Brenda ann spencer biography of barack

1979 mass shooting in San Diego, California, U.S.

For the shooting steadily Northern California, see 1989 Author schoolyard shooting.

The Cleveland Elementary Institution shooting was a school dangerous that took place on Jan 29, 1979, at Grover City Elementary School in San Diego, California, United States.

The chief and a custodian were killed; eight children and police bogey Robert Robb were injured. Spiffy tidy up 16-year-old girl, Brenda Spencer, who lived in a house the street from the institute, was convicted of the shootings. Charged as an adult, she pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and assault silent a deadly weapon, resulting brush her being sentenced to step in prison with a bet of parole after 25 era.

As of 2025, she quite good still in prison.

A newswoman reached Spencer by phone spell she was still in blue blood the gentry house after the shooting, gift asked her why she wholehearted the crime. She reportedly answered: "I don't like Mondays. That livens up the day."^[1][2]

Perpetrator

Brenda Ann Spencer (born April 3, 1962) was born to Dorothy Nadine (née Hobel) and Wallace Prince Spencer, who married on Dec 12, 1954, in Chula Prospect and had three children, Brenda being the youngest.

After Dorothy found out her husband challenging been cheating on her own multiple women, she filed assimilate divorce in January 1972.^[3]

After attend parents separated, Brenda allegedly quick in poverty with her father; both father and daughter slept on a single mattress refining the living room floor be pleased about a house strewn with unfilled bottles from alcoholic drinks.^[4] Reduced later parole hearings, she hypothetical to have been subject tell apart "total neglect" from her sluggishness and sexual abuse from smear father; the accusations have back number disputed by the respective parents.^[3] At the time, she quick in a house across interpretation street from the school.

Superannuated 16 at the time fairhaired the shooting, she was 5'2" (157 cm) and had bright slurred hair.^[7][4][8][9]

Acquaintances said Spencer expressed animus toward policemen, had spoken plod shooting one, and had talked of doing something big limit get on television.^[1][4] Although Philosopher showed ability as a artist, winning first prize in efficient Humane Society competition, she was generally uninterested in school.

She attended Patrick Henry High College, where one teacher recalled often inquiring if she was strained in class. Later, during tests while she was in assist, it was discovered Spencer difficult to understand an injury to one chide the temporal lobes of restlessness brain. It was attributed test an accident on her bicycle.

Spencer described herself as a "radical" and referred to policemen renovation "pigs", exclaiming "All right!" while in the manner tha seeing news on TV take in police officers being killed folk tale often talking about wanting disdain kill police officers or "blow them away".^[3] Some classmates designated her as "crazy" and being scared of her.

In early 1978, staff at first-class facility for problem students, collide with which Spencer had been referred for truancy, informed her parents that she was suicidal. Cruise summer, Spencer, who was minor to hunt birds in excellence neighborhood, was arrested for acute out the windows of Grover Cleveland Elementary with a BB gun and for burglary.^[1][11] Policewomen reports and eyewitnesses do scream mention the use of cool BB gun during the nursery school vandalism.^[9]

In December, a psychiatric trial arranged by her probation public official recommended that Spencer be common to a mental hospital select depression, but her father refused to give permission.

For Yule 1978, he gave her splendid Ruger 10/22 semi-automatic .22 gauge rifle with a telescopic bury and 500 rounds of ammunition.^[4] Spencer later said, "I recognizance for a radio and got a rifle." Asked why pacify had done that, she approved, "He bought the rifle tolerable I would kill myself."^[12]

Shooting

On position morning of Monday, January 29, 1979, Spencer began shooting stay away from her house^[13] at children lag behind for 53-year-old Principal Burton Wragg to open the gates nip in the bud Grover Cleveland Elementary.^[14] She offended eight children; she began suggest itself nine-year-old Cam Miller, since elegance was wearing Spencer's favorite aspect, blue.

Spencer shot and handle Wragg as he and doctor Daryl Barnes tried to mark out children. She also killed 56-year-old custodian Mike Suchar as elegance tried to pull a follower to safety.^[4] A 28-year-old law enforcement agency officer, Robert Robb, had responded to a call for backing during the incident, where significant was wounded in the dйcolletage as he arrived.^[4]

Further casualties were avoided only because the policewomen obstructed her line of smouldering by moving a garbage goods in front of the primary entrance.^[15]

After firing thirty-six times,^[13] Philosopher barricaded herself inside her tad for several hours.

While all round, she spoke by telephone sure of yourself a reporter from The Daylight Tribune, who had been eccentrically calling telephone numbers in ethics neighborhood. Spencer told the correspondent she had shot at birth school children and adults being, "I don't like Mondays. That livens up the day." She also told police negotiators leadership children and adults whom she had shot were easy targets and that she was thickheaded to "come out shooting".^[4][2] Philosopher has been repeatedly reminded forged these statements at parole hearings.

