Michael Schofield
Murray–Wright High School — April 16, 1987
Detroit Michigan
- .357 Magnum pistol
Crime
On the afternoon of April 16, as students were moving through the halls just before spring break, a student suddenly drew a handgun and opened fire. Witnesses later said the shooting followed a conflict that began earlier — possibly a fight or dispute in the cafeteria — though exact motives were unclear at the time and police did not formally announce one. The shooter chased Chester Jackson Jr., a junior football player, through school corridors and then into the school parking lot, where he fired a bullet that struck Jackson in the head. The shooter then entered the school gymnasium, where he shot 18‑year‑old basketball player Damon Matthews in the face.
Jackson was rushed to Detroit Receiving Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. A third student, 18‑year‑old Tomeka Turner, was injured inside the school during the chaos — not by gunfire but amid the panic and as the perpetrator fled the scene. Classes were immediately canceled for the rest of the day, and students were evacuated amidst shock and fear.
Victims
- Chester Jackson Jr., 17 — shot in the head and killed
- Damon Matthews, 18 — shot in the face and wounded
- Tomeka Turner, 18 — injured in the school corridors during the incident
Motive
Police did not establish an official motive at the time, and investigators reported conflicting witness accounts about what triggered the shooting. Some said a fight erupted in the cafeteria earlier that day and may have snowballed into the attack; others cited ongoing disputes between students in recent days. Given the Detroit context of the era — where juvenile handgun violence was incredibly common and guns were often carried by teens — observers described the shooting as part of a larger pattern of youth violence rather than a targeted ideological act.
Reputation
The shooter was an early teenager described in news reports as a recent transfer student with disciplinary issues. At just 14 years old, he was far younger than many of his classmates and had a history of problems that concerned school officials, though nothing flagged him as a serious threat until the shooting occurred.
Gear
-Upbringing
There’s no detailed public information about his childhood or upbringing in the sources, which is common when the shooter is a juvenile. Juvenile records and identity are usually held confidentially in Michigan, especially in 1987, unless later court cases or reporting surfaced his name.
Aftermath
The killing of Chester Jackson Jr. and the wounding of others at Murray–Wright High School sent shockwaves through Detroit’s schools and sparked broad community outcry. Parents, educators, and city leaders demanded action, including discussions of bringing back weapon sweeps and metal detectors to deter guns on school grounds. The Detroit school board even temporarily closed high schools for assemblies bringing parents and students together to address school violence and brainstorm solutions. Participation was strong, with tens of thousands attending citywide meetings.
Mayor Coleman A. Young and other civic leaders publicly called for stricter searches and enforcement, arguing that restoring weapons policies was essential to prevent further tragedies. However, there’s no single statewide legislative change directly tied to this shooting — the focus remained on local policy, school security, and responding to growing violence in Detroit.
Detroit in the 1980s was facing a severe youth gun violence crisis. By 1987, dozens of juveniles had already been shot in the city that year; some school leaders and students remarked bluntly that gunfire and fights were a near‑daily reality. Murray–Wright High School itself was described by contemporary press as one of the most troubled schools in the district, with multiple violent incidents preceding this shooting, including shootings at a school football game in 1985.
After his release, Schofield was involved in a separate incident on September 11, 2003, where he killed four people during an attempted robbery at a convenience store in Westland, Michigan, then died by suicide (shot himself) during a subsequent police chase. This is confirmed across multiple sources, including news archives and Wikipedia entries on the school.
Laurie Wasserman Dann
Hubbard Woods Elementary School — May 20, 1988
Winnetka, Illinois
- .357 Magnum revolver
- .32‑caliber handgun
- Beretta .22 pistol
Crime
On the morning of May 20, 1988, Laurie Dann began a violent, multi‑location spree — first trying to poison children and adults she knew, then attempting arson at another school. Around 10:45 a.m., she arrived at Hubbard Woods Elementary School. She entered the school with three guns and walked into a second‑grade classroom where students were taking a bicycle safety test. Finding a boy alone in the hallway, she pushed him into the boys’ bathroom and shot him in the chest. Then she reentered the classroom, ordering the children into a corner — a request the teacher refused. Dann then opened fire on the students.
