It's an incident that will never leave my mind. Wallace Spencer was previously married to Dot Spencer. She had been arrested for that crime, as well as burglary, but ultimately received probation. According to History, they were waiting for their principal to open up the schools gates. Sem categoria. . On the morning of Monday, January 29, 1979, 16-year-old Brenda Spencer took a .22 caliber rifle and opened fire on the Grover Cleveland Elementary School across from her house in San Carlos . In all, the standoff lasted over six hours. Author: Alfred Weidinger CC BY 2.0, When the shooting was finished, Spencer shut herself in her house and stayed there for hours. A year prior to the horrific crime, the school service which handled problematic students informed Brendas parents that her behavior and attitudes manifested serious suicidal tendencies. Her father rejected the claims and told the officials to leave his family alone. His widow, Karen Barnes, said her husband always believed that the Lord had protected him from Spencer during the shooting. :S and i think she sholdent be let out because she killed poeple that dident even do anything even her best friends if she had any :L and am not being nasty but she shouldent be let out of prison because when you kill that ;LIFE not a cuble of years LIFE am sorry but that who life gose if she killed over 4 or 5 people that life well even if she killed 1 person still life she killed her head mater thats bad sorry LIFE i i was her i would be a samed of my self !!!!! Christy Buell never left the old neighborhood, still living in her childhood home just a few blocks from the school, and from the ranch-style house where Brenda Spencer's father still lives. One negotiator remembers promising her a Burger King Whopper before she finally came outside. Brenda Spencer had a reputation for being a problem child who struggled with numerous health issues. I remember that fear; you dont know whats going on. The school was sold and leveled, and new housing was built on the 9-acre site. The principal of the school, Burton Wragg, was killed during the attack. Two saplings planted in their memory took root in the bloodstained earth and have grown into trees now, sentries that stand tall and strong over an empty playground. Dead Files Medina, Ny House, Its like the ripple in a pond that goes through generations and a community.. Unwanted Holidays For Sale, Brenda Spencer was sentenced to 25 years to life imprisonment. Her former defense attorney said the Patrick Henry High School student suffered from a broken home, an abusive father, drug use and hostility toward authorities and society in general. Brenda Spencer was born on April 3, 1962 in San Diego, California, USA. ON a chilly Monday morning in January 1979, bored US schoolgirl Brenda Spencer picked up a .22 calibre rifle and took aim at the playground opposite her home. The school was closed in 1983, along with a dozen other schools around the city, due to declining enrollment. She injured eight children and a police officer, and killed the principal and a custodian. He noted that Suchar had been in the Seabees, a Navy construction battalion, during World War II and emerged with no battle wounds. Daryl Barnes retired from teaching in 2001 and died in 2016. As the children lined up outside of the gates, Spencer took out the .22 semiautomatic rifle that shed received as a Christmas gift from her father. TIL In January 1979, 16 year old Brenda Ann Spencer was arrested after killing a principal and a custodian at an elementary school in California. The parole board chairman said that as she had not previously told anyone about the allegations, he doubted whether they were true. It was attributed to an accident on her bicycle. The Union-Tribune regrets the error. An Excerpt From The Culture Code Answer Key, He felt a sharp pain and blacked out for a moment, then a neighbor girl helped him toward the school building. Miller decided to deliver his in person. He wore T-shirts when swimming to cover his scar. If I hear a loud bang or a car backfire, it gets my heart beating, but that's about it.". On Monday, January 29, 1979, 16-year-old Brenda Spencer killed two people and wounded nine others when she opened fired on San Diego's Grover Cleveland Elementary School with a .22-caliber rifle from her house directly across the street from the school. Acquaintances said Brenda expressed hostility toward policemen, had spoken about shooting one and had talked of doing something big to get on television. Her Dad, Wallace Spencer, gave her a semi-automatic .22 calibre rifle for Christmas in 1978. Kids in the comfortably middle-class neighborhood would later say Brenda was known to torture cats, and had dug a series of tunnels in her back yard; adults would describe her as a quiet loner. . Young Sheldon's Season 4 finale marked a turning point for the Big Bang Theory prequel, which has set the deck or in this case, racked the pool table for George Sr.'s downfall. I just wish that all criminals that are given a LIFE sentence serve LIFEher sentence was 25yrs to life, the parole board are only doing what is in their remit to do by extending her timeyou know between the 25yrs and lifemeaning until she dies.also because she has learnt to drive a forklift doesn't mean she is rehabilitated!! CAPTION: Brenda Spencer said she opened fire at the school because "I hate Mondays.". 