 people and wounded 58. Holmes was arrested outside the theater.
August 5, 2012. Six Sikh temple members were killed when 40-year-old US Army veteran Wade Michael Page opened fire in a gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Four others were injured, and Page killed himself.
September 27, 2012. Five were shot to death by 36-year-old Andrew Engeldinger at Accent Signage Systems in Minneapolis, MN. Three others were wounded. Engeldinger went on a rampage after losing his job, ultimately killing himself.
December 11, 2012. On Tuesday, 22-year-old Jacob Tyler Roberts killed 2 people and himself with a stolen rifle in Clackamas Town Center, Oregon. His motive is unknown.
Su Jung Health Sauna shooting Norcross, Georgia 2/21/2012 Jeong Soo Paek, 59, returned to a Korean spa from which he’d been kicked out after an altercation. He gunned down two of his sisters and their husbands before committing suicide.
Oikos University killings Oakland, California 4/2/2012 One L. Goh, 43, a former student, opened fire in a nursing classroom. He fled the scene by car and was arrested nearby a few hours later.
Seattle cafe shooting Seattle, Washington 5/20/2012 Ian Stawicki, 40, gunned down four patrons at a cafe, and another person during a carjacking nearby, then shot himself as police closed in. (He died later that day in a Seattle hospital.)
Aurora theater shooting Aurora, Colorado 7/20/2012 James Holmes, 24, opened fire in a movie theater during the opening night of “The Dark Night Rises” and was later arrested outside.
Sikh temple shooting Oak Creek, Wisconsin 8/5/2012 U.S. Army veteran Wade Michael Page, 40, opened fire in a Sikh gurdwara before he died from a self-inflicted gunshot would during a shootout with police.
Accent Signage Systems shooting Minneapolis, Minnesota 9/27/2012 Andrew Engeldinger, 36, upon learning he was being fired, went on a shooting rampage, killing the business owner, three fellow employees, and a UPS driver. He then killed himself.
Sandy Hook Elementary massacre Newtown, Connecticut 12/14/2012 Adam Lanza, 20, shot his mother dead at their home then drove to Sandy Hook Elementary school. He forced his way inside and opened fire, killing 20 children and six adults before committing suicide.
Pinewood Village Apartment shooting Federal Way, Washington 4/21/2013 Dennis Clark III, 27, shot and killed his girlfriend in their shared apartment, and then shot two witnesses in the building’s parking lot and a third victim in another apartment, before being killed by police.
Santa Monica rampage Santa Monica, California 6/7/2013 John Zawahri, 23, armed with a homemade assault rifle and high-capacity magazines, killed his brother and father at home and then headed to Santa Monica College, where he was eventually killed by police.
Hialeah apartment shooting Hialeah, Florida 7/26/2013 Pedro Vargas, 42, set fire to his apartment, killed six people in the complex, and held another two hostages at gunpoint before a SWAT team stormed the building and fatally shot him.
Washington Navy Yard shooting Washington, D.C. 9/16/2013 Aaron Alexis, 34, a military veteran and contractor from Texas, opened fire in the Navy installation, killing 12 people and wounding 8 before being shot dead by police.
Alturas tribal shooting Alturas, California 2/20/2014 Cherie Lash Rhoades, 44, opened fire at the Cedarville Rancheria Tribal Office and Community Center, killing four and wounding two. After running out of ammunition, Rhoades grabbed a butcher knife and stabbed another person.
Fort Hood shooting 2 Fort Hood, Texas 4/3/2014 Army Specialist Ivan Lopez, 34, opened fire at the Fort Hood Army Post in Texas, killing three and wounding at least 12 others before shooting himself in the head after engaging with military police. Lt. Gen. Mark A. Milley told reporters that Lopez “had behavioral health and mental health” issues.
Isla Vista mass murder Santa Barbara, California 5/23/2014 Elliot Rodger, 22, shot three people to death in the college town of Isla Vista near the University of California, Santa Barbara. He also shot others as he drove around town, and injured others by striking them with is vehicle. He committed suicide by shooting himself in his car as police closed in. Prior to the rampage, Rodger stabbed three people to death at his apartment.
