Anthony F. Barbaro

Olean High School — December 30, 1974
Olean, New York

Age: 17
Gender: male
Born: September 9, 1957 (Virgo)
Died: November 1, 1975
Weapons:
  • .30‑06 rifle with telescopic sight
  • .22 rifle
  • 12 gauge rifle
  • Molotov cocktail
  • Smoke bomb
Wounded: 11
Killed: 3

Crime

During the week of Christmas break at Olean High School, an honor roll student and expert marksman broke into the premises and enacted a shooting. Barbaro arrived at the school in his mother’s car around 2:50 p.m. He entered through an unlocked side entrance and made his way to the third floor, where he set off a smoke bomb in a hallway and then forcefully shot open the door of the student council room. He barricaded himself inside the student council room, tied the door shut, and positioned himself behind a large window overlooking the street below.

When custodian Earl Metcalf arrived to investigate the alarm, Barbaro opened the door and shot him dead inside the school. After that, from his position on the third floor, Barbaro began firing indiscriminately at people outdoors — civilians in passing cars, utility workers, and Olean firemen who were responding to the fire alarm. He fired roughly 31 shots during the attack. Local and state police, along with National Guard units, surrounded the building. After more than two hours, law enforcement used tear gas to force Barbaro out of the council room, where they found him unconscious and wearing a defective gas mask. He was taken into custody without additional violence and transported to a hospital and then to jail.

Victims

  • Earl Metcalf, 62 – Custodian at Olean High School; shot inside the school when he confronted Barbaro.
  • Neal Pilon, 58 – Columbia Gas Company meter reader; shot outside the school as he responded to the scene.
  • Carmen Wright Drayton, 25Carmen Wright Drayton (25) – Six months pregnant; shot in the head in her car while driving by the school.
  • Herbert Elmore, 43 – shot in the head while approaching the building; survived but with significant injuries.
  • William “Bud” Fromme, 35 – grazed in the head.
    • Injured by shrapnel or richocheting bullets:
  • Albert J. Abdo, 37
  • Joseph Snopkowski, 55
  • Earl Weidt, 23
  • George Williams, 36
  • David Gross, 28
  • Raymond Limerick, 40

Motive

Barbaro left behind writings that illuminated his mindset and motives. In a note explaining his actions, he wrote that he essentially wanted to commit “suicide by proxy” — expressing that he “wanted to kill the person I hate most — myself,” but didn’t have the courage to do it directly, so he attempted to provoke violence that might result in his own death. Investigators also found homemade smoke bombs, propane canisters, explosive recipes, and a journal detailing his planning in his bedroom, indicating that the attack was premeditated and meticulously planned.

Reputation

Barbaro came from a stable, middle‑class family in Olean and was viewed as a quiet, academically successful student with no significant disciplinary problems. He was a member of the National Honor Society, a respected member of his school’s rifle team, and ranked eighth academically in his senior class.

Gear

.30‑06 Bolt-Action Rifle with Telescopic Sight

A .30‑06 Springfield rifle is a powerful full‑size hunting and sporting rifle commonly used for deer, elk, and long‑range shooting. When fitted with a telescopic scope, it allows for precise aiming at longer distances.

  • Caliber: .30‑06 Springfield
  • Action: Bolt-action
  • Effective range: Long-range
  • Common models: Remington 700, Springfield 1903, Winchester Model 70
  • Use: Big-game hunting, target shooting
  • Notes: One of the most versatile rifle calibers ever made

.22-Caliber Rifle

A .22 rifle is a lightweight rimfire sporting firearm widely used for training, small-game hunting, and recreation.

  • Caliber: .22 Long Rifle
  • Action types: Bolt, semi-auto, lever
  • Use: Target shooting, pest control
  • Notes: Low recoil, inexpensive ammunition

12 Gauge Shotgun

A 12-gauge shotgun is a versatile smoothbore firearm used for hunting, sport shooting, and home defense.

