All of the fatally shot victims and those who were wounded were Cambodian and Vietnamese immigrants. News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. The Cleveland Elementary School shooting (also known as the Stockton schoolyard shooting and the Cleveland School massacre) occurred on January 17, 1989, at Cleveland Elementary School at 20 East Fulton Street in Stockton, California, United States. For other inquiries, Contact Us. The incident led to California's first assault weapons act. The shocking incident marked the first high profile mass school shooting in the US. About 3-1/2 hours after the shooting began, five buses were quietly brought to the back of the school and the students were evacuated to a junior high school one-half mile away, where their parents picked them up. [18] It was released in July 1979 and was number one for four weeks in the United Kingdom,[29] and was the band's biggest hit in their native Ireland. [5], Further casualties were avoided only because the police obstructed her line of fire by moving a garbage truck in front of the school entrance. [3] Geldof has later mentioned that, "[Spencer] wrote to me saying 'she was glad she'd done it because I'd made her famous,' which is not a good thing to live with. On January 17, 1989, a 26-year-old man drove to Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, California, armed with an assault rifle and a 9mm Taurus semi-automatic handgun. , Your email address will not be published. [32], The LifetimeMovies series KillerKids released an episode "DeadlyCompulsion" depicting Spencer's crimes which first aired date in September 3, 2014. Today, Rodgers is a part-time seamstress, librarian and mother of two. She reportedly answered: "I don't like Mondays. I then think about how that community now has been shattered by violence and that so many people victims, families, friends will never be the same as a result. Brenda Spencers classmates describe her as a tomboy and a gun nut who had difficulty adjusting to life. Then in 2016, while I was with one of my children, we were in Dallas in an area of a mass shooting and under police lockdown. The other three had non-life-threatening injuries including my quarterback, Marcus. Thanks for visiting and for supporting a small business! 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. Yet, at the same time, they've also dumbed down several weapon related charges in recent years, that in turn has taken away law enforcement's ability to hold criminals accountable for their actions. To help honor Bruton Wragg and Mike Suchar. I remain hopeful through all this that at some point we will do something, but it has to be soon and it will take everyone who cares about children, about the common good, about the possibility of a better day to make it happen. Julie Schardt, Crystal Woodman Miller was a 16-year-old junior at Columbine High School when two classmates killed 12 students and one teacher, also wounding around 23 others, before killing themselves. Investigators learned the ex-boyfriend drove away in a white SUV. Among the injured were a police officer and eight schoolchildren, two of whom were wounded critically. 4. Eight children and a police officer were injured. By MICHAEL GRANBERRY. It just keeps happening whether its school, work or vacation. I cannot go out to breakfast with my parents without hypervigilance setting in. There was never a day at school where I felt safe, I was constantly on edge. The Cleveland Elementary School shooting (also known as the Stockton schoolyard shooting and the Cleveland School massacre) occurred on January 17, 1989, at Cleveland Elementary School at 20 East Fulton Street in Stockton, California, United States. 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. "I was thinking about it on the way back to the hotel and I just said 'Silicon chip inside her head had switched to overload'. Every time I hear about another mass shooting, these thoughts tend to come back. . [4][5][6][7] After her parents separated, she allegedly lived in poverty with her father, Wallace Spencer. He was particularly struck by Spencer's claim that she did it because she did not like Mondays, and began writing a song about it, called "IDon'tLikeMondays". Brenda Ann Spencer. However, his was not the only call she received. I will always deal with survivors guilt and wonder why I was one of the lucky ones that lived through my experience. The shooting drastically changed my life in multiple ways: physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. When it happened at Cleveland Elementary in Stockton, Calif., 23 years ago, many thought a school shooting couldn't get any worse. Your email address will not be published. He fired more than 100 rounds in a minute before he ultimately shot himself. Upon realising he was speaking to the shooter, he asked what her motive was. Hearing arguments, a certain noise, or even smells can be extremely triggering for me and set me into panic mode. I was wrapped up in my friends arms and chest who told me that hed take a bullet for me, so I didnt see much, only heard what they were saying. There was no option to opt our kids out of school that day. The 2006 British documentary I Don't Like Mondays also revisits the case. When asked why she did it she simply saidI dont like Mondays.. The shooting incident I experienced was on May 7, 2004, which was a Friday. Spencer, now aged 56, is currently serving time at the California Institution for Women in Corona. 