Crime

Allaway began his attack just before 7 in the morning with a rifle he had purchased days earlier. He entered the library's basement IMC area, firing as he went from room to room. Some victims were shot at close range, while others died outside the building after fleeing. Once he expelled all his ammunition, Allaway fled to a hotel, called police, and confessed to the shootings.

Victims

• Paul Herzberg: shot and killed
• Bruce Jacobson: shot and killed
• Donald Karges: shot and killed
• Deborah Paulsen: shot and killed
• Seth Fessenden: shot and killed
• Frank Teplansky: shot and killed
• Stephen Becker: shot and killed
• Maynard Hoffman: shot and injured
• Donald Keran: shot and injured

Upbringing

Allaway was born in 1939 and grew up in Michigan. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps but received a dishonorable discharge in 1958 after multiple incidents of venereal disease, according to historical records. He had a longstanding history of paranoid schizophrenia and mental instability. Medical records indicate previous psychiatric hospitalization and treatment, including for psychotic episodes and paranoia involving delusional beliefs about his first wife. After a divorce, he remarried a much younger woman. In the months before the shooting, their relationship deteriorated, and she filed for divorce shortly before the incident. Coworkers described him as quiet but prone to odd, brooding behavior and racial remarks.

Reputation

Allaway was not widely known as overtly violent before the shooting, but his history of mental illness was significant.

Motive

In the period leading up to July 1976, he became increasingly paranoid, holding delusional beliefs that coworkers were displaying pornography featuring his wife and that groups were targeting him. These paranoia‑based delusions, combined with marital breakdown and mental instability, are generally regarded as his primary motivation — not a specific grievance against the individuals he killed.

Motive

In 1977, Allaway was convicted of murder, but a judge ruled him not guilty by reason of insanity after the jury deadlocked on the sanity phase of the trial. He was ordered confined to a state mental hospital rather than prison. He spent decades in state psychiatric hospitals (Atascadero, then Patton). In 2016, he was transferred to Napa State Hospital, a less secure facility, prompting protests from victims’ families. The shooting remained the deadliest mass murder in Orange County history until 2011 and deeply affected the university community. Cal State Fullerton established a Memorial Grove and annual vigils in remembrance.

While the shooting did not directly trigger major federal gun law reforms at the time, it contributed to growing awareness nationwide of workplace and school gun violence, influencing later discussions around campus safety and psychiatric evaluations in the context of gun purchases (though specific law changes tied solely to this incident are limited). Media coverage at the time highlighted mental illness and institutional care gaps, shaping public discourse around how such cases are handled.

Crime

One September morning, a young man decided to terrorize an elementary school he happened to be driving past. He claimed 2 lives and injured 9 with a .22 cal nine shot revolver he'd stolen from his grandmother. He discarded the bullets already loaded in the revolver and replaced them with more destructive hollow points. He parked and entered the school, making his way to the cafeteria as lunch period began. He waited quietly for a moment before pulling out his pistol and beginning to shoot at random, striking both staff and students. When he went into the girls restroom to reload, he was confronted by physical education teacher Kat Finkbeiner, who attempted to stop him but was shot twice. He then entered a third-grade classroom. Finkbeiner entered the room and tried to force him to surrender but he kept firing. He shot at the third-grade teacher and missed. Wilson then opened fire on the students, killing Shequila Bradley, who died at the scene, and Tequila Thomas, who died three days later. Five other 7-8 year olds were wounded. Once the gun was empty, he dropped the gun and followed students as they evacuated the building. Wilson voluntarily provided identification to principal Eleanor Rice who searched him for weapons while police arrived.

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

Victims

• Shequila Tawonn Bradley: shot and killed
• Tequila Maria Thomas: shot, died of wounds three days later
• Kat Finkbeiner: physical education teacher, shot and injured
• Eleanor Hodge: teacher, shot and injured
• Gregory Brown: shot and injured
• Heather Burke: shot and injured
• LaShonda Burt: shot and injured
• Joey Davis: shot and injured
• Leah Holmes: shot and injured
• Beth Johnson: shot and injured
• Kim Simmons: shot and injured

Upbringing

Wilson lived with his grandparents and had a troubled and isolated upbringing. He experienced mental health problems from adolescence, with multiple psychiatric hospitalizations beginning at age 14 for anxiety and depression. Family and community accounts describe Wilson as socially isolated and previously ridiculed by peers for his appearance. He reported resentment toward others and had a fascination with violent media and crime stories, including watching films like Psycho repeatedly and reading books about murderers.

Reputation

Expert testimony during legal proceedings linked his actions to psychological instability and resentment stemming from past experiences of bullying and personal grievances, rather than any direct motive against the specific school population.

Motive

Wilson had no prior connection to Oakland Elementary School and was not pursuing any stated ideological agenda. Witnesses recalled a look of hatred and rage on his face during the attack.

Aftermath

The shooting deeply affected the small Greenwood community. Teachers and staff implemented basic safety measures afterward (like reducing noise that could mask warning signs and enhancing door security), and psychological counseling was offered to students. A memorial garden was later constructed behind the school, and the facility was eventually renamed Eleanor S. Rice Elementary School in honor of the principal who guided recovery efforts.

Wilson was indicted for two counts of murder, nine counts of assault with intent to kill, and firearm charges. He pleaded guilty but mentally ill and was sentenced to death for the murders and 175 years for other counts. He remained on South Carolina’s death row for 14 years until he was eventually pardoned by U.S. District Judge Matthew Perry. While not drawing the same level of national media as later massacres such as Columbine or Sandy Hook, the Oakland shooting was reported nationally at the time and is recognized in historical compilations of U.S. school shootings as a significant early incident in the modern school violence era.

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.