Crime

An unidentified man entered a school exhibition concert and began firing at random. We will likely never know who he was as nothing was recorded. Not even his race or any physical description are known, nor his motives. Just that he was a man with a gun. This absence of identity likely reflects the limitations of record-keeping at the time, the local nature of the incident, and the passage of more than a century with little scholarship focusing on such crimes. This is also why no specific date is given. At least 14 people were wounded, mostly children, with several seriously injured.

Victims

The names of the victims are unknown. There is no report of anyone dying because of the incident, but it is possible that they succumbed to their wounds with how primitive medicine was back then.

Upbringing

No name or biographical information about the shooter appears in the historical lists or secondary summaries that record this event. The assailant is consistently described simply as "unknown". It can be assumed that he fled and got away with it, since there are no arrest records or court dates to follow his crime.

Reputation

unknown

Motive

unknown

Crime

One fall afternoon, ex-Marine Charles Whitman shot and killed 15 people. 31 were also wounded as he opened fire at random from the Main Tower. This was after stabbing his mother and wife to death in order to "spare them the embarrassment" of what he decided to do.

The massacre lasted about 96 minutes until cops eventually shot and killed him.

Victims

• Margaret Elizabeth Whitman: stabbed to death in her home.
• Kathleen Frances Whitman: stabbed to death in the couple's shared home.
• Edna Elizabeth Townsley: receptionist, bludgeoned with the butt of Whitman's rifle.
• Mark Jerome Gabour: teenage tourist, shot in the head while navigating barricade.
• Marguerite Lamport: tourist, shot in the stairwell on the 28th floor.
• Unborn son of Claire Wilson: first person shot from the tower.
• Thomas Frederick Eckman: freshman at the University, shot after Claire Wilson.
• Dr. Robert Hamilton Boyer: mathematician, shot and killed.
• Karen Joan Griffith: student of Whitman's wife, shot and died one week later.
• Thomas Ray Karr: shot while assisting Karen Griffith, bled out later.
• Thomas Aquinas Ashton: shot and killed on his way to meet fellow Peace Corps members.
• Paul Bolton Sonntag: shot in the mouth while behind a barricade, killed.
• Claudia Marie Rutt: shot fatally in the chest while aiding Paul Sonntag.
• Carla Sue Wheeler: shot in the hand while assisting Claudia Rutt, retreated to hide.
• Harry Walchuk: student pursuing PhD, killed.
• Patrol Officer Billy Paul Speed: shot and killed.
• Roy Dell Schmidt: electrician, killed by Whitman.
• David Hubert Gunby: survived initial shooting, later died due to kidney injury, ruled homicide 20 years later.
• Mary Frances Gabour: shot in the head, blinded and permanently disabled.
• Michael Gabour: son of Mary Frances, shot and injured, preventing Air Force service.
• Devereaux Maitland Huffman: shot, survived by playing dead.
• Aleck Hernandez: delivering papers, shot through femur.
• Nancy Harvey: pregnant, shot along with friend Ellen Evganides (injured by ricochet).
• Irma Garcia: shot while trying to escape.
• Oscar Royvela: student, shot while assisting Irma Garcia.
• Robert Heard: reporter, shot in the left arm.
• Janet Paulos: shot while walking to lunch.
• Abdul Khashab: Janet Paulos' fiancé, shot while walking to lunch.
• Sandra Wilson: shot in the spine.
• Lana Kay Phillips: retail employee, shot outside work.
• Billy Snowden: coach, shot outside, sought refuge in barbershop.
• David Mattson: student, shot in wrist, disabled for life.
• Homer Jackson Kelley: shopkeeper, injured by shrapnel assisting Mattson.
• Roland Ehlke: Peace Corps volunteer, injured by shrapnel assisting Mattson.
• John Scott Allen: student, shot in right arm.
• Brenda Gail Littlefield: staff member, shot.
• Adrian Littlefield: shot while trying to assist Brenda Littlefield.
• Morris Hohmann: funeral director, shot in thigh while aiding wounded.
• Avelino Esparza: carpenter, humerus shattered by gunshot.
• Della Martinez: visitor, wounded by shell fragments.
• Marina Martinez: visitor, wounded by shell fragments.
• Robert Frede: student, injured in crossfire.
• F.L. Foster: injured in crossfire.
• Miguel Solis: injured during commotion, not shot.
• C.A. Stewart: injured during commotion, not shot.