After about ten minutes of chaos inside the school, Dann fled the scene to a nearby home and took the family hostage. She ended up shooting and wounding a 20‑year‑old man who tried to disarm her. A prolonged standoff with police followed, lasting over eight hours. Ultimately, she shot herself and died at the end of the day.
Victims
- Nicholas Brent Corwin, 8 — shot and killed
- Mark Tebourek, 8 — wounded (neck)
- Kathryn Ann Miller, 7 — wounded (wrist & chest)
- Robert Trossman, 6 — wounded (chest & stomach)
- Lindsay Clark Fisher, 8 — wounded (right chest, abdomen)
- Philip Andrew, 20 — wounded (shot in nearby home during hostage incident)
Motive
While there’s no formal public medical diagnosis disclosed in media archives, police and later reporting described her as “deranged” or extremely mentally unstable at the time of the shooting. Unlike many school shootings driven by grievance, revenge, or revenge‑related peer conflict, Laurie Dann’s motives remain linked to her severe psychological instability. Reporting at the time emphasized her behavioral disturbances, prior acts of attempted poisoning and arson, and apparent paranoia and mood disturbances.
Reputation
Dann was known locally as a babysitter and acquaintance of families in affluent north suburban Chicago. In the weeks and months before the attack, she exhibited severe psychological distress and unusual behavior, including attempted poisonings, fires, and other violent actions, suggesting untreated or worsening mental illness.
Gear
-Upbringing
Laurie Wasserman Dann was born around 1958 and grew up in Chicago’s northern suburbs, in a relatively affluent, middle-class Jewish family. Childhood accounts suggest that she was intelligent and socially capable but also extremely sensitive and emotionally fragile. Friends and relatives later described her as bright but prone to anxiety, obsessive tendencies, and mood swings from a young age.
She attended local schools and was considered a good student, but teachers sometimes noted her difficulty handling disappointment or social conflict. In her early adult life, she worked in childcare and babysitting — positions that seemed suitable for her socially aware side — but coworkers reported increasingly erratic and controlling behavior, as well as a growing preoccupation with power and control over others, particularly children.
Aftermath
This event shattered perceptions of safety in suburban schools long considered insulated from such violence. Winnetka and nearby school districts tightened access controls, shifting away from open‑door campuses toward locked entrances and visitor check‑ins. The shooting was widely covered in media and later became the subject of Murder of Innocence, a book and TV film recasting the events and its impact.
The incident also provoked national attention on mental health policy and the difficulty of involuntary commitment for individuals exhibiting dangerous behaviors. Some argued her earlier troubling conduct should have led to intervention, but legal frameworks limited that ability. At the community level, survivors and families carried trauma for decades, with survivors sharing long‑term struggles with PTSD and anxiety well into adulthood.
Clemmie Henderson
Moses Montefiore Academy Shooting — September 22, 1988
Chicago, Illinois
- .38-caliber revolver
Crime
On the morning of September 22, 1988, Henderson ignited one of the most violent episodes in Chicago that year. At around 10:00 a.m., he entered Comet Auto Parts, a store on South Ashland Avenue near the city’s Near West Side, armed with a .38‑caliber revolver. Without known provocation, he opened fire inside the shop, shooting and killing two men. A sanitation worker in the vicinity was struck in the hand but survived.
After exiting the auto parts store, Henderson crossed the street to the Moses Montefiore Academy, a special‑education school for students with severe emotional and behavioral challenges. There was no known personal connection between Henderson and the school or its staff, and police later said they found no evidence he targeted it for any specific grievance. As he approached the school, he shot and killed the custodian, Arthur Baker, who was outside at the time. Inside, he encountered two Chicago police officers who were by coincidence present to take custody of a separate youth that morning: Officer Irma C. Ruiz and her partner, Officer Gregory Jaglowski. Henderson opened fire on them; Ruiz was fatally shot in the chest, and Jaglowski was hit multiple times in both legs. Despite severe injuries, Jaglowski was able to return fire and fatally shot Henderson, ending the spree.
