January 29, 1979, was a perfectly normal Monday in America - The birds were chirping, the sky was clear, absolutely noone was happy and people were about to fucking die. The blaze in the homes on Fairlie Road near Bernardo Center Drive broke out shortly before 8:30 a.m., according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, Police found the suspected assailant on the trolley and arrested him on suspicion of attempted murder, The crash happened just after 11:20 a.m. Thursday on Camino Del Rio North just west of Fairmount, according to San Diego police, Officers are looking for a sedan with front windshield damage that was involved in a fatal hit-and-run crash on Feb. 5 in Fallbrook that killed a 21-year-old man. "We just kind of went on with life," she says. It includes a memorial paid for by people in the community. Both father and daughter slept on a single mattress on the living room floor in a house strewn with empty bottles from alcoholic drinks. "I went over there father-to-father, hoping to talk to him," he recalls. Eventually, Spencer surrendered peacefully. On January 29, 1979, in San Diego, California, 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer, who lived just across the road from the Cleveland Elementary School, opened fire on the students and school personnel with a .22-caliber rifle. For Christmas in 1978, her father, Wallace Spencer, gave her a semi-automatic .22 caliber rifle. As a person born on this date, Brenda Ann Spencer is listed in our database as the 47th most popular celebrity for the day (April 3) and the 101st most popular for the year (1962). Her memories of that morning form a terrible collage: the principal dying; doctors cutting off her bloody Winnie-the-Pooh shirt; nurses calling her name but Christy finding it impossible to open her eyes until she hears her father's voice. 1978- December 25 - Brenda Spencer's father, Wallace Spencer, gave Brenda a .22 caliber rifle as a Christmas present. Wallace was not around much. Which is not a good thing to live with., CBS 8 San Diego/YouTubeIn 1993, Brenda Spencer told CBS 8 San Diego that she didnt remember saying, I dont like Mondays.. A 16-year-old girl, Brenda Spencer, who lived in a house across the street from the school, was convicted of the shootings. A 7-year-old girl led him around a corner to a teacher. Cam would insist on touching each pane of glass, to assure himself that none was broken, that "she" hadn't slipped inside. "He said to go away, and I respected that," Norm recounts. "I was psyching myself up," he explains. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The community may eventually have a hard time remembering the 1979 shooting. Short Biography. As reported by The San Diego Union-Tribune, she pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in 1980. What had seemed to social-welfare services to be neglect later proved to be a case of sexual abuse when, in 2001, Brenda accused her father of raping her. Explaining the motive for her mass murder, Brenda said, Those I shot just made easy targets. Later, at parole hearings, Brenda was reminded of those statements and she said: Maybe I did. After her parents separated, she lived with her father, Wallace Spencer . Unfortunately, thats exactly what happened. A 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. In late January 1979, Brenda Spencer killed two adults and injured eight children and one adult because of her hate for Mondays. When asked why she did it, Brenda Spencer said "I just don't like Mondays." I felt like he wanted me to kill myself., Bettmann/Contributor/Getty ImagesStanding 52 tall and weighing 89 pounds, Brenda Spencer was once described as too small to be scary.. [dead link][5][7] [8], Acquaintances said Spencer expressed hostility toward policemen, had spoken about shooting one, and had talked of doing something big to get on television. When Brenda's parents divorced, she and her siblings stayed with their father. In junior high, a neighbor went around telling people, `There's Cam, he's shot,' and I'd deny it." 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!! He had wanted to confront her, finally. She just sat there and glared at me," Miller says. In 2009, the board again refused her application for parole, and ruled it would be ten years before she would be considered again. Whenever I hear of school shootings, Im bothered because I know what those children are facing, Rintoul said. Brenda Spencer was aged just 16 when she killed two adults and wounded eight children at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego in 1979. . The school was sold and leveled, and new housing was built on the 9-acre site. [16] Crime-scene photos contradict these accounts. "I think it's really sad all those kids are going to have to go through what I've gone through all my life," he says. "It was frightening. Authorities say they are investigating the marriage of Wallace Spencer, the 41-year-old father of convicted San Diego schoolyard sniper Brenda Spencer, to his daughter's former 17-year-old cellmate. A quick pain subsided as she was rushed into the cafeteria, to safety. [13] She injured eight children; she began with nine-year-old Cam Miller, since he was wearing Spencer's favorite color blue. The incident occurred on January 29, 1979 in San Diego, California at Grover Cleveland Elementary school. Aged 16 at the time of the shooting, she was 5'2" (157cm) and had bright red hair. . 