Upbringing

Charles Whitman was born on June 24, 1941, in Lake Worth, Florida. He grew up in a middle class family with two siblings. His father, Charles Sr., was reportedly strict and controlling, and his relationship with his mother, Margaret, was also tense at times. Whitman experienced feelings of social isolation and reported being bullied in school. Despite these challenges, he excelled academically, particularly in mathematics and mechanical skills. He showed an early interest in engineering and science. Whitman joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1959, where he received extensive training in marksmanship and discipline. Later, he attended the University of Texas at Austin, studying architectural engineering. During his young adult years, Whitman exhibited signs of mental health struggles, including severe headaches, mood swings, and escalating violent thoughts, which were documented in his letters and personal writings prior to the shooting.

Reputation

Whitman was generally regarded as intelligent, disciplined, and polite by teachers, peers, and neighbors, but also socially isolated and reserved. Some described him as tense, irritable, and prone to sudden mood changes. While he excelled academically and in marksmanship, he struggled to form close friendships and was sometimes seen as strange or aloof. People who knew him were reportedly unaware of his violent thoughts.

Motive

In the months leading up to the shooting, Whitman complained of constant headaches and violent urges to his psychiatrist. He admitted to physically abusing his wife, Kathleen and spoke of not wanting to become like his father. In his suicide notes, he begged for his brain to be examined because he knew something was wrong. Whitman's exact motives remain partly unclear, but evidence from his journals and notes suggests a combination of personal, psychological, and physiological factors. He reported experiencing intense violent impulses and intrusive thoughts he could not control. Whitman had a history of anxiety, mood swings, and feelings of social isolation. He also expressed frustration with his personal life, including marital and familial tensions. Investigators and psychologists believe his actions were influenced by both these mental health and neurological factors.

Whitman's autopsy revealed his tumor in the white matter above his amygdala was too small. The tumor was not connected to any sensory nerves. Despite this, some experts believe this tumor may have contributed to the violent and abusive impulses he had been exhibiting in the months prior.

Aftermath

This event had a lasting influence on law enforcement procedures, campus security, and gun control awareness. It contributed to the development of active shooter response protocols, emphasizing rapid police intervention rather than containment. The tragedy also led universities to re-evaluate emergency preparedness, communication systems, and mental health support for students. While not directly resulting in federal gun legislation, the incident became a reference point in discussions about firearm access, mental health evaluation, and the need for local authorities to coordinate effectively during mass shootings.

Crime

During Christmas break, an honor roll student broke into his high school armed with two rifles, a 12 gauge, and a couple of explosives. He was an expert marksman on the school's rifle team so his guns were something he took a lot of pride in and even outfitted them with telescopic sights. The .30-06 was initially designed for the military, but became popular with big game hunters in the 70s. No students were present, only Principal Louis Nicol, secretaries, business office, maintenance and custodians were at Olean High school the time of Anthony setting off the Molotov inside the school. He was unable to break into the student council room and shot the lock off the door. Alerted by the fire alarm, Earl Metcalf went to investigate and was killed.

The student council room was where Anthony orchestrated the main attack while the staff members hid in the boiler room. He fired 31 shots, killing 2 more people and wounding 11 others. During this, the New York state police arrived and began trying to smoke Anthony out. They were finally joined by State Troopers and the National Guard who came to collect the injured. Barbaro was found unconscious, wearing a defective gas mask.

Victims

• Earl Metcalf: shot and killed during the incident.
• Neal Pilon: Columbia Gas Co. employee, shot while crossing the street outside the school; pronounced dead on arrival at Olean General Hospital.
• Carmen Wright Drayton: six months pregnant, shot in the head inside her car while driving by the school; pronounced dead on arrival at Olean General Hospital.
• Seven others: survived the shooting with gunshot wounds.
• Four additional individuals: sustained injuries from flying glass fragments.
• Eight Olean city firemen: wounded by gunfire while responding, having believed the alarm was a fire.