6:15 p.m. Jan. 30, 2019A previous version of this story failed to mention that custodian Michael Suchar, who was fatally shot, was survived by a son in addition to a wife, who was mentioned in the article. He vividly recalls the sight of Principal Burton Wragg and head custodian Michael Suchar lying bleeding in front of Cleveland Elementary School in the San Carlos neighborhood. In 16-year-old Brenda Spencer, we find the genesis monster. After her parents separated, she lived with her father, Wallace Spencer, in poverty. 4 hrs. Once there, Spencer decided to withdraw her bid for parole. This livens up the day.. Now 72, Olson has kept his report notes from that day. Spencer met the girl when visiting his daughter in Juvenile Hall. But Officer Paul Olson, primary negotiator, talked to Spencer on and off by phone for hours, urging her to throw out her gun and surrender. I remember feeling weird, but no pain. Her statement inspired the musician Bob Geldof to compose the song I Dont Like Mondays for his band, Boomtown Rats. I may not have grown up with a grandpa, but many children grew up to have their own families.. From 2005 to 2017, it housed the Magnolia Science Academy,[26] a public charter middle school serving students in grades 68. Now I think its better to talk about it, Stahl said. Charles Cam Miller sees the scar on his chest every day and remembers how, when he was 9, a bullet from Brenda Spencers .22 rifle pierced him from back to front. Police Officer Robert Robb. There are emotional scars, as well. When asked why she did it, her reply was "I just don't like Mondays." Brenda Ann SPENCER Homicide Juvenile - School shooting 2 January 29, 1979 Same day April 3, 1962 Principal Burton Wragg, 53 and Michael Suchar, 56 Shooting San Diego, California, USA photo gallery The two victims were Principal Burton Wragg and custodian Mike Suchar. #73 was the highest it climbed in the U.S charts. "Dad didn't want me to see a psychologist. The sandbox, she thinks -- she will push them to the ground in the sandbox and shield them with her own scarred body. Her teachers said that she barely talked to anyone in class but was excellent in the arts, especially photography, winning the first prize in a competition run by the Humane Society. He was in the process of moving to a new house when the Colorado school massacre happened Tuesday. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. On Monday, January 29, 1979, a journalist from The San Diego Union-Tribune got the quote of a lifetime from 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer. Mary Rintoul remembers, too. It was 26 years ago today, but those horrific events are . 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Dwarf Mr Snow, Fred's Tie Dye, Saucy Mary, Sweet Scarlet, Kangaroo Paw Green, Idaho Gem and Banana Toes are just a few of the varieties one gardener is growing in a 4x8 bed of "bulletproof" tomatoes. Geldof said in the same interview, She wrote to me saying she was glad shed done it because I made her famous, which is not a good thing to live with., Related story from us:The 1972 Olympic Games were called The Peaceful Games until they turned into the Munich massacre. Wallace Spencer is known for I Don't Like Mondays (2006). We talk about it all the time. Its a very dark subject, Geldof said in an interview, adding that some listeners assume the song is just about having a hangover and not wanting to go to work. Bob Geldof in the Belvedere, Vienna -16 Sept. 2012. just thought i would let you know!! SWAT Officer Jim McGinley said he took up a sniper position on a neighbors roof, his rifle trained on the Spencer back door. And San Diegans are breathing it. Brenda Spencer was a young girl turned deadly killer. Police Officer Robert Robb. The shootings took place over 20 minutes with 36 shots, 11 hits. He drove it into the parking lot to serve as a shield while officers and school staff removed the wounded. Wallace Spencer was an enthusiastic gun collector, and his daughter appeared to share his interest in this hobby early on. Miraculously, none of the children were killed, though eight of them were injured. Get Ready for a New Season of Gardening -Choose from Tomatoes, Peaches, Corn, Zinnias & More! Spencer shot and killed Wragg as he and teacher Daryl Barnes tried to help children. [5] A 28-year-old police officer, Robert Robb, had responded to a call for assistance during the incident, where he was wounded in the neck as he arrived. Father and daughter shared a single mattress on the floor for a bed and the place was littered with . Charles "Cam" Miller sees the scar on his chest every . 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. The flippant phrase inspired a hit single, I Dont Like Mondays, by Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats. Both father and daughter slept on a single mattress on the living room floor in a house strewn with empty bottles from alcoholic drinks. Brenda Spencer was born April 3rd, 1962 to her mother and father, Dorothy and Wallace Spencer. Brenda Spencer (born April 3, 1962) lived in the San Carlos neighborhood of San Diego, California in a house across the street from Grover Cleveland Elementary School in the San Diego Unified School District. She also killed 56-year-old custodian Mike Suchar as he tried to pull a student to safety. 