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There were questions he meant to ask: How could you do something like that? She resembled Brenda. Mentally she plots an escape route, how she will get the children to safety. At her 2016 parole eligibility hearing, she cried frequently demonstrating emotional instability, Sachs said. Its in the air. . Age 16, she was 5'2" (157 cm) and had bright red hair. Her mother discovered the bullet hole through her jacket zipper and in her side. 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 flippant phrase inspired a hit single, I Dont Like Mondays, by Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats. Blue was Brenda Spencer's favorite color, he later heard. A month later, on January 29, 1979, she achieved infamy when she began shooting at her school, Grover Cleveland Elementary in San Diego from her home, located across the street. Across the street, Brenda Ann Spencer was watching them from her house, which was filled with empty whiskey bottles and a single mattress that she shared with her father. [27] In 2018, the school was demolished to construct a housing development, and the plaque was relocated to the former school's southern edge, at the corner of Lake Atlin Avenue and Lake Angela Drive. [19] In 2005, a San Diego deputy district attorney cited an incident of self-harm from four years earlier when Spencer's girlfriend was released from jail, as showing that Spencer was psychotic and unfit to be released. Brenda Spencer's father still lives across the street from the old school, and if Brenda were ever paroled, Cam figures, that is where she would return. All I can think was, his military training kicked in. 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Brenda's father Wallace Spencer remarried shortly after the shootings to a young girl who was Brenda's cellmate whilst she was being held at juvenile hall. Born in San Diego on April 3, 1962, Spencer purportedly took an early liking to guns and to stories of violence. Infamous 'I don't like Mondays' killer is inducted into the 'Golden Girls' club | Daily Mail Online. [5][7] Police officers found beer and whiskey bottles cluttered around the house but said Spencer did not appear to be intoxicated when arrested. I know there was a lot of turmoil in the family every time Brenda was up for parole, she said in a recent interview. Police SWAT team members arrested her following a 6-1/2 hour siege at the home she shared with her divorced father. And although nine counts of attempted murder were ultimately dismissed from the case, Spencer was sentenced to concurrent terms of 25 years to life in prison for her crimes. Brenda Spencer shot and killed two adults, wounded eight children and a San Diego police officer at Cleveland Elementary School in San Carlos on Jan. 29, 1979, 40 years ago. The principal was enjoying a cup of coffee in the front office when he heard a popping noise and charged outside, assuming he would find little boys setting off firecrackers. Thus, he had first- Not long after Brenda Spencer went to jail, her father married his daughter's teenage cellmate. Under the terms of her sentencing, Spencer became eligible for hearings to consider her suitability for parole in 1993. One negotiator remembers promising her a Burger King Whopper before she finally came outside. The smallest victims are grown now, their lives changed in ways both subtle and searing. Another gardener is pla, This website uses cookies for functionality, analytics and advertising purposes as described in our, VICTIMS & SURVIVORS - SCHOOL SHOOTERS - STABBINGS - BOMBERS, Police drove a garbage truck between her house and the school to block her, EXCUSES & INABILITY TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY, THE SHOOTING AT GROVER CLEVELAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. He always remembered that day, Barnes said. [17] In prison, Spencer was diagnosed with epilepsy and received medication to treat epilepsy and depression. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. Stunned by the tragic shooting, Bob Geldof, the lead singer of the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, wrote a song titled I Dont Like Mondays. Released just months after the attack, the tune topped the U.K. charts for four weeks, and it also received extensive airtime in the U.S. And according to The Advertiser, the song did not go unnoticed by Spencer. Wallace Spencer, later married his daughter's former cellmate, a 17-year-old girl named Sheila McCoy, whom he met while visiting Brenda in prison. - 1972) (divorced) (3 children) Trivia (1) Father of Brenda Spencer. A KB developer sign notes homes available starting at $700,000. She remembers how her dad used to walk her slowly through the hospital corridors, and how they would stand in a breezeway and watch the lights of passing cars on the freeway below. Brenda Spencer was born on the 3rd of April 1962 in San Carlos, California. - 1972) (divorced) (3 children) Trivia (1) Father of Brenda Spencer. Family (1) Spouse Dot Spencer (? He said Spencer told him things like having shot a rabbit in the back of its head from 25 yards. Instead, he purchased the weapon that his daughter would later use to target the school. SPENCER, Gordon Wallace Passed away suddenly at home on Wednesday, May 30, 2018 at the age of 84. Brenda Spencer killed two, wounded nine in horrific shooting at a San Diego elementary school 40 years ago. - 1972 (divorced, 3 children) Did you know You learn to basically cope. Later, during tests while she was in custody, it was discovered Spencer had an injury to the temporal lobe of her brain. Aztecs to honor 8 on Senior Night against Wyoming, but are all of them leaving? Brenda Spencer's parents unsuccessfully tried to get the song banned in America. Police Officer Robert Robb. And although Brenda Spencer had only been 16 at the time of the shooting, she was charged as an adult due to the severity of her crimes. Brenda Spencer. Now I think its better to talk about it, Stahl said. SWAT Officer Marty Duitz aimed his rifle at the front door, from the safety of a school room. Her parents were separated, and she lived in squalor with her alcoholic father, Wallace Spencer. From 2005 to 2017, it housed the Magnolia Science Academy,[26] a public charter middle school serving students in grades 68. Once there, Spencer decided to withdraw her bid for parole. Her standoff with SWAT lasted more than six hours. A responding police officer was also wounded. I felt like letting this person out of her cage would harm my family members even more.. Her father, Wallace, explained the out of place gift as a way for them to spend time together . [28], Bob Geldof, then the lead singer of the Boomtown Rats, read about the incident when a news story about it came off the telex at WRAS-FM, the campus radio station at Georgia State University in Atlanta. Head Custodian Mike Suchar. After her parents separated, she lived with her father, Wallace Spencer, in virtual poverty; they slept on a single mattress on the living room floor. Brenda Ann Spencer is a famous American convicted murderer, who was born on April 3, 1962. If I hear a loud bang or a car backfire, it gets my heart beating, but that's about it.". She injured eight children and a police officer, and killed the principal and a custodian. Daryl Barnes, who taught fifth and sixth grade at Cleveland Elementary, was having coffee with the principal when they heard gunfire and ran outside. 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 . "I don't like Mondays," 16-year-old Brenda Spencer calmly explained to a reporter who reached her by phone during a siege that would last six hours. She attended Patrick Henry High School, where one teacher recalled frequently inquiring if she was awake in class. The developer installed a memorial, now at the corner of Lake Atlin and Lake Angela streets, to Wragg and Suchar. It's possible to pay with credit card or Western Union, but PayPal isn't an option. She injured eight children and a police officer, and killed the principal and a custodian. Kasinak and Officer Patty Bernathy drove the teen to the homicide unit for questioning. Acquaintances said Brenda expressed hostility toward policemen, had spoken about shooting one and had talked of doing something big to get on television. Suddenly all the kids were gone. Sachs, the deputy district attorney who supervises the lifer unit to track the parole hearings of major offenders, disagrees with McGlinn. He died at age 87 in 2016. Standing 52 tall and weighing 89 pounds, Brenda Spencer was once described as too small to be scary., true stories behind Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. On January 29, 1979, in San Diego, California, 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer, who lived just across the road from the Cleveland Elementary School, opened fire on the students and school personnel with a .22-caliber rifle. Christy Buell was shot. It has a very strong ripple effect; even if youre not hit