The Cleveland Elementary School shooting was a school shooting that took place on January 29, 1979, at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego, California, United States. I just wanted to, the girl had told the San Diego Evening Tribune in a telephone interview when asked her reasons. This is his duty. Diego Esquivel, left, and Linda Klaasson comfort each other as they gather to honor the victims killed in Tuesday's shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. As a teacher, my job was first to make sure my students were safe. News Local The brutal killer coldly replied: "I just did it for the fun of it. The shooter - identified . I am finally capable of enjoying experiences that life has to offer. Now, my sense of security and safety is completely gone. UVALDE, TEXAS - MAY 24: Law enforcement officers speak together outside of Robb Elementary School following the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. "It was the perfect senseless act and this was the perfect senseless reason for doing it. Every time I walk into a new space, whether that be a grocery store, a movie theater or a mall, Im constantly looking for the nearest exit and planning an escape route. [deadlink][5][7] [8], Acquaintances said Spencer expressed hostility toward policemen, had spoken about shooting one, and had talked of doing something big to get on television. Jan. 29, 1979: Brenda Spencer, 16, took a rifle with a scope that her father had given her for Christmas and began firing on Grover Cleveland Elementary School across the street from her home. Other friends said the freckle-faced red-head was a fan of SWAT-style television shows. Robb was listed in stable condition at a local hospital. No one died, but the gunshots were real, the fear was deep, and the hours of uncertainty while trapped in a classroom were brutal. Brenda Ann Spencer, fdd 3 april 1962 i San Diego i Kalifornien i USA, blev knd d hon mndagen den 29 januari r 1979 under en beskjutning mot Cleveland Elementary School i San Diego i Kalifornien ddade rektorn Burton Wragg och skolans vaktmstare Mike Suchar. Five students were killed and thirty were injured. It sickens and chills me to think about it. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Brenda Spencer under arrest after opening fire on Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego, The shooting spree ended when cops talked the teenage killer down with a promise of a Burger King meal, Boomtown Rats singer Bob Geldof co-wrote I Don't Like Mondays with bandmate Johnnie Fingers, Spencer - shown above during the 1990s - targeted youngsters who had gathered at the school gates, Some lawyers believe she can be safely released from jail after 40 years behind bars, Cops managed to save countless lives on the day of the shooting, School shooter Brenda Spencer speaks of her hopes for the future during 1993 interview. Killed were Cleveland Grammar School's principal and a custodian. In 1979, Spencer was convicted of the Cleveland Elementary School shooting. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. The girl was alone in the house but her father, identified as W.D. Although many of us don't enjoy the start of the work week, Brenda Ann Spencer had a really bad case of the Monday blues. However, his was not the only call she received. Stocktons dispatch center initially received calls of a vehicle fire and reports of shots fired. I teach them the importance of communicating where they are and where they are going so in case, God forbid, something happens, someone will know where to find them. Christy Buell and Monica Selvig, both 9, were in satisfactory condition after transfer from intensive care and Mary Clark, 8, was in satisfactory condition with a wound in the abdomen. In 2004, I was a graduating senior with collegiate athlete aspirations. The Attorney General's Office will also look to extend the hold on the ruling throughout the appeals process. One of the students was playing kickball with her classmates before she was killed. [28], BobGeldof, then the lead singer of the BoomtownRats, read about the incident when a news story about it came off the telex at WRAS-FM, the campus radio station at GeorgiaStateUniversity in Atlanta. While at the CaliforniaInstitutionforWomen in Chino, she worked repairing electronic equipment.[7][18]. Cleveland School Shooting Victims. Court documents filed in the case say 150 people were working at the construction site near John Eaton Elementary School. 