Marysville-Pilchuck High School shooting Marysville, Washington 10/24/2014 “Jaylen Fryberg, 15, using a .40-caliber Berretta, shot five
students at Marysville High School, including two of his cousins and three friends, killing all but one. Fryberg arranged to meet them for lunch in the school cafeteria by text. Fryberg was reportedly well-liked at the school and there was not believed to be any ill-will between him and his victims. He committed suicide at the scene.”
Trestle Trail bridge shooting Menasha, Wisconsin 6/11/2015 Sergio Valencia del Toro, 27, in what officials say was a random act, shot and killed three people including an 11-year-old girl before turning the gun on himself.
Charleston Church Shooting Charleston, South Carolina 6/17/2015 Dylann Storm Roof, 21, shot and killed 9 people after opening fire at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. According to a roommate, he had allegedly been “planning something like that for six months.”
Chattanooga military recruitment center Chattanooga, Tennessee 7/16/2015 Kuwaiti-born Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez, 24, a naturalized US citizen, opened fire at a Naval reserve center, and then drove to a military recruitment office where he shot and killed four Marines and a Navy service member, and wounded a police officer and another military service member. He was then fatally shot in an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement officers responding to the attack.
Umpqua Community College shooting Roseburg, Oregon 10/1/2015 26-year-old Chris Harper Mercer opened fire at Umpqua Community College in southwest Oregon. The gunman shot himself to death after being wounded in a shootout with police.
Colorado Springs shooting rampage Colorado Springs, Colorado 10/31/2015 Noah Harpham, 33, shot three people before dead in Colorado Springs before police killed him in a shootout.
Planned Parenthood clinic Colorado Springs, Colorado 11/27/2015 Robert Lewis Dear, 57, shot and killed a police officer and two citizens when he opened fire at a Planned Parenthood health clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Nine others were wounded. Dear was arrested after an hours-long standoff with police.
San Bernardino mass shooting San Bernardino, California 12/2/2015 Syed Rizwan Farook left a Christmas party held at Inland Regional Center, later returning with Tashfeen Malik and the two opened fire, killing 14 and wounding 21, ten critically. The two were later killed by police as they fled in an SUV.
Kalamazoo shooting spree Kalamazoo County, Michigan 2/20/2016 Jason B. Dalton, a driver for Uber, apparently selected his victims randomly as he went on a rampage over several hours in three different locations, including five people he shot in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel restaurant. He was “arrested without incident” at a downtown Kalamazoo bar about six hours after the rampage began.
Excel Industries mass shooting Hesston, Kansas 2/25/2016 Cedric L. Ford, who worked as a painter at a manufacturing company, shot victims from his car and at his workplace before being killed by police at the scene. Shortly before the rampage he had been served with a restraining order.
Orlando nightclub massacre Orlando, Florida 6/12/2016 Omar Mateen, 29, attacked the Pulse nighclub in Orlando in the early morning hours of June 12. He was killed by law enforcement who raided the club after a prolonged standoff.
Dallas police shooting Dallas, Texas 7/7/2016 Micah Xavier Johnson, a 25-year-old Army veteran, targeted police at a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest, killing five officers and injuring nine others as well as two civilians. After a prolonged standoff in a downtown building, law enforcement killed Johnson using a robot-delivered bomb.
Baton Rouge police shooting Baton Rouge, Lousiana 7/17/2016 Gavin Long, 29, a former Marine who served in Iraq, killed three police offers responding to a 911 call, and wounded three others. He was killed in a shoot-out with other officers responding to the scene. Prior to the attack, Long posted prolifically on social media, where he expressed admiration for the cop killer in Dallas 10 days prior.
Cascade Mall shooting Burlington, Washington 9/23/2016 Arcan Cetin, 20, killed a teen girl and three women in the cosmetics section of a Macy’s department store at the Cascade Mall. A man was critically wounded in the shooting and taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he died. Cetin was apprehended by police a few hours after the shooting while driving a car near his residence.