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. Officers got to the scene and checked on the children and staff at Noble Elementary, Mecklenburg said. A 16-year-old girl, Brenda Spencer, who lived in a house across the street from the school, was convicted of the shootings. This is his duty. The incident resulted in a total of 5 children being killed. It was a dark moment in Stockton history, remembered for its impact on the community with the lives of five students, none older than 10-years old, lost. In the Robb Elementary School shooting, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos open fire and killed 19 fellow students and 2 teachers, wounding many other individuals, including his . The student pulled out a gun and fired into a crowd, leaving Thomas partially paralyzed and three others wounded. They have focused on tools used in evil deeds, rather than the root causes to begin with. 388 Bergen Street, Newark, NJ 07108. If you liked this article, please share it! I was left paralyzed. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. I was in the library, where much of the violence took place. Its caused substantial amounts of nightmares, panic attacks and flashbacks to the shooting. Spencer blazed away with rifle shots from her . [8], Spencer was charged as an adult and pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and assaultwithadeadlyweapon. On the morning of January 17, 1989, an anonymous person phoned the Stockton . Cleveland Elementary School Unclaimed. Court documents filed in the case say 150 people were working at the construction site near John Eaton Elementary School. It will be a long while before the families feel safe anywhere. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. The five shooters are Robert Poulin, Brenda Spencer, Wayne Lo, Luke Woodham, and Asa Coon. I definitely still have my days where Im reminded by everything. When you have a classmate shot and killed at school, you cant leave the experience without the belief that safety is an illusion. She and others call the decision by Judge Roger Benitez to reverse the ban on assault weapons a deadly choice. For the students of Cleveland Elementary School, January 17, 1989, started out like any other Tuesday. In 2004, I was a graduating senior with collegiate athlete aspirations. The singer had been doing a radio interview, when the news was wired through. On January 17, 1989, almost ten years after the events at San Diego's Grover Cleveland Elementary, there was anothershooting at a school coincidentally named Grover Cleveland Elementary, this one in Stockton,California. Because of my prior experience, I helped get everyone away from the windows and locked all entrances, while the police stopped the person in the parking lot. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. There were a lot of beer and whisky bottles laying around., Merced Sun-Star (Merced, Calif.) February 1, 1979. Blountsville, AL 35031. As of 2022, Spencer has been unsuccessful at six parole board hearings. Looking up the states led to the very sad history, that California was first to ban assault weapons in 1989, following the 1989 Cleveland Elementary School shooting in Stockton, CA. Before hanging up, however, she said, I have to go now. About 2 p.m. an officer said the girl was taking narcotics and drinking. Her Dad, Wallace Spencer, gave her a semi-automatic .22 calibre rifle for Christmas in 1978. Going to school became an everyday struggle. My classroom was one of the only ones in the hallway that did not have any bullets enter the room. . It was attributed to an accident on her bicycle. Hendrickson said, they found it in disarray. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Memorial to Fallen Educators Facebook Page. I spent years of my life fearful of leaving my house. Please check your school assignment by using School Finder or by calling the Attendance Boundaries Office at (619) 725-5668. It doesnt exist. According to Cleveland Heights Chief of Police Annette Mecklenburg, officers responded to a report of shots fired in the street on the north side of Noble Elementary School on Ardoon St. at. On Monday, SWAT officer Mike Hendrickson said police were told Miss Spencer had in the past fantasized in the past about being a sniper. A San Diego police spokesman confirmed that Miss Spencer had a juvenile arrest record and was involved in an incident last year in which several windows were broken at Cleveland Elementary School the same place where Mondays shooting occurred. A parent and child leave Noble Elementary School where a Cleveland Heights police car sits after a shooting near the school happened earlier in the day. Later, during tests while she was in custody, it was discovered Spencer had an injury to the temporallobe of her brain. The woman tried to drive away, and the man pulled out a gun and fired several shots into the car, she said. Two police helicopters circled overhead and Police Chief William Kolender and City Manager Ray Blair were at the scene. I just wanted to, the girl had told the San Diego Evening Tribune in a telephone interview when asked her reasons. A 16-year-old girl, Brenda Spencer, who lived in a house across the street from the school, was convicted of the shootings. 