Victims
- John Van Dyke, age 41 — killed by gunfire at Comet Auto Parts
- Robert Quinn, age 26 — killed by gunfire at Comet Auto Parts
- Arthur John Baker III, age 33 — killed by gunfire outside Moses Montefiore Academy
- Irma C. Ruiz, age 40 — killed by gunfire inside Moses Montefiore Academy (police officer)
- Gregory Jaglowski, age 38 — wounded by gunfire inside Moses Montefiore Academy (police officer)
- Laplose Chestnut Jr., age 34 — wounded by gunfire near Comet Auto Parts
Motive
The motive for the attack was never definitively established. Investigators could find no clear personal ties between Henderson and his victims, and no convincing ideological or material grievance. Police and news coverage at the time described his behavior as the result of a psychological crisis or emotional breakdown, intensified by underlying psychiatric issues and lifelong instability, rather than a coherent, rational plan.
Reputation
Henderson was a Vietnam War infantry veteran, a part of his history that friends and family later suggested left deep emotional and psychological scars. According to contemporaneous reporting, those close to him felt he remained “haunted” by his military service, and family members said he took medication for mental illness that had roots in his wartime experiences. His life in Chicago included a patchwork of jobs — records indicate he sometimes worked as a hairdresser and model — but there was no stable, long‑term career.
Gear
-Upbringing
Henderson lived on Chicago’s West Side whose life was marked by long‑term behavioral instability, brushes with the law, and unresolved psychological struggles. From his teenage years, Henderson had been in trouble with authorities — arrested repeatedly beginning around age 14 for battery, disorderly conduct, and drug‑related offenses, signaling early patterns of difficulty with impulse control and conflict.
Aftermath
The massacre drew national headlines because it unfolded across separate public spaces — a small business and a school — and because it claimed the life of a uniformed officer responding in the line of duty. Officer Irma Ruiz became the first Latina Chicago police officer killed on duty, and her death was widely mourned; a neighborhood school and a park were later named in her honor as part of the city’s efforts to commemorate her sacrifice.
Chicago Public Schools and community leaders reviewed security practices at educational facilities, especially those serving vulnerable populations. While the incident did not lead to specific federal legislation, it contributed to broader conversations about urban gun violence, school safety, and mental health support, particularly in cities grappling with high rates of firearm injury and inadequate access to psychological care. The shooting remains one of the notable mass violence incidents of the late 1980s, illustrating how personal turmoil, untreated mental health issues, and easy firearm access can converge with devastating consequences.
James William Wilson Jr.
Oakland Elementary School Shooting — September 26, 1988
Greenwood, South Carolina
- .22 Caliber nine-shot revolver
Crime
On the morning of September 26, 1988, James William Wilson Jr. drove to the home of his grandmother — where he was living — and took her .22‑caliber revolver without permission. After purchasing .22 hollow‑point ammunition and reloading the weapon to maximize harm, he drove to Oakland Elementary School in Greenwood. Wilson entered the school’s cafeteria around lunchtime when many students were eating. Standing quietly for a moment, he drew his revolver and opened fire at random on children and adults, witnesses later said he appeared filled with hatred and rage. After emptying the first rounds, he moved into a girls’ restroom to reload, where physical education teacher Kat Finkbeiner confronted him in an effort to stop him, and he shot her twice — injuring her mouth and hand.
Next, Wilson entered a third‑grade classroom and again opened fire. In that room, two eight‑year‑old girls — Shequila Bradley and Tequila Thomas — were killed; others were wounded. After his revolver was empty, Wilson stepped outside through a window, and a teacher ordered him to stand still. Police quickly arrived and arrested him without further incident.
Victims
- Shequila Tawonn Bradley, 8 — shot and killed in the classroom
- Tequila Maria Thomas, 8 — shot and died of wounds three days later
- Gregory Brown, 7 — wounded by gunfire in cafeteria/classroom
- Heather Burke, 8 — wounded
- LaShonda Burt, 8 — wounded
- Joey Davis, 7 — wounded
- Katherine “Kat” Finkbeiner, Adult — PE teacher wounded (hand & mouth)
- Eleanor Hodge, Adult — teacher wounded
- Leah Holmes, 8 — wounded
- Beth Johnson, 8 — wounded
- Kim Simmons, 8 — wounded
Motive
Importantly, no ideological, political, or overtly religious motive has ever been documented; his actions are understood in the context of untreated mental illness, deep frustration, obsession with violent media, and distorted thinking rather than a rationalized ideology. There’s also reporting that Wilson admitted to copying or being influenced by other high‑profile school shootings of the time, including the Hubbard Woods attack earlier that year.