Upbringing

Barbaro was a lifelong resident of Olean, New York. He grew up in a middle class household with his parents and three younger siblings. At Olean High School he was an honor student, ranked among the top academic performers in his class, and was inducted into the National Honor Society; he also excelled on the school's rifle team and had won a Regents Scholarship. People who knew him described him as quiet and academically capable, and there were no major disciplinary issues reported during his school years.

Reputation

Barbaro was generally seen by teachers and peers as a quiet, academically successful student with a strong interest in marksmanship. The school principal described him as "more of a loner than not," but he was not known to cause trouble or exhibit overtly violent behavior at school. Outside of his strong academic and rifle team performance, there were few publicly known red flags among those who knew him.

Motive

Police were unable to determine a clear external motive for Barbaro's actions. In a note he left behind, he wrote that he felt he wanted to kill himself but lacked the courage to do so and believed getting someone else to kill him was a way to achieve that; a reflection of suicidal ideation rather than a targeted grievance. Prior to the shooting he had spoken to a teammate about wanting to engage in a dramatic confrontation with police, but no concrete motive has been definitively established beyond what he wrote in his note.

Aftermath

This shooting is one of the earlier modern school shootings in the United States. The incident occurred while the school was closed for the holidays, and Barbaro fired from a third floor room onto the street below. He was arrested and charged with multiple counts, but he hanged himself in his jail cell before trial. While the event was covered in news at the time and remains documented locally and in historical records, it did not result in major nationwide legislative change or policy reform in the way later, more widely publicized school shootings did. It is sometimes noted in discussions of early school violence in American history, but specific legislative impact attributed directly to this case is not widely cited.

Crime

One winter morning in the Sunshine state, Brenda Spencer opened fire on an elementary school from the window of her father's living room. The police eventually convinced a garbage truck to shield the school from anymore shots. Spencer barricaded herself in the house until she got a phone call from a reporter from The Evening Tribune. She threatened to come out shooting at the police and was eventually negotiated with in exchange for some Burger King.

Victims

• Cam Miller: shot, reportedly because he was wearing a blue shirt (her favorite color).
• Charles Miller: shot in the lower back.
• Christy Buell: shot in the abdomen.
• Julie Robles: struck in the rear end.
• Monica Selvig: lost her hand.
• Richard Hernandez: injured in the chest.
• David Jacoby: leg was wounded.
• Khom Ouk: hit in the chest and arm.
• Principal Burton Wragg: shot and killed.
• Custodian Mike Suchar: shot and killed.

Upbringing

Spencer was born in San Diego, California, and grew up in the San Carlos neighborhood. Her parents divorced when she was young, and she went on to live with her father, Wallace Spencer, after the split. Reports later described the household as troubled, with poverty and alcohol present, and both father and daughter sometimes sleeping on a single mattress in the living room. This resulted in repeated sexual abuse which she coped with through binging alcohol. Spencer struggled academically, frequently skipped classes, and showed little interest in school. She also had a record of minor offenses such as shooting out school windows with a BB gun and burglary. A psychiatric evaluation before the shooting recommended inpatient mental health care for depression, but her father refused treatment. In December 1978 she received a .22 caliber rifle with a telescopic sight as a Christmas gift from her father, which she later used in the shooting. Tests while she was held in custody showed an injury to her temporal lobe, attributed to an earlier bicycle accident.

Reputation

People who knew Spencer as a teenager described her as introverted and sometimes unpredictable. Teachers at her high school recalled having to check whether she was awake in class, and some classmates later said they were afraid of her because she talked about violence and expressed hostility toward police. Spencer was widely described as withdrawn, quiet, and detached. She had few close friends and did not participate meaningfully in school activities. Classmates tended to view her as "odd," "sad," or "troubled," but not as someone who was openly harassed on a daily basis. School staff reportedly viewed her as emotionally disturbed and depressed, but nothing was done even if concerns were reported. Neighbors and acquaintances reported she had been involved with petty theft, drug use, and that she spoke about doing "something big to get on TV." Despite this, she also had positive interests, such as photography, in which she once won an award. Her reputation at the time was that of a troubled, highly inconsistent teen rather than someone widely seen as dangerous before the shooting.