Fort Lauderdale airport shooting Fort Lauderdale, Florida 1/6/2017 Esteban Santiago, 26, flew from Alaska to Fort Lauderdale, where he opened fire in the baggage claim area of the airport, killing five and wounding six before police aprehended him. (Numerous other people were reportedly injured while fleeing during the panic.)
Fresno downtown shooting Fresno, California 4/18/2017 Kori Ali Muhammad, 39, opened fire along a street in downtown Fresno, killing three people randomly in an alleged hate crime prior to being apprehended by police. Muhammad, who is black, killed three white victims and later described his attack as being racially motivated; he also reportedly yelled ‘Allahu Akbar’ at the time he was arrested, but authorities indicated they found no links to Islamist terrorism.
Rural Ohio nursing home shooting Kirkersville, Ohio 5/12/2017 Thomas Hartless, 43, shot and killed a former girlfriend and another employee of a nursing home, and fatally shot the Kirkersville police chief responding to the scene. Hartless’ former girlfriend had recently obtained a court protection order against Hartless. Investigators later found more than 60 firearms in the home of Hartless, who was found dead at the scene of the attack, having turned his gun on himself, according to local authorities.
Florida awning manufacturer shooting Orlando, Florida 6/5/2017 John Robert Neumann, Jr., 45, a former employee of manufacturer Fiamma Inc. fatally shot five workers at the company, and then killed himself on the scene. He’d been fired from the company in April. The attack took place a week before the one-year anniversary of the Orlando nightclub massacre.
Pennsylvania supermarket shooting Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania 6/7/17 Randy Stair, a 24-year-old worker at Weis grocery fatally shot three of his fellow employees. He reportedly fired 59 rounds with a pair of shotguns before turning the gun on himself as another co-worker fled the scene for help and law enforcement responded.
San Francisco UPS shooting San Francisco, CA 6/14/17 Jimmy Lam, 38, fatally shot three coworkers and wounded two others inside a UPS facility in San Francisco. Lam killed himself as law enforcement officers responded to the scene.
Edgewood businees park shooting Edgewood, MD 10/18/17 Radee Labeeb Prince, 37, fatally shot three people and wounded two others around 9am at Advance Granite Solutions, a home remodeling business where he worked near Baltimore. Hours later he shot and wounded a sixth person at a car dealership in Wilmington, Delaware. He was apprehended that evening following a manhunt by authorities.
Las Vegas Strip massacre Las Vegas, NV 10/1/17 Stephen Craig Paddock, 64, fired a barrage of rapid gunfire—using semiautomatic rifles modified with “bump stocks”—down on thousands of concertgoers on the Las Vegas Strip late on a Sunday night; Paddock had positioned himself in a corner suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, where he took aim from broken out windows. Shortly after the attack began, police responding found Paddock inside the hotel suite, deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot.
Walmart shooting in suburban Denver Thornton, CO 11/1/17 Scott Allen Ostrem, 47, walked into a Walmart in a suburb north of Denver and fatally shot two men and a woman, then left the store and drove away. After an all-night manhunt, Ostrem, who had financial problems but no serious criminal history, was captured by police after being spotted near his apartment in Denver.
Texas First Baptist Church massacre Sutherland Springs, TX 11/5/17 Devin Patrick Kelley, a 26-year-old ex-US Air Force airman, opened fire at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs during Sunday morning services, killing at least 26 people and wounding and injuring 20 others. He left the church and fled in his vehicle after engaging in a gunfight with a local citizen; he soon crashed his vehicle and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Rancho Tehama shooting spree Rancho Tehama, CA 11/14/17 Kevin Janson Neal, 44, went on an approximately 45-minute shooting spree in the rural community of Rancho Tehama Reserve in Northern California, including shooting up an elementary school, before being killed by law enforcement officers. Neal had also killed his wife at home.