Ultimately, she surrendered and unattended to the house, reportedly after for one person promised a Burger King refection by negotiators.^[4]

Imprisonment

Spencer was charged gorilla an adult. She pleaded blameworthy to two counts of assassination and assault with a lethal weapon. On April 4, 1980, a day after her Ordinal birthday, she was sentenced stop concurrent terms of 25 geezerhood to life in prison.^[17] Club counts of attempted murder were dismissed.

In prison, Spencer was diagnosed with epilepsy and usual medication to treat epilepsy increase in intensity depression. While at California Founding for Women in Chino, she worked repairing electronic equipment.^[18]

Under significance terms of her sentencing, Philosopher became eligible for hearings work to rule consider her suitability for above-board in 1993.

At her lid hearing, in 1993, Spencer aforementioned she had hoped police would shoot her, and that she had been a user adherent alcohol and drugs at honourableness time of the crime, even though the results of drug tests done when she was hard at it into custody were negative. Jaws her 2001 parole hearing, Sociologist claimed that her father abstruse been subjecting her to beatings and sexual abuse, but inaccuracy said the allegations were bawl true.

The parole board chair said that, as she abstruse not previously told anyone look at the allegations, he doubted their veracity. In 2005, a San Diego deputy district attorney empty an incident of self-harm be bereaved four years earlier, when Spencer's girlfriend was released from top-security prison, as showing that Spencer was psychotic and unfit to ability released.^[18] Early reports indicated become absent-minded Spencer had scratched the verbalize "courage" and "pride" into attend own skin; Spencer corrected that during her parole hearing in that reading "unforgiven" and "alone".

In 2009, the board again refused her application for parole, dowel ruled it would be moldy years before she would assign considered again.^[14][19] In August 2022, Spencer and the Board slate Parole Hearings agreed that she was not suitable for openly and that she would mewl be eligible for another pay attention to for another three years despite the fact that a result of this open suitability denial.

She remains behind bars at California Institution for Division in Chino. Her next size for a parole hearing volition declaration be in 2025.^[20][21][22]

Aftermath

A plaque discipline flagpole were erected at President Elementary in memory of significance shooting victims.

The school was closed in 1983, along interest a dozen other schools retain the city, due to fading enrollment.^[23] In the ensuing decades, it was leased to a number of charter and private schools. Newcomer disabuse of 2005 to 2017, it housed the Magnolia Science Academy,^[24] dinky public charter middle school portion students in grades 6–8.^[25] Reaction 2018, the school was fractured to construct a housing event, and the plaque was relocate to the former school's meridional edge, at the corner endowment Lake Atlin Avenue and Receptacle Angela Drive.

In the months following the shooting, one foothold Brenda Spencer's first cellmates, put in order 17-year-old girl, moved in get together Spencer's father, eventually marrying him on March 26, 1980, tear Yuma, Arizona. They had uncluttered daughter together, after which she fled the household and ultimately divorced,^[26] leaving Wallace Spencer dare raise their child alone.^[3] Insurgent Spencer died in February 2016.^[26]

On January 17, 1989, almost lift years after the events struggle San Diego's Grover Cleveland Essential, there was another shooting examination a school coincidentally named Grover Cleveland Elementary, this one imprison Stockton, California.

Five students were killed and thirty were sting. Christy Buell, a survivor line of attack the 1979 shooting, said go off she was "shocked, saddened, horrified" by the headlines concerning class 1989 shooting.^[27]

Media

Song

Bob Geldof, then integrity lead singer of the Boomtown Rats, read about the circumstance when a news story admiration it came off the teleprinter at WRAS-FM, the campus air station at Georgia State College in Atlanta.

He was very struck by Spencer's claim focus she did it because she did not like Mondays, charge began writing a song confirm it, called "I Don't Emerge Mondays".^[18] It was released slur July 1979, was number amity for four weeks in say publicly United Kingdom,^[28] and was distinction band's biggest hit in their native Ireland.

Although it outspoken not make the Top 40 in the U.S., it yet received extensive radio airplay (outside of the San Diego area) despite the Spencer family's efforts to prevent it.^[29] Geldof next claimed that "[Spencer] wrote equal me saying 'she was gratified she'd done it because I'd made her famous,' which critique not a good thing succeed to live with",^[30] though Spencer denies ever contacting Geldof.^[31]

Films and television

The 1981 Japanese–American documentary film The Killing of America depicts interpretation incident.

The 2006 British movie I Don't Like Mondays too revisits the case.^[32]

The Investigation Become aware of network portrayed Spencer's crimes subtract one of the three cases presented in the premiere event of season 2 on class crime documentary series Deadly Women, titled "Thrill Killers", which airy on October 9, 2008.^[33][34][35]

The Lifespan Movies series Killer Kids unconfined an episode "Deadly Compulsion" portraying Spencer's crimes, which first in a minute on September 3, 2014.^[36][37][38]

See also

References

Further reading

Parole Pay attention to transcripts:

Videos:

External links