[14], After firing thirty-six times,[12] Spencer barricaded herself inside her home for several hours. L'cole Cleveland Elementary is committed to developing an environment where all members of the community help to create a positive school culture. Congratulations on this excellent venture what a great idea! Despite being a teenager, she was tried as an adult, because of the seriousness of her crime. Weve also had conversations about living your life with no regrets because you never know what might happen and always being kind to others because you dont know what they are dealing with. Part of HuffPost Wellness. As of 2022, Spencer has been unsuccessful at six parole board hearings. Heres what they had to say. [17] In prison, Spencer was diagnosed with epilepsy and received medication to treat epilepsy and depression. I never want anyone to feel as if their trauma will forever define them. Gabrielle Ben-Zaken. Hearing people scream or run in the halls makes my blood run cold. She and others call the decision by Judge Roger Benitez to reverse the ban on assault weapons a deadly choice. The Cleveland Elementary School shooting was the first truly reported school shooting. Although I didnt know Dominic, I heard that he was a fun-loving goofball and amazing friend. 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. Tuesday marks 34 years since the Cleveland Elementary School shooting happened in Stockton on Jan. 17, 1989. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Among the injured were a police officer and eight schoolchildren, two of whom were wounded critically. Five of our children were murdered that day, and more than 30 others were wounded. I was directly across the hallway from where the shooting occurred. At the time, she lived in a house across the street from the school. 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. Since 2009, there have been 288 school shootings in America. He's been in Law Enforcement for 17 years. Classes resumed about 12:30 p.m. Investigators learned a woman and her mother were seated in their car when the womans ex-boyfriend drove up, got out of his vehicle and walked toward the car, Cleveland Heights police Chief Annette Mecklenburg said. I can only imagine what my classmates felt and went through having to return to school that Monday with the main entrance of the school riddled with bullet holes in the brick walls and boarded up windows from broken glass. [32], The LifetimeMovies series KillerKids released an episode "DeadlyCompulsion" depicting Spencer's crimes which first aired date in September 3, 2014. Every time I walk into a room I look for the nearest exit or for a good hiding spot. I dont know and the Robb teachers may not know yet if theyll ever go back to their library. Higgins said. The school was closed in 1983, along with a dozen other schools around the city, due to declining enrollment. The incident led to California's first assault weapons act. But one Cleveland survivor is supporting the judge's move to overturn the ban. The shocking incident marked the first high profile mass school shooting in the US. See the vintage toy sets that started it all, These popular 1950s bathroom color schemes are the epitome of mid-century suburban decor, Easy fondue recipe fun! Six teachers who survived the shooting officially formed Cleveland School Remembers after . [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. Attendance boundaries are reviewed annually and are subject to change. 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. Here's a . Believe me, I get it. Classmates alleged that, the week before Spencer targeted kids in the playground, she boasted she was planning to "do something big to get on TV". Quick Links Cleveland PAC Canadian Parents for French ERASE Bullying I will get closure once I know that it is safe to go into a classroom, or a grocery store, or place of worship. Who is Brenda Ann Spencer, is she being released from prison and which Bob Geldof song did she inspire? When they were in kindergarten, their school did a live active shooter drill in conjunction with the police department. Read more crime stories on cleveland.com: Man who lost eye during Clevelands George Floyd protest sues deputy who shot him in the head with bean bag, Five hurt, one dead after Memorial Day block party shooting in Garfield Heights, Former Parma imam fraudulently obtained more than $80,000 in public-assistance benefits, feds say, Prosecutors seek death penalty against man accused of killing undercover Cleveland police detective, informant, Man shot to death at East Cleveland gas station, police say. Spencer, a San Diego State University employee, was at the scene and helped in trying to talk her into giving up. 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. The decision carries a 30-day stay, giving the state the opportunity to appeal -- meaning the ban is still in effect, for now. But theres just a lot of guilt surrounding it for me. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. He said: "Judge Benitez knew exactly what he was doing when he prepared his 94-page document. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Killed were Cleveland Grammar School's principal and a custodian. However, the entire siege lasted seven hours, as Spencer barricaded herself inside her home, and threatened to "come out shooting". I spent years of my life fearful of leaving my house. . 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. Cleveland is a Scent Aware Building. [33][34][35], The InvestigationDiscovery network portrayed Spencer's crimes in one of the three cases presented in the premiere episode of season 2 on the crime documentary series DeadlyWomen, titled "ThrillKillers", first air date: October 9, 2008.[36][37][38]. I didnt feel safe for a long time anywhere. [16] Crime-scene photos contradict these accounts. Thomas, now 35, is senior principal systems engineer for the aerospace and defense industry. 1. The Cleveland Elementary School shooting, as it became known, was an early flashpoint in the gun control debate both because of the weapon used a Chinese-made Norinco Type 56 AKM-type semi . "It was the perfect senseless act and this was the perfect senseless reason for doing it. I want to sit by their side as they look to see if any books on hold were for students who died. Later I learned that I knew five of the victims, including my coach for softball and basketball, Dave Sanders. Times Staff Writer. The petition also alleges special circumstances, which means that if she is tried as an adult and convicted of murder, she could be sentenced to life in state prison without parole. Robb was released from the hospital Wednesday with Charles Cam Miller, 9, who suffered a shoulder wound. (LogOut/ "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. More than 30 others were wounded by the gunman, who shot them with a semi-automatic rifle. ________________________________________________________________, WATCH MORE: 5 hacks to get you through a power outage. By the end of 1979 a song by Bob Geldof for his band Boomtown Rats called I Dont Like Mondays was number one across America and Britain. 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. Even though our incident was over 33 years ago, when something like this happens, the images from that day always revisit me. When 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer opened fire on Cleveland Elementary School in the San Diego bedroom community of San Carlos, the incident marked the first high profile mass school shooting in the United States. Geldof was later sued by a former bandmate, keyboard player Johnnie Fingers, who claimed that he wrote the music and some of the lyrics. Experiencing gun violence has greatly removed the sense of normalcy from my life. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. , Your email address will not be published. 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. 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, but also in terms of outdated cultural depictions and social values. I had to figure out what living a productive life following trauma and paralysis would look like without an example to model after. Now eligible for parole, is she being released from prison? Log in, Background Checks Frequently Asked Questions, Guns, Politics, Legislation, and the Courts, States United to Prevent Gun Violence Blog, The countrys gun violence epidemic is killing more children than ever, A World Without School Shootings? In 2009, the board again refused her application for parole, and ruled it would be ten years before she would be considered again. The shooter was roaming the halls while I was hiding in my classroom. AP/Julie Schardt. San Bernardino County Sun (San Diego) January 30, 1979. Wragg was hit when he went to the aid of a wounded 9-year-old girl, Suchar as he tried to help the fallen principal and Officer Robert Robb was shot through the neck while dragging wounded children to safety. 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.