Pennsylvania carwash shooting Melcroft, PA 1/28/18 Timothy O’Brien Smith, 28, wearing body armor and well-stocked with ammo, opened fire at a carwash early in the morning in this rural community, killing four people. A fifth victim, though not shot, suffered minor injuries. One of the deceased victims, 25-year-old Chelsie Cline, had been romantically involved with Smith and had broken off the relationship recently, according to her sister. Smith shot himself in the head and died later that night at the hospital.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting Parkland, FL 2/14/18 Nikolas J. Cruz, 19, heavily armed with an AR-15, tactical gear, and “countless magazines” of ammo, according to the Broward County Sheriff, attacked the high school as classes were ending for the day, killing at least 17 people and injuring many others. He was apprehended by authorities shortly after fleeing the campus.
Yountville veterans home shooting Yountville, CA 3/9/18 Army veteran Albert Cheung Wong, 36, stormed a veterans home where he was previously under care, exchanging gunfire with a sheriff’s deputy and taking three women hostage, one of whom he’d previously threatened. After a standoff with law enforcement, he killed the three women and himself.
Waffle House shooting Nashville, TN 4/22/18 Travis Reinking, 29, opened fire around 3:30 a.m. in the parking lot of a Waffle House in Antioch, and continued shooting as he entered the restaurant. As he attempted to reload his AR-15, a bystander heroically wrestled the rifle away from Reinking, who then fled; he was captured by authorities the following day. Reinking had a history of erratic behavior and run-ins with law enforcement in his home state of Illinois, including claims that he was being stalked and harassed by pop star Taylor Swift. In July 2017, he was arrested at the White House after breaching security in an effort to speak with President Trump, reportedly claiming his right to do so as “a sovereign citizen.”
Santa Fe High School shooting Santa Fe, TX 5/18/18 Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a 17-year-old student, opened fire at Santa Fe High School with a shotgun and .38 revolver owned by his father; Pagourtzis killed 10 and injured at least 13 others before surrendering to authorities after a standoff and additional gunfire inside the school. (Pagourtzis reportedly had intended to commit suicide.) Investigators also found undetonated explosive devices in the vicinity.
Capital Gazette shooting Annapolis, MD 6/28/18 Jarrod W. Ramos, 38, shot through the glass doors of the paper’s newsroom around 3pm to carry out his attack; police quickly responding to the scene found him hiding under a desk and apprehended him. Ramos had harbored a longstanding grudge against the paper over a 2011 column that had detailed his guilty plea for the harassment of a former female classmate. Ramos had sued the paper for defamation and lost.
Fifth Third Center shooting Cincinnati, OH 9/6/18 Omar Enrique Santa Perez, 29, walked into the ground-floor lobby of a building in downtown Cincinnati shortly after 9 a.m. and opened fire. Within minutes, Perez was fatally wounded in a shootout with law enforcement officers responding to the scene.
Rite Aid warehouse shooting Perryman, MD 9/20/18 Snochia Moseley, 26, reportedly a disgruntled employee, shot her victims outside the building and on the warehouse floor; she later died from a self-inflicted gunshot at a nearby hospital. (No law enforcement officers responding to her attack fired shots.)
T&T Trucking shooting Bakersfield, CA 9/12/18 Javier Casarez, 54, who was going through a bitter divorce, went on a shooting spree targeting his ex-wife and former coworkers at the trucking company. His attack included fatally shooting one victim who he pursued to a nearby sporting goods retailer, and two others at a private residence. After then carjacking a woman who was driving with a child (and letting the two go), Casarez fatally shot himself as law enforcement officials closed in on him.
Tree of Life synagogue shooting Pittsburgh, PA 10/27/18 Robert D. Bowers, 46, shouted anti-Semitic slurs as he opened fire inside the Tree of Life synagogue during Saturday morning worship. He was armed with an assault rifle and multiple handguns and was apprehended after a standoff with police. His social media accounts contained virulent anti-Semitic content, and references to migrant caravan “invaders” hyped by President Trump and the Republican party ahead of the 2018 midterms elections.
Thousand Oaks nightclub shooting Thousand Oaks, CA 11/7/18 Ian David Long, 28, dressed in black and armed with a handgun and a “smoke device,” approached the Borderline Bar & Grill — a country music venue popular with college students — close to midnight and opened fire, killing a security guard and then others in the club, including a sheriff’s deputy responding to the attack. Long was found dead at the scene from apparent suicide. He was a former Marine and had a history of interactions with local law enforcement, including a mental health evaluation in which he’d been cleared.