  • Gauge: 12
  • Action types: Pump, semi-auto, break-action
  • Use: Birds, deer (with slugs), clay sports
  • Notes: Most common shotgun gauge worldwide

Molotov Cocktail

A Molotov cocktail is an improvised incendiary weapon historically associated with riots, warfare, and civil unrest.

  • Category: Incendiary device
  • Status: Illegal in most countries
  • Historical use: WWII resistance movements, urban conflict
  • Notes: Extremely dangerous and unpredictable

Possession or construction is criminal in many jurisdictions.

Smoke Bomb

A smoke bomb is a pyrotechnic device that releases thick smoke for signaling or visual effects.

  • Category: Pyrotechnic / signaling device
  • Uses: Photography, airsoft, emergency signaling
  • Common users: Military, law enforcement, civilians (legal versions)
  • Notes: Can cause breathing irritation

Commercial versions are legal in some areas; homemade versions may not be.

Upbringing

Barbaro came from a stable, middle‑class family in Olean and was viewed as a quiet, academically successful student with no significant disciplinary problems. He was a member of the National Honor Society, a respected member of his school’s rifle team, and ranked eighth academically in his senior class.

Aftermath

Those who knew him described him as reserved and something of a loner, but not outwardly violent or disruptive. His principal later stated that Barbaro had “caused no disciplinary problems at school,” and friends said he excelled scholastically and had hoped to pursue interests such as engineering. Barbaro was arrested at the scene and initially charged with multiple counts of second‑degree murder, first‑degree assault, and reckless endangerment.

In April 1975, he entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, but court‑appointed psychiatrists later found him competent to stand trial.

Neil Jordan “Bishop” Liebeskind

Santa Monica Computer Learning Center — February 19, 1976
Santa Monica, California

Age: 18
Gender: male
Born: 1957–1958
Died: unknown, potentially alive
Weapons:
  • sawed off 12 gauge
Wounded: 7
Killed: 1

Crime

After a test was handed out one morning and the teacher left the classroom, Neil Liebskind stood up and directly addressed a classmate he was known to have issues with. He revealed a sawed off shotgun that he had snuck into school in a guitar case, took aim and began firing. Everyone ducked for cover as he continued wounding them and decided to make his way down the hall where he shot into classrooms. Some were injured by flying glass or shrapnel as he made his way outside.

Students fled the school in search of safety, stumbling onto the taping of a televison show. Three armed security guards who were former police heard gunfire and found Liebeskind had fled the school on foot. He ran to a nearby bank, entered it, and attempted to hide inside the building. This was not a planned hostage situation so much as an attempt to escape and conceal himself after the shooting. When Liebeskind emerged from the bank area, he fired again, striking security guard Howard W. Barnes in the thigh. The guard immediately returned fire, hitting Liebeskind multiple times and severely wounding him, ending the incident.

Liebeskind was taken into custody and transported to a hospital under guard. No additional civilians were harmed after the bank incident.

Victims

  • Fernando E. Alcivar, 24 — killed by gunshot wound during the classroom attack.
  • Kenneth Pastore, 22 — shot in the shoulder inside the classroom.
  • Brad Czarske, 20 — shot in the left hand.
  • Steven Boyadjian, 35 — shot in the buttocks.
  • Steven Sutton, 20 — shot in the right shoulder.
  • George Garden, 23 — shot in the left hand.
  • Unnamed student — received an eye wound from flying glass during the attack.
  • Howard W. Barnes, 57 — security guard shot in the thigh outside the building during confrontation after the shooting.

Motive

Liebeskind’s motive was never established in a clean, rational way — largely because the court ultimately determined that he was legally insane at the time of the offense. During the investigation and trial, it became clear that he was suffering from severe mental illness, including paranoid thinking and a distorted perception of reality.

Rather than acting out of ideology, revenge, or a clearly articulated grievance, the shooting appears to have been driven by psychological collapse. Witnesses and experts testified that he was experiencing intense internal distress, confusion, and emotional instability. His actions were not tied to a specific target or personal vendetta; the victims were classmates who happened to be present. This is reinforced by his behavior immediately afterward. His flight from the scene, attempt to hide in a nearby bank, and erratic engagement with armed guards did not resemble a planned escape or symbolic act. It looked disorganized and panicked — consistent with someone acting under acute mental disturbance rather than calculated intent.

Because of this, prosecutors and psychiatrists concluded that he did not fully understand or control his actions, which led to the verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity and his commitment to a state mental hospital rather than prison.

Reputation

Before the shooting, Liebeskind did not have a violent reputation in the way later perpetrators often do. Classmates and instructors described him as quiet, withdrawn, and socially isolated, but not overtly aggressive. He was considered intelligent and technically capable, and he had performed well academically at the Computer Learning Center, which makes the attack especially jarring in hindsight.

That said, people who knew him recalled that he had become increasingly tense and argumentative in the weeks leading up to the shooting. There were reports of verbal disputes with classmates, and some students felt he was emotionally volatile, though none believed he was capable of mass violence. He was not known to be a troublemaker in the criminal sense, and there is no record of prior violent offenses before the attack.

In short, his reputation was that of a troubled but unremarkable young man — someone who blended into the background rather than standing out as a threat. This lack of warning signs is one reason the case unsettled people at the time.

Gear

Sawed-Off 12 Gauge Shotgun

A sawed-off 12 gauge shotgun refers to a shortened shotgun with a reduced barrel and/or stock, typically associated with criminal use rather than sporting purposes. Such weapons became notorious in the early-to-mid 20th century due to their concealability and close-range lethality.

General Characteristics

  • Gauge: 12
  • Type: Modified shotgun
  • Action: Varies (pump, break-action, semi-auto)
  • Effective range: Very short
  • Handling: Difficult to control

Historical & Legal Context

  • Associated with organized crime and bootlegging eras
  • Favored for intimidation and close-quarters use
  • Heavily restricted or illegal in many jurisdictions
  • Regulated in the U.S. under the National Firearms Act (1934)

Possession or manufacture without proper registration is illegal in many countries and U.S. states.

Upbringing

Nothing is documented in accessible public sources; he was likely born circa 1957–58 and grew up in the Chatsworth area of Los Angeles.

Aftermath

At trial, Liebeskind was found not guilty by reason of insanity on charges that included manslaughter and multiple counts of assault with a deadly weapon. He was subsequently committed to a California state mental hospital rather than prison.

Edward Charles Allaway

California State University — July 12, 1976
Fullerton, California

Age: 37
Gender: male
Born: 1939
Died: -
Weapons:
  • .22-caliber semi-automatic rifle
Wounded: 1
Killed: 7

Crime

Over the course of about five minutes, custodian Edward Allaway opened fire in the basement and first floor of the campus library, methodically shooting coworkers and other staff. Once he ran out of ammunition, Allaway drove to a nearby hotel where his estranged wife worked and called police to surrender, saying he had “gone berserk.”

Victims

  • Paul Herzberg, 30 – photographer in the Instructional Media Center
  • Bruce A. Jacobson, 32 – equipment technician
  • Donald E. Karges, 41 – custodian
  • Deborah “Debbie” Paulsen, 25 – custodian
  • Seth Fessenden, 72 – professor emeritus in speech communications
  • Frank Teplansky, 51 – graphic artist/employee
  • Stephen L. Becker, 32 – library assistant
  • Maynard Hoffman, 64 – supervising custodian, wounded
  • Donald W. Keran, 55 – associate librarian, wounded

Motive

Allaway developed irrational beliefs that library staff were involved in pornography and harming his estranged wife, despite no evidence supporting these ideas. These delusions were central to the crime and tied to his deteriorating mental state.

The accepted motive in official and historical accounts is not ideology or revenge in the typical sense, but acute mental illness. Allaway suffered paranoid schizophrenia, leading to false beliefs about his wife, coworkers, and imagined conspiracies, which drove the attack. His delusions were a strange narrative with no factual basis.

Reputation

At various points in his life, Allaway had been involved in religious activities, including working as a Baptist Sunday school teacher, suggesting he once sought community and structure. Allaway held a number of maintenance and custodial jobs before landing at Cal State Fullerton. He joined Cal State Fullerton’s library staff in May 1975, reportedly with some help from his sister, who worked at the university. Colleagues generally described him as quiet and solitary, someone who kept to himself and often read during breaks. Some coworkers recalled occasional outbursts or a tendency to be socially awkward. There are accounts that he harbored racist views and sometimes reacted poorly to jokes or comments at work. In the months leading up to the shooting, paranoia and social withdrawal increased, though coworkers still did not expect violence.

Gear

-

Upbringing

Edward Charles Allaway was born in 1939, likely in or around Royal Oak, Michigan. He grew up as the youngest of four children and the only son in his family. His father worked in a factory and struggled with alcoholism — a factor that contributed to a tense early home life. Allaway also had a lengthy history of mental health struggles, long before the Cal State Fullerton tragedy.

Allaway served in the United States Marine Corps after high school, but his military career ended in 1958 with a dishonorable discharge after multiple incidents involving venereal disease. This was a major blow to his confidence.

In 1971, he spent about a month hospitalized at Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn, Michigan, where he was treated for what doctors later characterized as psychotic episodes. During that hospitalization, evaluations documented delusions, paranoia, and deep fears about his wife’s fidelity and safety. At one point he installed a bolt lock on his bedroom door and kept loaded guns under the bed out of fear someone might harm his wife or himself.

Allaway married twice. His first marriage ended in divorce, and he later married a younger woman named Bonnie in Southern California. He reportedly threatened his wife with a knife and raped her shortly before their breakup, actions tied to his deteriorating mental state. That marriage also crumbled just before the shooting — a divorce that exacerbated his paranoia and distress.

Aftermath

Allaway was arrested soon after the shooting when he surrendered at the hotel. His trial began with murder charges, but during the sanity phase, psychiatric evaluations determined he was legally insane at the time of the killings. As a result, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a California state psychiatric hospital rather than prison. He spent decades in secure forensic facilities (Atascadero State Hospital and later Napa State Hospital). Attempts to secure release on sanity grounds have been denied, but debate over his confinement and transfers has persisted into the 2010s.

The university community was devastated, with mourning, trauma, and shock deeply felt by students, staff, and local residents. In 1978, CSUF planted seven trees on campus to honor the victims and created a Memorial Grove, anchoring annual commemorations and serving as a living remembrance of those lost.

While the shooting did not immediately produce sweeping gun legislation, it contributed to the national conversation on mental health, campus safety, and gun access during a period when federal and state firearm regulation was much looser than today. The shooting was one of the worst mass murders at an American university at the time and the deadliest in Orange County history until later incidents decades afterward. On campus, the event fed into expanded emergency response planning and campus police authority, influencing how universities nationwide approached active shooter preparedness in ensuing decades. The case became part of the historical backdrop for later reforms in firearm background checks and reporting of mental health issues, though those changes were gradual and influenced by many incidents over time.

Brenda Ann Spencer

Grover Cleveland Elementary School — January 29, 1979
San Diego, California

Age: 16
Gender: female
Born: April 3, 1962 (Aries)
Died: still alive, 64 years old
Weapons:
  • Ruger 10/22 with telescopic sight
Wounded: 8
Killed: 2

Crime

On a cold Monday morning, Brenda Spencer, opened fire from a second-story window of her father's home directly across the street from Grover Cleveland Elementary School as students gathered outside waiting for the school gates to open. Armed with a .22-caliber semiautomatic rifle she had received just weeks earlier from her father as a Christmas gift — along with 500 rounds of ammunition — Spencer fired about 30–36 shots over roughly 20 minutes.

After the shooting, Spencer barricaded herself in her home for about six hours, where she spoke on the phone with police negotiators and a journalist from the Evening Tribune. During one phone call, when asked why she had carried out the attack, she said the now-infamous line: “I just don’t like Mondays. This livens up the day.” Eventually she was convinced to come outside in exchange for some Burger King.

Victims

  • Burton Wragg, 53 — principal, killed while trying to assist wounded children.
  • Michael “Mike” Suchar, 56 — custodian, killed while trying to help Wragg and protect children.
  • Cam Miller — shot, reportedly because he was wearing a blue shirt (her favorite color).
  • Charles Miller — shot in the lower back.
  • Christy Buell — shot in the abdomen.
  • Julie Robles — struck in the rear end.
  • Monica Selvig — lost her hand.
  • Richard Hernandez — injured in the chest.
  • David Jacoby — leg was wounded.
  • Khom Ouk — hit in the chest and arm.

Motive

Brenda Spencer’s stated motive became part of her notoriety. In the moments after the shooting, she famously told a reporter that she committed the crime because she didn’t like Mondays and wanted to “liven up the day.” Investigators and later commentators have interpreted her motives as a mix of depression, hostility toward school and authority, impulsivity fueled by access to firearms, and a desire for attention or notoriety.

Reputation

Before the shooting, Brenda Spencer’s life exhibited troubling patterns, though she was not widely recognized as dangerous at school or in her neighborhood. Friends and acquaintances recalled that she was often truant and disinterested in school, and she disliked authority figures, especially police. She had a history of troublemaking and petty deviance: neighbors and police noted she had previously broken windows at the Cleveland Elementary School with a BB gun, and she was arrested for vandalism and burglary related to that behavior.

In 1978, Spencer was placed on probation for such offenses, and a psychiatric evaluation at the time recommended she be hospitalized for depression. Her father, however, refused permission for her to be admitted for treatment for fear of anyone finding out about the sexual abuse he subjected her to. Tests while she was held in custody showed an injury to her temporal lobe, attributed to an earlier bicycle accident.

Gear

Ruger 10/22 (.22 LR) with Telescopic Sight

The Ruger 10/22 is a highly popular American .22-caliber semi-automatic rifle introduced in 1964. When equipped with a telescopic sight, it is commonly used for target shooting, small-game hunting, and recreational use.

Basic Specs

  • Caliber: .22 Long Rifle
  • Action: Semi-automatic
  • Magazine: Detachable rotary (10 rounds standard)
  • Barrel length: ~18.5"
  • Weight: ~5 lbs
  • Stock: Hardwood or synthetic
  • Receiver: Aluminum alloy
  • Sights: Telescopic scope (aftermarket or factory-mounted)

Why It Was Popular

  • Reliable and easy to maintain
  • Very accurate for a rimfire rifle
  • Widely customizable
  • Affordable and common

The Ruger 10/22 is a civilian sporting rifle, not a military weapon.

Upbringing

Despite warning signs — truancy, depression, gun fascination, vandalism, and a recommendation for psychiatric care — she was living at home when she committed the shooting, revealing a deeply unstable background. Family dynamics were troubled. Spencer later claimed neglect and even sexual abuse by her father, though these accusations were disputed by her parents at parole hearings.

Aftermath

Brenda Spencer was charged and tried as an adult despite her age, pleading guilty in 1980 to two counts of first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon. On April 4, 1980, one day after her 18th birthday, she was sentenced to concurrent terms of 25 years–to–life in prison. Nine counts of attempted murder were dismissed as part of the plea agreement. Over the decades since her conviction, Spencer has been eligible for parole multiple times but has been repeatedly denied — most recently in 2025, when California parole authorities cited the severity of the crime and its ongoing impact on the community in rejecting her release yet again.

Grover Cleveland Elementary School was later closed due to demographic changes, and a memorial plaque and flagpole were erected in memory of the victims.

Brenda Spencer’s attack is one of the earliest highly publicized school shootings in the modern U.S. era, and her phrase “I don’t like Mondays” became a cultural touchstone, even inspiring the hit song of the same name by The Boomtown Rats shortly after the event. Her case continues to be referenced in discussions about juvenile violence, mental health, firearm access, and the cultural impact of school shootings in America. Spencer has stated that she feels guilt over how her attack became a "template" for later school shootings, like Columbine.