34 children and a teacher were shot, killing 5 of the children, with an AK-47 knockoff. Osborne, who also shot and . She started her shooting rampage from her bedroom window, randomly aiming her gun at kids who were waiting to enter the playground. Later I learned that I knew five of the victims, including my coach for softball and basketball, Dave Sanders. Change). During negotiations between police and the girl, police spokesman Bill Robinson had described her as being under a lot of pressure. He added that he didnt know if the girl had any prior problems with authorities. People dont talk enough about the rush to return to normalcy after a mass shooting. He said: "Judge Benitez knew exactly what he was doing when he prepared his 94-page document. I will always deal with survivors guilt and wonder why I was one of the lucky ones that lived through my experience. SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Survivors of the Cleveland Elementary School shooting in Stockton are speaking out after a federal judge struck down California's assault weapons ban, calling it unconstitutional. (LogOut/ . Blountsville, AL 35031. I suffered two gunshot wounds: one to the back of the neck, the other to the left shoulder, which traveled through my chest cavity, hitting my spine and leaving me paralyzed. That explanation was memorialized in the Boomtown Rats song, I Dont Like Mondays, written by Live AidorganizerBob Geldof shortly after the attack. Public school 426 Students Grades PK-8 & Ungraded. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. This addition included seven classrooms. According to Cleveland School Remembers, Purdy had walked onto the campus around noon on Jan. 17, 1989. A 16-year-old girl, Brenda Spencer, who lived in a house across the street from the school, was convicted of the shootings. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). A reporter reached Spencer by phone while she was still in the house after the shooting, and asked her why she committed the crime. I recognize now how young she was. [16] Crime-scene photos contradict these accounts. Its normal: Thats grief and trauma. Now instead of a shotgun and a .22-caliber pistol what the shooter brought to my school the shooters bring AR-15s. Fortify FL. I was left paralyzed. The man was taken into custody without incident. I shot a pig (cop) I think and I want to shoot more. It just keeps happening whether its school, work or vacation. 260 Page Street. I have PTSD, trouble sleeping. After murdering his mother at their home, Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School before taking his own life. "I'm having too much fun [to surrender] it was just like shooting ducks in a pond. Now, state leaders are appealing the ruling. When asked why she did it she simply saidI dont like Mondays.. Both father and daughter slept on a single mattress on the living room floor in a house strewn with empty bottles from alcoholic drinks. We have created a browser extension. Aged 16 at the time of the shooting, she was 5'2" (157cm) and had bright red hair. I do not like being in the middle of large crowds. 1. Governor Newsom ripped into the judge's decision, vowing to fight it. "It wasn't an attempt to exploit tragedy.". Experiencing gun violence has greatly removed the sense of normalcy from my life. 5. I knew one girl who got shot through the leg and I knew one kid who got grazed with a bullet. On a clear blue day on Jan. 17, 1989, a man whose peripatetic life included years as a troubled Sacramento youth walked onto a playground in Stockton and shot 34 children, killing five. School shooting in San Diego. News reporters marked every second with live reports, video, second by second reporting. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. NY Times Opinion, Cleveland School Remembers Participates in the Youth Leadership Academy, Outreach activities which engage children and families in conversations about neighborhood violence (Healthy Kids Day, Earth Day, and other events (city-wide), Being vocal about legislation for Common Sense Gun Laws and Social Justice within California and throughout the nation. Believe me, I get it. Fireworks on the Fourth of July will be unbearable, their explosive cracks bringing back the sound of AR bullets leaving a gun and shattering little bodies. They targeted those who believed in God and told us all we were going to die. With it being so close to home, it really hurt. The Cleveland Elementary School shooting was the first truly reported school shooting. [5][7] Police officers found beer and whiskey bottles cluttered around the house but said Spencer did not appear to be intoxicated when arrested. He was shot in the foot and chest. For 7.5 minutes, as I took cover under a table, I listened to the killers gun down friends and classmates, and waited to die. According to the San Diego Police Museum, Spencer took an early liking to guns and to stories about violence. Spencer pleaded guilty to two murders, and assault with a deadly weapon. On January 17, 1989, a former student opened fire on the playground of Cleveland Elementary School.Within 3 minutes the gunman fired 106 rounds from his recently-purchased AK-47, killing 5 students and injuring another 31. / CBS Sacramento. Teachers told children to hide under their desk and Principal Burton Wragg started trying to help children into safety from the yard. [9], In early 1978, staff at a facility for problem students, into which Spencer had been referred for truancy, informed her parents that she was suicidal. Because we are unable to change what has happened to us, we must instead choose