Mercy Hospital shooting Chicago, IL 11/19/18 Juan Lopez, 32, confronted his former fiancé, ER doctor Tamara O’Neal, before shooting her and opening fire on others at the hospital, including a responding police officer, Samuel Jimenez, and a pharmacy employee, Dayna Less. Lopez was fatally shot by a responding SWAT officer. Lopez had a history of domestic abuse against an ex-wife, and was kicked out of a fire department training academy for misconduct against female cadets.
SunTrust bank shooting Sebring, FL 1/23/19 Zephen A. Xaver, 21, fatally shot five women inside a bank and then called the police to confess. He was armed with a handgun and wore a bulletproof vest. He reportedly ordered the women to lie down on the floor and shot them execution-style. After a standoff with police, he surrendered and was taken into custody. A week prior, Xaver had quit a job as a prison guard trainee, and authorities said they believed the shooting was “a random act” and that roberry did not appear to be a motive. An ex-girlfriend in Indiana told local media she’d been “scared for years” by Xaver’s talk of violence and death, but that her warnings to others (who she did not identify) were not taken seriously. She said she’d first met Xaver in a psychiatric hospital in 2013. In March 2017, Michigan State Police documented an incident in which Xaver indicated he was “possibly thinking of suicide by cop and taking hostages.”
Pennsylvania hotel bar shooting State College, PA 1/24/19 Jordan Witmer, 21, shot three people at a Ramada Hotel bar near Penn State University, including a former girlfriend he was there with. He then fled the bar, crashed his car about a mile away, and stormed into a random house, fatally shooting an elderly resident and then himself. Witmer, who had a legal carry permit for his handgun, had just finished a three-year stint in the US Army; ten days prior to the attack he had been convicted on drunk driving-related charges in Kentucky, where he’d been stationed.
Harry Pratt Co. warehouse shooting Aurora, IL 2/15/19 Gary Martin, 45, went on a rampage inside the warehouse in response to being fired from his job and died soon thereafter in a shootout with police. Among his victims were five dead coworkers and five injured police officers. Martin had a felony record and lengthy history of domestic violence; he was able to obtain a gun despite having had his Illinois firearms ownership identification card revoked. According to a report from prosecutors, Martin told a co-worker the morning of the shooting that if he was fired he was going to kill employees and police.
Virginia Beach municipal building shooting Virginia Beach, VA 5/31/19 DeWayne Craddock, 40, a municipal city worker wielding handguns, a suppressor and high-capacity magazines, killed en masse inside a Virginia Beach muncipal building late in the day on a Friday, before dying in a prolonged gun battle with police. Craddock reportedly had submitted his resignation from his job that morning. He was a veteran of the Virginia Army National Guard, and “had a shaved head, bodybuilder’s physique and cameras in the windows of his house on a peaceful cul-de-sac,” according to the Washington Post.
Gilroy garlic festival shooting Gilroy, CA 7/28/19 Santino William LeGan, 19, fired indiscriminately into the crowd near a concert stage at the festival. He used an AK-47-style rifle, purchased legally in Nevada three weeks earlier. After apparently pausing to reload, he fired additional multiple rounds before police shot him and then he killed himself. A witness described overhearing someone shout at LeGan, “Why are you doing this?” LeGan, who wore camouflage and tactical gear, replied: “Because I’m really angry.” The murdered victims included a 13-year-old girl, a man in his 20s, and six-year-old Stephen Romero.
El Paso Walmart mass shooting El Paso, TX 8/3/19 Patrick Crusius, 21, who was apprehended by police, posted a so-called manifesto online shortly before the attack espousing ideas of violent white nationalism and hatred of immigrants. “This attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas,” he allegedly wrote in the document.
Dayton entertainment district shooting Dayton, OH 8/4/19 Connor Betts, 24, died during the attack, following a swift police response. He wore tactical gear including body armor and hearing protection, and had an ammunition device capable of holding 100 rounds. Betts had a history of threatening behavior dating back to high school, including reportedly having hit lists targeting classmates for rape and murder.