5. Sweeney, 46, is now a chief human resources officer. The infamous 'I Don't Like Mondays' school shooter is up for parole 40 years after opening fire on Grover Cleveland Elementary in San Diego Debbie White Published : 17:03, 5 Apr 2019 San Juan Unified staffer repeats racist slur when telling students to stop using it, 'She was a loveable soul': Cousin identifies victim of South Sacramento homicide. They didnt know if theyd be able to hug their children and take them home or have to face the worst day of their lives. They were huddled in the classroom with the police running around the campus and dogs barking as someone pretended to try to get into the classroom. San Bernardino County Sun (San Diego) January 30, 1979. That explanation was memorialized in the Boomtown Rats song, I Dont Like Mondays, written by Live AidorganizerBob Geldof shortly after the attack. 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. AP/Julie Schardt. Both father and daughter slept on a single mattress on the living room floor in a house strewn with empty bottles from alcoholic drinks. The shooter was 24-year-old Patrick Purdy, often described as a drifter. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Spencer, a junior at Patrick Henry High School, was described as a pretty good shot by officers on the scene. Bienvenidos a nuestra escuela - estamos encantados de . At the end of Drew Pescaros sophomore year, a gunman and former UNC student barged into a classroom and opened fire, killing two students and wounding four. Today, 25 years laterand one year after the . As of 2019, shes still incarcerated in Chino, California. It surprises many this ban was put in place after the first mass shooting at a school in this country. Original documents Brenda Spencer Parole Hearing 1993 Brenda Spencer Parole Hearing 1994 My student, Oeun Lim, a delightful book-loving, imaginative 8-year-old, was killed that day. California needs a reset in this regard.". 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. The girls mother, who was said to be divorced from Spencer, was also at the scene briefly but later left, police said. If the case is handled in Juvenile Court, the girl could be free within seven years.In addition to murder, the red-haired Patrick Henry High School junior was charged with nine counts of assault with intent to kill and one of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. Because we are unable to change what has happened to us, we must instead choose our response and it takes intentionality. My heart races, I hyperventilate, I get chest pains, cry and constantly replay triggering memories in my head. In the wake of the Texas shooting, I find myself consumed with grief. The principal came out and told the kids to hit the dirt. Police found the man one hour later driving on Superior and Euclid avenues in East Cleveland. 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. Nearby homes were evacuated in the citys La Mesa section, a middle-class area of quiet, tree-lined streets and frame houses northeast of the city. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. All those hit by gunfire were outside the school. No children were hurt in . School bells were calling children and adults to the Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego, California, when all of sudden the crack of shots rang out. Most of the schools 300 pupils were herded into an auditorium where they remained for several hours until they were evacuated. The teen opened fire on Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Carlos, San Diego. 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. Cindy Clement Carlson was the librarian at Sandy Hook Elementary School when a gunman killed 26 people, 20 of them children. My memories from that day are vivid: the looks on the other students faces as we sat in waiting, the shocked words I shared with another student next to me after the first flurry of shots, the sounds of the news reporters voices coming over the TV in the classroom we were trapped there for hours and turned the TV on and my teachers attempts to keep us calm while clearly being rattled herself. Now that you know, have fun looking around! The Cleveland Metropolitan School District is gathering information about a student who may have been the target of shots fired outside Collinwood High School Wednesday morning, according to. Although it did not make the Top40 in the U.S., it still received extensive radio airplay (outside of the San Diego area) despite the Spencer family's efforts to prevent it. CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Officials placed Noble Elementary School on lockdown Wednesday after a reported shooting near the school, according to a school employee. Website. 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I never want anyone to feel as if their trauma will forever define them. Gabrielle Ben-Zaken. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC.