List of school shootings in the United States (before 2000)

1840

November 12, 1840

Charlottesville, Virginia

1

0

1

John Anthony Gardner Davis, a law professor at the University of Virginia, was shot by student Joseph Semmes and died three days later.

1853

November 2, 1853

Louisville, Kentucky

1

0

1

Murder of William Butler: Student Mathews Flounoy Ward shot schoolmaster William H.G. Butler as revenge for what he perceived as unfair punishment of his brother the day before. Butler died and Ward was acquitted.

1856

August 16, 1856

Florence, Alabama

2

0

2

The schoolmaster warned students not to harm his tame sparrow, threatening death. One of the boys stepped on the bird and killed it. When the boy returned to school, the master took the boy into a private room and strangled him. Upon hearing what happened, the boy's father went to the school and shot the schoolmaster dead.

1858

July 8, 1858

Baltimore, Maryland

1

0

1

The 15-year-old son of Col. John T. Farlow (Baltimore's Marshal of Police 1867–70) was killed during a Sabbath School gathering. The perpetrator escaped, but several arrests were made.

1860

January 21, 1860

Todd County, Kentucky

1

0

1

A son of Col. Elijah Sebree was killed by another student. He had been led to believe that Young Sebree was threatening him; the latter student got a gun and fatally shot Sebree in the schoolhouse.

1864

February 6, 1864

Ashland County, Ohio

1

0

1

George W. Longfelt (or George W. Langfitt), the school teacher of the Pyfer's School House, killed student Alfred Desem (or Albert Diesem) and fled.

1867

February 16, 1867

Knights Ferry, California

2

0

2

Mr. McGinnis was killed by his daughter's teacher George T. Cheshire after McGinnis threatened the teacher for expelling his daughter from school. When McGinnis' son learned of this, he went to the school and killed the teacher.

April 2, 1867

Madison, Florida

1

0

1

Frank Pope, a pupil at St. John's seminary, shot and killed his teacher Mr. Bristow.

June 4, 1867

Buffalo, New York

0

1

1

13-year-old Arthur Day secretly took a loaded pistol to PS No. 18 to shoot a dog he said had bitten him. While playing with the pistol, Day accidentally shot and wounded classmate Robert Morton.

1871

January 27, 1871

Knoxville, Tennessee

1

0

1

John Roberts, aged 10 or 12, was accidentally shot in the eye at school and died.

1872

February 1, 1872

Washington, Pennsylvania

0

1

1

At the all-girls Union School, 17-year-old Thomas McGiffin shot and seriously wounded the principal, Prof. Wilson, in the hip because Wilson refused to deliver a note to one of the girls. McGiffin was a son of Col. Norton McGiffin, and brother of US naval hero Philo McGiffin.

1873

February 11, 1873

Wisconsin

0

1

1

A man shot the school mistress for whipping his son.[unreliable source?]

1874

February 20, 1874

Agency, Montana

1

0

1

After being ejected from school for disobedience, 20-year-old Thomas Squires fatally shot Prof. Hayes three times in the abdomen.

April 9, 1874

Lebanon, Tennessee

1

0

1

John Robert Breckinridge, son of the late Robert Jefferson Breckinridge, attending classes in law at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee, was killed by John L. Anderson, the Mayor's son. The latter was reportedly "crazed with liquor."

1878

May 24, 1878

St. Paul, Minnesota

0

1

1

A 13-year-old boy, Luckert, accidentally shot and wounded Allie McDonald, another boy at the Neill school. The youth was expected to recover. His mother Mrs. McDonald went to the police station, but did not file a formal complaint.

1879

May 24, 1879

Lancaster, New York

0

1

1

Telegraph operator Frank Shugart shot and severely injured Mr. Carr, superintendent of the stables at a girls' school.

1881

December 1, 1881

Santa Monica, California

1

0

1

While working late at the schoolhouse on a program for the children's concert, Mr. O'Donnell, the school master, and Mr. Williams, one of the parents, got into an argument. Williams fatally shot O'Donnell in the back.

December 22, 1881

Shelby County, Indiana

0

0

0

School teacher Charles J. Gregory shot at a pupil at close range because he refused to write on a slate. The bullet missed the boy. The teacher was arrested.

1882

January 16, 1882

Iola, Kansas

0

0

0

A group of boys shot into a schoolhouse, but no one was hurt. Two of the boys were arrested and pleaded guilty three weeks later. They were fined $9.00 each.

April 13, 1882

Huntsville, Texas

0

1

1

G.W. Gray, a student at the Sam Houston Normal School, shot and wounded another student, M.J. Jordan. They were arguing over a comic valentine.

1883

February 14, 1883

Florence, Nebraska

0

3

3

As some children were playing and throwing snowballs outside the Ponca Creek schoolhouse, Lem Harbaugh and the Shipley brothers, three young men, pulled up in a wagon and engaged the children in a snowball fight. One of the Shipley brothers had a .45-caliber needle gun. As the children kept throwing snowballs, Harbaugh aimed the gun at them. The lock was faulty and the gun went off; he wounded Mamie Shipley, Joy Price, and Marquis Price. Harbaugh later surrendered himself to the authorities.

November 20, 1883

Barber County, Kansas

0

0

0

A bunch of drunken cowboys stopped at several schoolhouses, forcing two teachers to drink whiskey, and firing numerous shots at three schoolhouses.

1884

February 28, 1884

Danville, Virginia

0

2

2

As Allen Wamack, a 15-year-old boy, drove by an all black schoolhouse, he called out "school butter" (an insult meaning a cobbing, or a whipping). The students came out and fired several shots at him; he shot back, hitting two students.

March 6, 1884

Charlestown, Massachusetts

0

0

0

As news of outlaw Jesse James reached the East Coast, young boys started to imitate him. For instance, boys shot at police investigating their activities at the Concord Street schoolhouse.

1887

June 12, 1887

Cleveland, Tennessee

1

0

1

Will Guess shot and killed teacher Miss Irene Fann, for whipping his little sister the day before.

1889

June 13, 1889

New Brunswick, New Jersey

0

0

0

Charles Crawford, upset over an argument with a school trustee, went up to the window and fired a pistol into a crowded schoolroom. The bullet lodged in the wall just above the teacher's head.

1890

April 24, 1890

Brazil, Indiana

0

1

1

While the pupils of the Meridian Street School were at play, student Ben Corbery drew a revolver and seriously wounded 10-year-old Cora Brubach in the face. Cora had told the teacher about Ben's misconduct.

December 27, 1890

Staunton, Virginia

1

0

1

At Kable's Military Academy, 15-year-old A.H. Hathaway of Denison, Texas, was accidentally shot and killed by his 17-year-old classmate James Whitworth of Sulphur Springs, Texas, while they were playing with an old pistol.

1891

March 30, 1891

Liberty, Mississippi

0

14

14

During a school exhibition and concert at the Parson Hill schoolhouse, an unknown gunman fired a double-barreled shotgun into the mixed audience, made up of black and white students, parents and teachers. 14 people were wounded, some seriously.

April 9, 1891

Newburgh, New York

0

2+

2+

70-year-old James Foster fired a shotgun at a group of students in the playground of St. Mary's Parochial School, causing minor injuries to several of the students.

1893

March 26, 1893

Plain Dealing, Louisiana

4

1

5

During an evening school dance at Plain Dealing High School, a fight broke out. Two students were shot and killed immediately, two more were fatally wounded, and the high school's Professor Johnson was wounded in the arm.

1898

December 13, 1898

Charleston, West Virginia

6

3+

9+

During the school exhibition, a group of young men tried to break up a student performance. When teacher Mr. Fisher tried to throw them out, they turned on him. Audience members joined the fray. Harry Flasher was shot and instantly killed, Henry Carney was fatally shot in the back, Ralph Jones and two others were also fatally shot, and George Gibson was shot in the hand; Haz Harding had his skull crushed, and several others received minor wounds.

1903

February 24, 1903

Inman, South Carolina

1

0

1

Edward Foster, a 17-year-old student at Inman High School, was fatally wounded by his teacher Reuben Pitts after jerking a rod from Pitts' hands to avoid punishment. According to the teacher, Foster struck the pistol Pitts had drawn, and caused it to fire. Pitts was acquitted of murder on grounds of self-defense.

July 21, 1903

Jackson, Kentucky

2

1

3

At the Cave Run School, James Barrett and Mack Howard argued over a card game and fought a duel with pistols, killing each other. Twelve-year-old student James Vires was shot in the abdomen while sitting at his desk during the gunfight.

1904

April 6, 1904

Chicago, Illinois

1

0

1

Two students, both aged 16, had been fighting for months over a girl. Paul Jelick struck and threw Henry Schaze to the ground, Schaze then drew a revolver, and killed his rival.

November 16, 1904

Riverside, California

2

1

3

At the Indian School, a gun fight broke out between pupils. Charles Colby was shot in the head with a pistol, then returned fire, killing Tom Bucanoros, and fatally wounding Fred Smith.

December 16, 1904

Magee, Mississippi

1

1

2

Parent E.E. Mangum was shot through the head and killed by the principal of the high school, Professor J. E. Woodward, after shooting the principal in the hand. Mangum had argued with Woodward, who had given Mangum's 15-year-old son a severe whipping.

1905

February 9, 1905

Colusa, California

0

1

1

The meeting of 17-year-old Elmer Hildreth with a school Trustee ended in an armed encounter over Hildreth's being suspended. When Mr. Ingrim went after Hildreth with an axe, Hildreth shot him in the stomach. Hildreth was arrested and was found to have acted in self-defense; no charges were filed. Ingrim survived.

October 5, 1905

Hickman, Kentucky

1

0

1

Parent George Nicholson killed John Kurd at a schoolhouse during a school rehearsal. Kurd had made a disparaging remark about Nicholson's daughter during her recital.

1907

December 20, 1907

Chico, California

1

0

1

Nine-year-old Arthur Roberts was shot in the head and killed outside his school during a military drill by school children of the Dayton school district. Armed with old guns believed to be empty, the children had pulled the triggers.

1908

January 10, 1908

Council Bluffs, Iowa

0

0

0

At around 6 a.m., as George O Mortensen, 35-year-old janitor of the Washington Street School building, was unlocking the outer door of the school. Someone discharged a shotgun from a few feet away. The shot riddled the door within a foot of his head.

March 11, 1908

Fenway–Kenmore, Massachusetts

2

0

2

39-year-old teacher Miss Sarah Chamberlain Weed killed 34-year-old teacher Elizabeth Bailey Hardee, then shot herself, at the Laurens School, a fashionable boarding school. Weed was said to be suffering from melancholia (depression).

1909

March 19, 1909

Mount Vernon, Illinois

0

1

1

During a school performance of The Grand Central, John Moake, portraying the villain, was shot in the forehead and dangerously wounded by the hero, Roy Slater. The cartridge was thought to have been blank.

June 10, 1909

Trinidad, Colorado

1

0

1

Walter Harris, an 11-year-old student, accidentally shot his teacher, B. C. Briggs, in the head while on a school field trip, killing him.

September 11, 1909

White Rock Township, Missouri

1

0

1

John Butram, a student at the Bear Hollow School, told his fellow students that school was cancelled. The teacher, A. T. Kelly, said it was not. When Butram drew a knife on his teacher, Kelly shot and killed him.

1910

January 12, 1910

Harlem, New York

1

1

2

"A black-bearded maniac drew an automatic pistol" and fired five shots into a crowd of boys at the Harlem School, who were taunting him. Six-year-old Robert Lomas was hit and died instantly; six-year-old Arthur Shively was critically wounded.

August 16, 1910

Breathitt County, Kentucky

1

2+

3+

A general fight broke out during school board elections. Lewis Napier was shot and killed, and several other people were hurt. Several men were arrested.

1911

April 27, 1911

Manhattan, Kansas

0

1

1

During a school play rehearsal, a boy loaded his revolver, unknown to others. Pearl Reedy, an 18-year-old student who was to use the gun in the play, said she was afraid to handle it. The teacher, Sister Rose, said that the gun was not operational. She pointed it at the ground and squeezed the trigger. The bullet ricocheted and wounded Reedy in the shoulder.

1912

February 16, 1912

Lagrange, New York

1

0

1

14-year-old May McQuade was killed by classmate Raymond B. Carroll. Carroll said the shooting was accidental, as he did not think the gun was loaded.

1914

November 19, 1914

Sayre, Pennsylvania

1

0

1

While walking to school, 14-year-old Charles Listman killed 15-year-old Andrew Milton over rivalry for classmate 13-year-old Minnie London.

December 1, 1914

Camden, New Jersey

0

0

0

15-year-old W.J. Vanardle opened fire in a classroom, causing no casualties. He was disarmed by a janitor.

1915

January 13, 1915

Vancouver, Washington

0

1

1

During a parent-teachers' meeting, 15-year-old student Murlan Decker was accidentally shot by his younger brother, Luther.

February 3, 1915

Jasper, Florida

1

1

2

20-year-old Will Yates, teacher of Clear Pond School in Hamilton County, Florida, was shot and killed in a fight with Claude Holtzendorff and his two sons. The Holtzendorffs objected to one of the boys being whipped at school. When they showed up, Yates had armed himself. He shot the father through the mouth, and was fatally shot through the body, dying an hour later.

1916

September 20, 1916

Bemidji, Minnesota

0

1

1

Olga Dahl, the 19-year-old teacher at the Round Lake District School, was found tied to a tree near the school, assaulted, and shot twice in the face. She had been working late after school, when a man with a revolver entered the schoolhouse and ordered her to obey him. He raped and shot her; she was expected to live. A group of men in Itasca County, Minnesota joined in hunting the assailant.

December 26, 1916

Danville, Kentucky

1

2+

3+

During the Christmas tree celebration at the Harris Creek School, a fight broke out in the room packed with children and visitors. William Benedict Sr. was instantly killed, William Benedict Jr. was shot in the ankle, Bourdon Galloway was shot in the right arm, and Mike Gaddis was shot in the leg. Many others were injured. Thomas Thornton had been drinking and objected to Benedict telling him to calm down. Thornton's brother George left the room and returned with a revolver.

1917

June 5, 1917

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

0

1

1

Sixteen-year-old freshman Earl Wolf was accidentally shot in the leg with a revolver about noon, in the company of classmates at Central High School.

October 28, 1917

Chicago, Illinois

1

0

1

Brothers 16-year-old William and 15-year-old Ralph Carter broke into the May Public School, robbing the phone boxes and teachers' desks. When they were discovered by janitor Howard Parks and policeman Thomas Conway, the latter shot at them. William was critically wounded and not expected to live; Ralph Carter was taken to jail.

November 29, 1917

Manes, Missouri

0

1

1

At the Perkins School's Thanksgiving night pie supper, 21-year-old teacher Joe Todd, was mysteriously shot. He was expected to recover.

1918

March 29, 1918

Jefferson City, Missouri

1

0

1

At the Lincoln Institute, State Negro Normal School, 31-year-old Professor Romeo West, was killed in the dormitory by superintendent of school Theodore Martin. They were arguing about dishes to use at a social. Martin said he shot in self-defense, fatally hitting West with three of five shots.

April 6, 1918

Reeder, North Dakota

1

0

1

During the afternoon recess, a boy was looking over a 22-caliber rifle; it discharged, striking the head of the Coyne boy in the seat to the front, killing him instantly.

1919

January 9, 1919

Philadelphia, Missouri

0

0

0

While school was in session, Hugh Claggett shot through the schoolhouse's front door, while on his way home from work. No one was hurt, and he was fined $20.

April 12, 1919

Ogden City, Utah

0

1

1

During a high school assembly, six boys shot off their guns. Permission had been given in the belief the guns were loaded with blanks, but they had live shot. Teacher Verna Davidson was shot in the foot.

August 4, 1919

Berkeley, California

0

2

2

Roger Sprague, an assistant in the department of chemistry at the University of California, despondent over his inability to obtain a position, shot and wounded 59-year-old Professor Edmond O'Neill, head of department, and 37-year-old Dr. Joel Henry Hildebrand, professor of chemistry, in the offices of Gilman Hall. He went to California Hall and shot at 57-year-old May L. Cheney, appointment secretary, but hit only one of her hair combs before he was subdued.

1920

February 14, 1920

Durant, Oklahoma

0

1

1

At the Durant Normal School, teacher Albert McFarland, was seriously wounded by one of his pupils.

March 4, 1920

Cincinnati, Ohio

0

1

1

14-year-old student Lawrence Angel shot his teacher, Beatrice Conner, through the arm for sending him to the principal's office.

May 1, 1920

Summerville, Georgia

0

0

0

At the High School, 15-year-old student Alexander Potter fired six shots at his teacher, Prof. Ransom, but missed. Potter was upset over having been whipped and expelled. He was sentenced to six years at a reform school.

May 15, 1920

Bowling Green, Ohio

1

0

1

While attending her son's school track meet, Mrs. F. Mahl was killed accidentally by a shot from the starter's pistol.

August 1, 1920

Ogden, Utah

0

1

1

Mike Smults, the night watchman at the Utah school for the Deaf and Blind, shot a 10-year-old boy, Dennis McDonald, as he and his brother Clinton cut through the campus. The watchman said he fired into the air as a warning.

October 22, 1920

Chicago, Illinois

0

1

1

Mrs. Carmila Rindoni went to the school and twice shot Rosalind I. Reynolds, her son's teacher, for spanking her son the day before. Mrs. Rindoni was arrested; Miss Reynolds was expected to recover.

November 4, 1920

Middlesboro, Kentucky

1

0

1

Prof. Barnes of Middlesboro High School was fatally shot by Adolphus Oaks for whipping Oaks' sister the week before. Barnes had submitted his resignation to the school board, as students had boycotted his class in protest over the whipping. He intended to leave the city that weekend. Oaks went to jail.

1922

February 17, 1922

Valdosta, Georgia

2

0

2

John Glover broke into the schoolhouse, where he killed a girl and fatally wounded a boy. A mob tracked and killed Glover 7 miles (11 km) in Indianola (now Naylor, Georgia).

August 1, 1922

Ardmore, Oklahoma

1

0

1

Bryant Hignight and four other students were at the outhouse of the Mount Zion school. Hignight fired two shots. One instantly killed Raymond Guinn. When questioned, the other three boys said it was an accident.

1926

December 29, 1926

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

0

1

1

12-year-old Frederick Heilman was shot through the right instep when Gettysburg College janitor Joseph Carver fired toward a group of boys trying to force their way into the college gymnasium. Carver had shot into the ground, and did not realize a bullet had ricocheted. Heilman's father did not press charges.

1930

May 22, 1930

Ringe, Minnesota

1

0

1

24-year-old Douglas Petersen, killed 20-year-old teacher, Margaret Wegman, who was standing in the doorway of a rural schoolhouse.

1931

May 28, 1931

Duluth, Minnesota

1

0

1

Katherine McMillen, 24-year-old teacher at the Howard Gensen rural school near Duluth, was accidentally killed by a pupil who brought a revolver to school.

1934

September 14, 1934

Gill, Massachusetts

1

0

1

Headmaster Elliott Speer was murdered by a shotgun blast through the window at Northfield Mount Hermon School. The crime was never solved.

1936

June 4, 1936

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

2

0

2

Wesley Clow killed his Lehigh University English instructor, C. Wesley Phy, for giving him a failing grade. Clow committed suicide after shooting Phy.

1937

June 4, 1937

Isabel, Kansas

1

0

1

16-year-old Robert Douthitt was accidentally killed backstage during high school play practice. The revolver was to have been loaded with blanks, but it held live ammunition.

September 24, 1937

Toledo, Ohio

0

2

2

12-year-old Robert Snyder wounded his principal, June Mapes, in her office at Arlington Public School when she declined his request to call a classmate. He fled the grounds and wounded himself.

1938

January 24, 1938

Blencoe, Iowa

1

0

1

17-year-old Edward Marley was accidentally killed by a fellow actor with a loaded gun while rehearsing for a play at Blencoe High School.

1940

May 6, 1940

South Pasadena, California

5

2

7

Verlin Spencer, the 38-year-old principal of South Pasadena Junior High School, killed five of his colleagues and left another seriously injured in shootings at two locations. Spencer had a long history of clashes with faculty and staff and was forced to serve a three-week involuntary leave of absence the year prior. When cornered by police, he shot himself in a suicide attempt but survived and was sentenced to five consecutive life sentences. Three years later, Spencer learned that the blood sample taken after his arrest was found to have high levels of bromide, a popular painkiller he took for headaches. While the amount was high enough to render him legally insane at the time of the shooting, he did not receive a retrial but was released from prison in 1970.

July 4, 1940

Valhalla, New York

1

0

1

Angered by the refusal of his daughter, 15-year-old Melba, to leave a boarding school and return home, 47-year-old Joseph Moshell went to the school and shot and killed his daughter. Moshell was sentenced to death for the murder; the governor of New York later commuted his sentence to life in prison.

1942

October 2, 1942

Williamsburg, New York

1

0

1

Irwin Goodman, 36-year-old mathematics teacher at William J. Gaynor Junior High School, was shot and killed in the school corridor by two boys.

1946

June 26, 1946

Williamsburg, New York

0

1

1

A 15-year-old student was shot in the chest at the PS 147 annex of Brooklyn Automotive Trades High School after refusing to give money to a gang of seven youths.

1948

December 23, 1948

Ramapo, New York

1

0

1

A 14-year-old student was fatally wounded in the head by a shot from fellow student, 17-year-old Robert Ross, when he happened to be into range where Ross was target shooting near a lake at the school, and was caught in the crossfire.

1949

March 11, 1949

East Village, New York

0

1

1

A 16-year-old student at Stuyvesant High School was accidentally shot in the arm by a fellow student who was "showing off" with a pistol in a classroom.

November 12, 1949

Columbus, Ohio

1

0

1

Ohio State University freshman James Heer took a .45-caliber handgun from the room of a Delta Tau Delta fraternity brother and killed 21-year-old Jack McKeown, a senior and fraternity brother. Heer was sentenced to life in prison for the crime.

November 18, 1949

Chicago, Illinois

1

0

1

16-year-old LaVon Cain of DuSable High School was shot to death at the school after a group of female students began shooting at another group of female students. The shooting was over domestic disputes that had occurred days prior. Edwina Howard, aged 19, and two other teenage girls were charged in the shooting. The shooting was noted as one of the first fatal shootings in a Chicago public school.

1950

January 31, 1950

Evanston, Illinois

0

1

1

A 13-year-old boy shot his classmate, 13-year-old Nancy Penfield, in the neck with a pistol at Skokie High School.

March 16, 1950

Los Angeles, California

0

0

0

Five young gangsters fired three shots at members of a rival gang once classes were dismissed at Roosevelt High School.

March 20, 1950

Antlers, Oklahoma

0

1

1

A 12-year-old boy shot 15-year-old Byron Baker in the abdomen on the grounds of Antlers High School as revenge for a fight they had the previous day.

July 22, 1950

New York City, New York

0

1

1

During an argument with a former classmate, a 16-year-old boy was shot in the wrist and abdomen at the PS 141 dance.

October 8, 1950

New Orleans, Louisiana

0

6

6

Two unidentified suspected gangsters opened fire on each other from opposite ends of a balcony at Booker T. Washington High School while a jazz band was playing. Six bystanders were slightly injured, and the gunmen fled the scene.

1951

January 24, 1951

Alton, Illinois

1

0

1

61-year-old Henry Suhre, quartermaster at Western Military Academy, was killed in the cadet store on campus.

March 12, 1951

Union Mills, North Carolina

2

0

2

Professor W.E. Sweatt, superintendent and teacher at the Alexander School, was killed by 16-year-old Billy Ray Powell and 19-year-old Hugh Justice, students whom he had reprimanded. The boys fled and also shot Wade Johnson, 15, for reporting their rule infraction to Sweatt.

November 27, 1951

St. Louis, Missouri

1

0

1

15-year-old student David Brooks was fatally shot in front of other pupils. Two former students were sought by police.

1952

April 8, 1952

Rabun Gap, Georgia

1

0

1

A 15-year-old boarding school student shot a dean rather than give up his pin-up pictures of girls in bathing suits.

July 14, 1952

Morningside Heights, New York

1

0

1

Bayard Peakes shot and killed secretary Eileen Fahey at the American Physical Society (APS) office at Columbia University, where he was reportedly upset that the APS had rejected a paper of his. Peakes was deemed insane by a judge; he was held at an asylum for the criminally insane until his death in 2000.

December 12, 1952

Chicago, Illinois

0

0

0

16-year-old Lawrence Karr and 17-year-old James Bergan broke into Taft High School, stole two ROTC carbines and ammunition, and vandalized the school with the guns. Both were convicted of burglary and sentenced to one to two years in prison.

1953

January 31, 1953

Kalispell, Montana

0

1

1

61-year-old Special Deputy Vernon Graves was accidentally shot in the face with a shotgun at the Fairview School.

May 19, 1953

Miami, Florida

0

1

1

29-year-old teacher Paul Singer was teaching firearm safety to his students at Edison Junior High School when his pistol slipped from its holster and discharged when it struck the floor. The bullet hit Singer in the lower abdomen, severely wounding him.

October 2, 1953

Chicago, Illinois

1

0

1

14-year-old Bernice Turner killed 14-year-old Pasquale Coletta inside the science classroom at Kelly High School. The shooting was later ruled to be accidental.

1954

March 31, 1954

Newton, Massachusetts

1

0

1

14-year-old John Frankenberger was accidentally killed in a classroom at Day Junior High School when a pistol held by a classmate discharged.

May 15, 1954

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

1

2

3

Putnam Davis Jr. was killed during a carnival at the Phi Delta Theta house at the University of North Carolina. William Joyner and Allen Long were wounded during the exchange of gunfire in their room. The incident followed an all-night beer party. Long told police Davis pulled a gun and started shooting while the three were drinking beer at 7 a.m.

1955

January 11, 1955

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania

1

0

1

After some of his dormmates urinated on his mattress during a hazing, 22-year-old Robert B. Bechtel, a student proctor at Swarthmore College, returned to his Wharton Hall dorm with a shotgun and killed fellow student, 19-year-old Francis Holmes Strozier. Bechtel was acquitted of murder by reason of insanity and spent five years in a psychiatric hospital.

January 26, 1955

Charlotte, North Carolina

0

1

1

15-year-old Kenneth Ray Griffin was showing his stepfather's pistol to his friends in the restroom of A. J. Junior High School when he accidentally fired it, striking 14-year-old Jack Plummer in the left side.

1956

March 5, 1956

Edmore, Michigan

0

1

1

14-year-old Peter Ray Forger shot and wounded 15-year-old William Shurlow after a disagreement at Edmore High School. Forger was charged with assault with attempt to murder.

March 13/21, 1956

Lakeland, Florida

1

1

2

24-year-old Clarke Gavin Jr. shot one Florida Southern College student in the foot and fired at a second student because his wife had been having an affair with him. As punishment, he was expelled. Gavin later killed his friend, 23-year-old Anthony McBride, at McBride's apartment. Gavin was later acquitted by reason of insanity and sent to a mental hospital.

April 5, 1956

Salisbury, Maryland

0

0

0

Three drunk Navy veterans fired shots into the windows of the Wicomico Senior High School's gymnasium and a parked car at night.

May 4, 1956

Seat Pleasant, Maryland

1

2

3

15-year-old student Billy Ray Prevatte fatally shot 32-year-old teacher Frazer Cameron and injured 25-year-old athletic coach Francis Daniel Wagner and 31-year-old teacher Robert Hicks at Maryland Park Junior High School. He left after waiting outside the principal's office for a reprimand due to failing to turn in a written physical education assignment; he returned with a rifle, shooting the three staff members. Prevatte was sentenced to 30 years in prison and was released in 1988.

May 7, 1956

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

0

2

2

Burlie Lord and James Pollard, both 17, shot each other in the basement of Overbrook High School due to a gang feud.

October 20, 1956

Manhattan Valley, New York

0

1

1

A Booker T. Washington Junior High School student was shot and wounded in the forearm by another student armed with a homemade weapon.

1957

February 16, 1957

Lolo, Montana

0

1

1

A 16-year-old boy was shooting at a target in the snow at his home. The bullet went through the snow and hit Manley Brown, a student in the schoolyard of a school a quarter mile away from where the bullet was fired.

October 2, 1957

New York City, New York

0

1

1

A 16-year-old student was shot in the leg by a 15-year-old classmate at a city high school.

1958

March 4, 1958

Park Slope, New York

0

1

1

A 16-year-old student shot the 17-year-old future major league baseball player Joe Pepitone through his stomach at the Manual Training High School.

May 1, 1958

Massapequa, New York

1

0

1

A 15-year-old Massapequa High School freshman was killed by a classmate in a washroom.

September 5, 1958

Dallas, Texas

0

1

1

A student was shot and severely injured while attending a Latin class in Booker T. Washington High School.

September 11, 1958

Dallas, Texas

0

0

1

Two students of Lincoln High School were having a shootout in the hallway until teachers restrained them.

1959

April 25, 1959

Nash County, North Carolina

0

0

0

Three teenagers vandalized North Whitakers Colored School by breaking eight windows with an automatic rifle and egg-sized rocks, causing over $300 in damage.

September 24, 1959

Melrose, New York

1

0

1

27 men and boys were arrested and an arsenal was seized in the Bronx as the police headed off a gang war resulting from the fatal shooting of a teenager at Morris High School.

1960

February 4, 1960

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

0

0

0

A bullet struck a window of a classroom at Taylor Allderdice High School while the teacher was inside, showering her with glass shards. She was unharmed.

March 30, 1960

Alice, Texas

1

0

1

14-year-old Donna Dvorak brought a target pistol to Dubose Junior High School and fatally shot 15-year-old Bobby Whitford in their 9th-grade science class. Dvorak believed Whitford posed a threat to one of her girlfriends.

June 7, 1960

Blaine, Minnesota

2

0

2

41-year-old mail carrier Lester Betts confronted 33-year-old principal Carson Hammond in his Blaine Elementary School office and shot him dead with a 12-gauge shotgun in apparent jealousy over Hammond's relationships with his former wife. Betts later committed suicide.

November 30, 1960

Dallas, Texas

0

0

0

An 18-year-old fired five shots inside the yard of Crozier Tech High School in a targeted attack, missing his shots.

December 9, 1960

Louisville, Kentucky

0

1

1

A 15-year-old student was shot in the leg during a game of Russian roulette at Madison Junior High School.

1961

January 4, 1961

Delmont, South Dakota

1

0

1

Donald Kurtz, a 17-year-old senior at Delmont High School, was fatally wounded by a .22-caliber bullet from a rifle. The shot, intended as a sound effect for a school play, hit him in the chest during a rehearsal minutes before the play was to take place.

January 18, 1961

Berkeley, California

1

1

2

A former University of California, Berkeley student, John Harrison Farmer, opened fire in professor Thomas Parkinson's office at Dwinelle Hall, wounding Parkinson and killing student Stephen Thomas.

January 31, 1961

Norfolk, Virginia

0

2

2

A 16-year-old student accidentally shot a 17-year-old bystander during a fight at Booker T. Washington High School; he also shot himself in the hand during the fight. Nine other teenagers were arrested, either for handling the gun used or being involved in the fight.

October 17, 1961

Denver, Colorado

1

2

3

14-year-old Tennyson Beard got into an argument with 15-year-old William Hachmeister at Morey Junior High School, shooting and wounding him. Another shot fatally struck 14-year-old Deborah Faith Humphrey. Beard attempted suicide but survived. He was later found not guilty by reason of insanity.

1962

February 12, 1962

Durant, Iowa

1

1

2

68-year-old teacher Inez Harding Goss was shot and killed by her estranged husband, who then attempted suicide, after classes had been dismissed.

November 12, 1962

Missoula, Montana

0

0

0

A student at the University of Montana fired a .22-caliber pistol at a police officer outside a fraternity house. He was arrested nearby.

November 13, 1962

Nashville, Tennessee

0

1

1

22-year-old Tennessee State University student Alfred Reese III was shot in the head and slightly wounded during an argument in the university's cafeteria.

1963

May 7, 1963

Paterson, New Jersey

0

6

6

53-year-old Ralph Best shot at students on the playground of Public School 14 with a rifle after they mocked him, wounding six students. Best was acquitted of assault.

September 10, 1963

Hammond, Indiana

0

0

0

As part of a crime spree, two teenagers fired shots inside the Erie Railroad yards, one of which struck a classroom window at Hammond Technical Vocational High School as class was in session.

September 23, 1963

Detroit, Michigan

0

1

1

A 17-year-old student accidentally fired a gun inside a classroom at Northern High School, wounding another student.

November 5, 1963

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

0

1

1

15-year-old Augie Holmquist, a student at Jefferson High School, was in the locker room after swimming class and was shot twice in the back and once in the hip with a .22-caliber revolver by student, 16-year-old Randy Schultz. Schultz ran home and told his parents to call the police. The boys had been playing water polo, and Holmquist had reportedly dunked Schultz. When Schultz objected, Holmquist hit him; Schultz retaliated with a gun.

November 26, 1963

Danville, Virginia

0

1

1

A 13-year-old girl was accidentally wounded by a round fired from a rifle used as a prop in a school play at Westmoreland Elementary School. A student had brought the gun to school after losing the initial prop, an air rifle.

1964

January 17, 1964

Trinidad, Colorado

1

0

1

A pistol accidentally discharged during a gunsmithing class at Trinidad State Junior College, killing 19-year-old student Brian Van DeWalker.

December 1, 1964

Poseyville, Indiana

0

0

0

17-year-old Larry Thornburg took two female classmates hostage at North Posey High School, shooting at the teacher as she fled and at an assistant principal as he investigated the scene. He also fired shots into a speaker in the classroom before a friend convinced Thornburg to disarm himself and he was arrested.

1965

January 13, 1965

Middle Island, New York

0

1

1

A 15-year-old freshman was injured in the ankle by an accidental discharge on a school bus waiting outside Longwood Junior-Senior High School. Two 16-year-olds were charged with illegal possession of a gun.

January 26, 1965

Kansas City, Missouri

0

2

2

During a fight outside East High School, 21-year-old Sylvester Eugene Jones fired a revolver twice, wounding a 17-year-old boy. As Jones got into his car, the gun accidentally discharged, wounding a 15-year-old girl. He was apprehended.

January 26, 1965

Chicago, Illinois

0

1

1

A 9-year-old was shot in the neck and wounded on Dewey Elementary School's playground. A 13-year-old suspect was arrested.

February 1, 1965

Knoxville, Tennessee

1

0

1

Hundreds of students at the University of Tennessee gathered along Cumberland Avenue to throw snowballs at passing cars. During the event, 27-year-old truck driver William Willett fatally shot 18-year-old freshman Marnell Goodman. Willett claimed he fired in self-defense, while witnesses stated he exited his truck and fired at the students. He was subsequently charged with second-degree murder.

February 11, 1965

Kansas City, Kansas

0

2

2

Two student athletes were wounded by a shotgun blast in the parking lot of Wyandotte High School. A 16-year-old girl, who had been recently expelled from the school, was arrested.

February 18, 1965

Sheffield, Alabama

1

0

1

16-year-old Franklin Anthony killed 17-year-old Christine Grimes with a pistol in a classroom at Sterling High School.

February 25, 1965

Vestavia Hills, Alabama

0

0

0

A disgruntled 16-year-old student fired a shot at a biology teacher in W.A. Berry High School, missing the teacher, but striking a door. He went to his third period classroom, where he was disarmed by officers soon after.

March 2, 1965

Red Bluff, California

0

0

0

Teenagers fired a shot at a school bus occupied with students, striking it, but hitting nobody. Several people matching the description of the shooters were arrested.

March 10, 1965

St. Louis, Missouri

0

1

1

A 14-year-old freshman at Vashon High School shot and wounded his English teacher, Leroy Deaton, after Deaton referred the student for disciplinary action. The shooter was disarmed by two students and arrested.

April 17, 1965

Beloit, Wisconsin

0

1

1

A Beloit College student surrendered to police while carrying a .380-caliber pistol several hours after another student was shot in the Sigma Pi fraternity house on campus.

April 29, 1965

Chamblee, Georgia

0

0

0

A 16-year-old student fired a rifle at students exercising on Chamblee High School's athletic field, striking no one. He surrendered to police.

May 4, 1965

Indianapolis, Indiana

0

1

1

A former student at North Central High School shot and wounded another former student outside the school during dismissal.

September 19, 1965

West Lafayette, Indiana

0

0

0

A 20-year-old Purdue University student fired shots at workers at Ross–Ade Stadium before being talked down by police and a psychiatrist. The workers declined to file charges.

October 1, 1965

Kansas City, Missouri

0

1

1

Several boys at Central Junior High School were playing with a gun on the playground when it discharged, severely wounding a 13-year-old girl.

November 10, 1965

Baltimore, Maryland

0

1

1

A 16-year-old student was shot in the abdomen at Garrison Junior High School.

November 12, 1965

Vacherie, Louisiana

0

2

2

During a brawl between students of Magnolia High School and Booker T. Washington High School in New Orleans at a football game hosted by Magnolia High, a 19-year-old fired shots, wounding two men.

December 10, 1965

Buda, Texas

0

1

1

A 8-year-old student was injured by a gunshot while standing in Buda Elementary School's playground.

1966

January 24, 1966

Harvey, Illinois

0

2

2

A 15-year-old student fired shots in the fieldhouse of Thornton Township High School, wounding two other students. The perpetrator initially claimed the shooting was an accident, but later admitted he had stolen a gun in order to kill the school dean.

February 1, 1966

Chicago, Illinois

0

1

1

A 17-year-old Englewood High School student shot a 15-year-old inside the school cafeteria. A lunchroom worker was trampled by fleeing students.

March 10, 1966

Charlotte, North Carolina

0

1

1

A 50-year-old man fired at students playing baseball on the playground of Irvin Avenue Junior High School, wounding a 13-year-old boy.

March 23, 1966

Moraga, California

3

0

3

34-year-old assistant janitor Clarence Jordan was expelled from work after coming to Camino Public School intoxicated. He returned to the school with a gun and killed his superior and the son of another worker. The boy's father fought Jordan, who was shot dead in the struggle.

April 27, 1966

Bay Shore, New York

1

0

1

48-year-old teacher John S. Lane was fatally wounded when he tried to stop 16-year-old student James Arthur Frampton, who was armed with a shotgun and seeking boys he had argued with earlier that day. Lane died about six weeks later. Frampton was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder.

May 15, 1966

Silver City, New Mexico

0

1

1

A Western New Mexico University police officer was shot and wounded as he responded to two men firing guns into a women's dormitory. The shooters fled.

August 1, 1966

Austin, Texas

18

31

49