16-year-old bulldyke Brenda Ann Spencer had spent the previous night drinking and taking PCP to dull the emotional pain that came with being constantly raped by her father, Wallace Spencer, and that morning she finally . He has seen Spencer a few times. Because there was no trial, few details about her family or her past ever came to public light. While many gardeners prefer the reliable production and compact size of determinates, others are drawn to the larger fruits and greater yields of indeterminates. Police SWAT team members arrested her following a 6-1/2 hour siege at the home she shared with her divorced father. The principals widow, Kathe Wragg, and daughter Penny made sure the parole board heard their opposition to releasing Spencer from prison. He could see Wallace through the screen door, sitting in front of the TV. She remembers that there was snow in the mountains on the morning of the shooting; her father, Norm (her mother died when she was 3), considered letting his kids play hooky so he could take them up to play in it. . Gordon of Wasaga Beach, beloved husband of Donna Spencer for 25 years. I lay in the cafeteria it seemed like forever, with a bullet entry wound in his back and a chest exit would, Miller said. Though the name Brenda Ann Spencer may not ring any bells today, her story and the phrase that she became known for have lived on in infamy. The young woman eventually left him, but he lived in the same house across the street . Another 9-year-old, Christy Buell, was pretending to ice-skate on the frosty grass before the final bell rang. The house was a depressing sight to behold. ">. They used to sleep on a single mattress on the living room floor. Her mother discovered the bullet hole through her jacket zipper and in her side. Sachs, the deputy district attorney who supervises the lifer unit to track the parole hearings of major offenders, disagrees with McGlinn. And I dont today.. A documentary about 16-year-old Brenda Spencer's school shooting of 1979. Charged as an adult, she pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and assault with a deadly weapon, and was sentenced to life in prison with a chance of parole after 25 years. This is the true story of Brenda Spencer and her deadly attack. SPENCER, Gordon Wallace Passed away suddenly at home on Wednesday, May 30, 2018 at the age of 84. Thus, he had first- When the story takes place she was 16 years old. Officer Robb, wounded in the neck by a round from Spencer, was huddled behind a tree with other officers, Kasinak recalled. Her next opportunity for a parole hearing will be in 2025.[21][22][23][24]. 1979 mass shooting in San Diego, California, U.S. For the shooting in Northern California, see, Cleveland Elementary School shooting (San Diego), Cleveland Elementary School shooting (Stockton), "School Sniper Suspect Bragged Of 'Something Big To Get On TV', "Look back in sorrow: in 1979, a teenage girl opened fire on a suburban San Diego elementary school; today, as the nation reels from a rash of similar tragedies, the survivors still struggle to understand why it happened", "Girl Sniper Kills 2, Wounds 9 at San Diego School", "Classmates Say Alleged Sniper Seemed Lonely, Friendless Girl", "40 years ago, Brenda Spencer took lives, changed lives in a mass shooting at a San Diego elementary school", "School Shooter Brenda Spencer Denied Parole", "School rifle attack nets 25 years to life", "No parole granted for 'I don't like Mondays' school shooter", "She didn't like Mondays, they don't want plaque moved", "Tragic past, uncertain present, bright future of Cleveland Elementary", "Victims of San Diego School Shooting Are Forced to Cope Again 10 Years Later", "Watch Deadly Compulsion Full Episode - Killer Kids | Lifetime", "Killer Kids - Season 3 Episode 19 Deadly Compulsion", "Deadly Women | Season 2 Episode 1 Thrill Kills", "40 Years Ago, Brenda Spencer Took Lives At Elementary School", "1993: Convicted school shooter Brenda Spencer speaks with San Diego's News 8 - PART 1", "1993: Convicted school shooter Brenda Spencer speaks with San Diego's News 8 - PART 2", "1993: Convicted school shooter Brenda Spencer speaks with San Diego's News 8 - PART 3", "1993: Convicted school shooter Brenda Spencer speaks with San Diego's News 8 - PART 4", Murder Historian - I Don't Like Mondays Blog, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Liberty Point International Middle School, Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, "'No Way to Prevent This', Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens", List of school shootings in the United States by death toll, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cleveland_Elementary_School_shooting_(San_Diego)&oldid=1142466095, Attacks on buildings and structures in the United States, Elementary school killings in the United States, Elementary school shootings in the United States, Articles with dead external links from August 2022, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox person with multiple parents, Articles with dead external links from November 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Students and faculty at Grover Cleveland Elementary School, This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 15:06. According to the San Diego Police Museum, she warned authorities that she was still armed and threatened to come out shooting if she was forced to leave her house. ON a chilly Monday morning in January 1979, bored US schoolgirl Brenda Spencer picked up a .22 calibre rifle and took aim at the playground opposite her home. When it comes to yellow tomatoes, Carolina Gold is a popular determinate variety. Cam would insist on touching each pane of glass, to assure himself that none was broken, that "she" hadn't slipped inside.