Motive

When asked why she carried out the shooting on January 29, 1979, Spencer told a reporter "I don't like Mondays. This livens up the day," a statement that became widely publicized. Investigators did not establish a clear, singular motive beyond this remark and her apparent emotional and behavioral issues. Her declaration suggested a lack of remorse and no stated grievance toward specific individuals, reflecting a combination of personal frustration and impulsive behavior rather than an articulated ideological or targeted motive.

Aftermath

Spencer's attack at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego on January 29, 1979, killed the principal and a custodian and wounded eight children and a police officer. She was 16 years old at the time and was tried as an adult, pleading guilty to two counts of first degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon. She was sentenced to 25 to life in prison and has been denied parole multiple times, remaining incarcerated as of the mid 2020s. The shooting drew widespread media attention and became one of the first major modern school shootings in the United States. The phrase "I don't like Mondays" inspired the 1979 song of the same name by The Boomtown Rats, which brought broader public awareness to the case. While the incident did not immediately result in specific legislation, it has been referenced in discussions about school safety, gun violence, and the phenomenon of school shootings in the decades that followed.

Brenda Spencer has explicitly acknowledged since the event that she believes her crime helped create a "template" for later school shootings. Her comments on Columbine and later attacks remain detached, limited, and carefully framed. She finds it disturbing that school shootings became more elaborate and performative.

Crime

It was any other day at the Santa Monica Computer Learning Center. The teacher handed out a quiz and when he left the room, Liebeskind stood up and revealed a sawed off 12 gauge that he snuck into school in a thin black box. He directly addressed a classmate that he was known for having issues with (Kenneth Pastor), telling him to stand up. As Liebeskind fired the first round into Kenneth's shoulder, everyone ducked for cover and shots continued to ring out. Liebeskind left the classroom and continued firing in the corridor. Students barricaded themselves in classrooms, until Liebeskind left the building. They ran to a nearby bank where they encountered three security guards who were former police officers. They were working on the set of a show called Jigsaw John. Howard W. Barnes found Liebeskind wrestling with a man and ordered him to drop his weapon, but was shot in the thigh. He then fired 11 shots, 2 of which severely wounded the gunman in the chest. He was arrested alive and taken to the hospital.

Victims

• Fernando E. Alcivar: student, shot and killed.
• Kenneth Pastore: student, shot in the shoulder.
• Brad Czarske: student, shot in the left hand.
• Steven Boyadjian: student, shot in the buttocks.
• Steven Sutton: student, shot in the right shoulder.
• George Garden: student, shot in the left hand.
• Seventh student (unnamed): received an eye wound from flying glass.
• Howard W. Barnes: wounded by Liebeskind in the parking lot.

Upbringing

Liebeskind was a straight A honors student enrolled at the Computer Learning Center, where he had been studying data processing since late 1975. Teachers said he was clean-cut and academically capable; other school staff described him as quiet, intense, and self conscious. He was known as a quiet loner who had occasional arguments with classmates.

Reputation

Liebeskind's peers and instructors generally saw him as academically strong but socially isolated. He did not have a broadly known history of violent behavior beyond occasional interpersonal conflict, and there were no widely reported prior threats. About two weeks prior to the shooting, Kenneth Pastore saw Liebeskind using a knife to carve his initials into Czarske's briefcase. Pastore told him to stop, but Liebeskind waved his knife around and played it off as a joke.

Motive

No clear external motive was established. Reports indicate Liebeskind singled out a student with whom he had argued and began firing in the classroom without a documented ideological or grievance based motive. Mental health factors were suggested, but investigators never publicly provided a definitive explanation beyond his actions that morning.

Aftermath

The Computer Learning Center shooting received significant local news coverage at the time and is documented in historical summaries of school shootings, but it did not lead to major national legislation or widespread public policy changes in the same way later school shootings did. Liebeskind was found not guilty by reason of insanity at his trial and committed to a state mental hospital.