our response and it takes intentionality. Every time I walk into a room I look for the nearest exit or for a good hiding spot. High school student Lucy Sarkissian was in eight grade when two students at her school, STEM School Highlands Ranch, opened fire, killing one student and wounding eight others. STOCKTON, Calif. (KTXL) It's been 33 years since a shooting at Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton that killed five children and injured many others. In public spaces, I usually position myself to where I can have a wide vantage point. Spencer, now aged 56, is currently serving time at the California Institution for Women in Corona. Robb was released from the hospital Wednesday with Charles Cam Miller, 9, who suffered a shoulder wound. Christy Buell, a survivor of the 1979 shooting, said that she was "shocked, saddened, horrified" by the headlines concerning the 1989 shooting. "They've managed to demonize platforms such as the AR-15 and many other commonly owned long guns. more than 311,000 students have experienced some form of gun violence at school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, former UNC student barged into a classroom, two students at her school, STEM School Highlands Ranch, opened fire, Granite High School opened fire at the school. Note: ClickAmericana.com features authentic historical information, and is not intended to represent current best practices on any topic, particularly with regard to health and safety. Going to school became an everyday struggle. I am always on high alert when I am in public spaces. I was in a classroom nearby with my sister. It surprises many this ban was put in place after the first mass shooting at a school in this country. Every time it happens, I relive my own trauma and feel more and more horrified by this country and its lack of humanity. Her next opportunity for a parole hearing will be in 2025.[21][22][23][24]. Juvenile Court Judge William L Todd, Jr said he will probably set a date next week for a hearing on whether Miss Spencer will be tried as an adult. All the shots were fired within 15 minutes starting at 8:40 a.m., just as students and teachers were entering the school for the start of the days classes, officers said. The Cleveland Elementary School shooting took place on January 29, 1979, in San Diego, California.Shots were fired at a public elementary school.The principal and a custodian were killed. At her first hearing, in 1993, Spencer said she had hoped police would shoot her, and that she had been a user of alcohol and drugs at the time of the crime, although the results of drug tests done when she was taken into custody were negative. Part of HuffPost Wellness. And the custodian was either helping him or came out after he heard the gunfire, said San Diego police officer Lee Nashold. We were lucky? See some of the early news reports about the shooting below. By Richard Brooks, Sun Staff Writer With material from Sun news services At first, I was incapable of being in public, especially in large crowds. The principal and a custodian were killed; eight children and police officer Robert Robb were injured. I want to support them as they mark books lost in their catalog so shattered parents dont get automatic overdue notices. The song hit number 1 on the British charts in the summer of 1979, was one of the top 100 singles in the US around the same time, went on to win several UK music awards, and was even covered by singer Tori Amos in 2001. The elementary school campus where the infamous " I Don't Like Mondays" shootings took place 36 years ago and another nearby campus will be put up for sale following a pair of 4-1 votes Tuesday. In the wake of the Uvalde shooting, HuffPost spoke to 11 survivors of such school shootings students and a few teaching staff, too about how the news of yet another campus shooting has affected them, and how the shootings at their schools affect them to this day. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Published: Feb. 28, 2023 at 5:54 PM PST. Five people were shot, including a future classmate of mine who would later show me her bullet wound scars and describe her dread about testifying at the trial. "I have to go now. "He's opening the door to who knows what kind of violence, utterly devastating," Weldon said. I identify deeply with the staff at Robb Elementary. Nothing. Shana Sweeney. During the first burst of gunfire, school principal Burton A. Wragg, 53, and school custodian Michael Suchar, 56, were fatally shot, said San Diego Superintendent of Schools Tom Goodwin. had few friends and didnt get along with her teachers. STOCKTON, Calif. Tuesday marks 34 years since the Cleveland Elementary School shooting happened in Stockton on Jan. 17, 1989. Headteacher sacked 'after sending parents a list of striking teachers' as school launches probe, Isle of Innisfree ferry: Blaze breaks out on boat carrying 183 people in English Channel as lifeboats scramble to scene. She reportedly answered: "I don't like Mondays.
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