Patrick "Pat" Lizotte

Valley High School — March 19, 1982
Las Vegas, Nevada

Age: 17
Gender: male
Born: 1964–1965
Died: still alive, 62 years old
Weapons:
  • .22‑caliber revolver
Wounded: 2
Killed: 1

Crime

Lizotte entered Valley High School carrying a .22‑caliber revolver hidden under his jacket. He walked calmly into psychology teacher Clarence Piggott’s classroom while students chatted before classes began. After placing a book on the desk, he drew the pistol and shot Piggott at point‑blank range in the chest. The teacher collapsed, and students initially thought it was a joke until the horror set in.

Lizotte entered Valley High School carrying a .22‑caliber revolver hidden under his jacket. He walked calmly into psychology teacher Clarence Piggott’s classroom while students chatted before classes began. After placing a book on the desk, he drew the pistol and shot Piggott at point‑blank range in the chest. The teacher collapsed, and students initially thought it was a joke until the horror set in.

Police arrived quickly — Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officer Kenneth Hefner spotted Lizotte on a street corner, ordered him to drop his weapon, and when Lizotte raised the gun toward him, Hefner fired test shots. Lizotte was struck twice — in the chest and thigh — and collapsed. He was then taken into custody and hospitalized, later facing charges for murder and attempted murder.

Victims

  • Clarence Piggott, 55 — psychology teacher; shot in the chest in his classroom and died of his wounds about an hour later at the hospital. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}
  • Jose Garcia, 17 — student; shot in the chest as he walked toward school; survived after surgery and recovered.
  • Martin Jameson, 17 — student; grazed by a .22‑caliber bullet on his arm as he approached campus; treated at school and survived.

Motive

There was no clear ideological motive. During police questioning, Lizotte claimed he believed Piggott wanted to have him institutionalized, a belief that reflected his deteriorating mental state rather than any grounded reality. He also told police he didn’t know the students he shot — “They just looked like three cans, so I aimed at the middle can and fired.” At his trial, his mental health was a significant focus, with testimony about his distorted thinking and paranoia. Prosecutors argued Lizotte was angry at peers and felt alienated by classmates, though the legal case centered more on his state of mind than a clear motive like retaliation or grievance.

Reputation

Before the violence, Lizotte was generally seen as quiet and socially isolated. Classmates said he often read military books — including checking them out of the library — and wore an Army fatigue jacket. He didn’t socialize much and sometimes sat alone at lunch. Some students recalled attempts to reach out to him, but he tended to shut down or ignore them. A teacher at the school had described him as “troubled,” and it later came out in the trial that Lizotte believed teachers intended to have him institutionalized. He told police he carried out the attack because he thought his psychology teacher would have him locked away, a belief rooted in deep paranoia rather than a rational grievance.

Gear

-

Upbringing

Lizotte’s home life included frequent moves because his father was in the Air Force, which classmates said contributed to his social isolation. This instability contributed to social isolation and difficulties forming lasting friendships. Classmates and teachers remembered him as quiet, intense, and withdrawn, often sitting alone at lunch or focusing heavily on military books and topics. He was bullied at school and increasingly obsessed with guns and military matters.

Aftermath

Lizotte was charged with murder for killing Piggott and two counts of attempted murder for wounding the students. Initially, court proceedings grappled with his sanity, and after treatment he was found competent to stand trial. Eventually, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Many years later, changes in juvenile sentencing law following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Miller v. Alabama decision led to a reevaluation of his case. In 2017, Lizotte was granted parole after Nevada law allowed him to petition for release based on his age at the time of the crime and changes to sentencing standards.

Clarence Piggott was remembered fondly by colleagues and students, and over 1,500 people attended his memorial service after his death. The Clark County School District later dedicated a school in his honor to commemorate his decades of teaching.