by a bullet, that stays with you forever. "I have often had visions of it happening there, and think about what I'd be doing if it did happen," she allows. Whenever she drives past the hospital, Buell automatically looks for the same window on the second floor. [32], The Lifetime Movies series Killer Kids released an episode "Deadly Compulsion" depicting Spencer's crimes which first aired date in September 3, 2014. Brenda Spencer, then aged 16, opened fire on a San Diego elementary school killing two, because she 'didn't like Mondays'. He blacked out briefly. That summer, Spencer, who was known to hunt birds in the neighborhood, was arrested for shooting out the windows of Grover Cleveland Elementary with a BB gun and for burglary. [3], Brenda Ann Spencer (born April 3, 1962) is an incarcerated American murderer who in 1979 committed a school shooting at the Grover Cleveland Elementary School in the San Diego Unified School District in the San Carlos neighborhood of San Diego, California. After her parents separated, she lived in poverty with her father, Wallace Spencer. For 20 minutes, Spencer continued to fire about 30 rounds into the crowd. She had skipped class that day and later claimed that she had washed her epilepsy medicine down with alcohol. Can I Get A Tattoo After Rhinoplasty, This unfortunate incident was the first school shooting ever to be documented. 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.Aged 16 at the time of the shooting, she was 5'2" (157 cm) and had bright red hair. My parents split up when I was 8 and they still argue 20 years later, but I never shot anyone or took it out on anyone else. His widow, Karen Barnes, said her husband always believed that the Lord had protected him from Spencer during the shooting. Bob Geldof in the Belvedere, Vienna -16 Sept. 2012. Why didn't you just pull the gun on yourself? [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. The house was a depressing sight to behold. Miller was one of her victims. It took a few shots before students, parents, and school staff realized that someone on the opposite side of the road was using them as a target. Brenda Spencer began shooting at 8:30. Police later found half empty alcohol bottles throughout the house. The last time Spencer came up for parole, the district attorney's office contacted the victims it was still able to locate and asked them to write impact statements. What if they got the idea from what I did?. I lay in the cafeteria it seemed like forever, with a bullet entry wound in his back and a chest exit would, Miller said. Brenda Spencer had a reputation for being a problem child who struggled with numerous health issues. Mike Guerrero, a financial accountant with National School District, worked for Suchar as a part-time janitor while studying at San Diego State University. Not long after Brenda Spencer went to jail, her father married his daughter's teenage cellmate. McGlinn believes Spencer's accounts that her divorced father, Wallace Spencer, sexually abused her and that under his influence she began dressing as a boy and learned to hunt and shoot with him. They still live in the same house. Neighbors claimed Spencer had . He could see Wallace through the screen door, sitting in front of the TV. The sandbox, she thinks -- she will push them to the ground in the sandbox and shield them with her own scarred body. McGlinn believes Spencer's accounts that her divorced father, Wallace Spencer, sexually abused her and that under his influence she began dressing as a boy and learned to hunt and shoot with him. I can still hear it. The Cleveland Elementary School shooting was a school shooting that took place on January 29, 1979, at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego, California, United States. Brenda Ann Spencer, 16, lays down a .22-caliber rifle as San Diego Police SWAT team officers aim sawed-off shotguns and high-powered rifles at her, ending a 6-hour siege at her suburban San Carlos . Spencer's parents had divorced Brenda Ann Spencer is a convicted American spree killer who committed multiple murders from her home in San Diego, California on January 29, 1979. . She also killed 56-year-old custodian Mike Suchar as he tried to pull a student to safety. Lisa Harvey Gondrezick Louisiana Tech, After her parents divorced, Brenda lived with her father, Wallace Spencer, in poverty. The janitor used to give me erasers. He died at age 87 in 2016. Miraculously, none of the children were killed, though eight of them were injured. We talk about it all the time. Five students were killed and thirty were injured. On April 4, 1980, a day after her 18th birthday, she was sentenced to 25 years to life. . A custodian, Michael Suchar, was also killed as he attempted to pull a student to safety. 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.