Reputation
Wilson was described by family and people who knew him as reclusive and socially isolated, living with his grandmother at the time of the attack. He had frequent psychiatric hospitalizations beginning in adolescence for anxiety, depression, and emotional issues, and his family reported he often joked about violence, fabricated violent stories, and seemed fascinated with crime and murderers.
Relatives also noted he was teased for being overweight and dressing differently during his youth, factors that contributed to his longstanding sense of alienation and negativity. He told police he thought some students at the school were “after him”, though he had no real connection to Oakland Elementary.
Gear
-Upbringing
James William Wilson Jr. was born on April 13, 1969, in Greenwood, South Carolina, a small city with a tightly-knit community. His childhood was reportedly troubled and isolating. Sources indicate that he struggled socially from a young age, was frequently bullied at school, and developed an early fascination with violent media and stories of murder.
From early adolescence, he experienced significant mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, and emotional instability. He was hospitalized multiple times starting around age 14, receiving psychiatric care for his escalating behavioral problems. Despite these interventions, he remained socially withdrawn and had difficulty forming close friendships. Family accounts describe him as bright but intensely obsessive and easily frustrated, with a tendency to fixate on grudges and slights, often interpreting minor events as major personal attacks. These psychological vulnerabilities, combined with access to firearms in his household, contributed to the tragic events at Oakland Elementary School in 1988.
Aftermath
Wilson was indicted on two counts of murder, nine counts of assault and battery with intent to kill, and one count of carrying a firearm. He was convicted of the murders and sentenced to death by electric chair in 1989, along with additional imprisonment for the other charges. As of the latest available information, his death sentence has been overturned (in part due to legal appeals and changes in death penalty litigation), but he remains imprisoned at Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina, on death row or serving a comparable sentence.
The shooting profoundly affected Greenwood, a small, close‑knit community that had rarely experienced violent crime at this scale. A memorial garden and nature trail were created at the former school site in honor of the victims, with benches and plaques commemorating the two children who died. Teachers and staff used new safety methods after the shooting, including barricading doors and improved evacuation procedures to prepare for future emergencies.
The school was later renamed “Eleanor S. Rice Elementary” in honor of a principal whose leadership helped shepherd the community through the aftermath. Eleanor Rice’s role in helping teachers evacuate students and manage the crisis has been widely remembered and praised.
Nicholas Elliot
Atlantic Shores Christian School — December 16, 1988
Virginia Beach, Virginia
- Cobray M‑11/MAC‑11‑style 9 mm semi‑automatic pistol.
- Three Molotov cocktails, unused
Crime
Nicholas Elliott brought a loaded semi‑automatic handgun (and additional ammunition) to school that morning, hidden in his backpack. He shot Algebra teacher (and Bible teacher) Karen Farley, killing her at nearly point‑blank range. He then wounded Sam Marino in another classroom. He chased another teacher and fired at her before the weapon jammed. He then returned and shot Marino again before being tackled and subdued as he entered a classroom full of students.
Victims
- Karen H. Farley, age 41 — fatally shot multiple times.
- Samuel (Sam) Marino, age 37 — wounded by gunshot (chest/shoulder).
Motive
According to later reporting and accounts, he felt socially isolated and teased; one classmate recalled bullying and racial taunts. Elliott later told police the gun was “the only friend he had.” At trial, he claimed he intended to scare a peer he felt had mocked him (though exact motive remains personal and mixed).
Reputation
-
Gear
-Upbringing
-
Aftermath
Elliott pleaded guilty to murder, attempted murder, malicious wounding, and multiple firearms charges. He received life plus additional years in prison (eligibility for parole after a set period depending on court rulings).
The shooting shook the Virginia Beach community and sparked discussion about youth mental health, bullying, and access to guns. Counseling was provided to students.
The case highlighted issues with how a minor obtained a powerful weapon through an adult purchase and raised debate about gun sale loopholes in federal/state law. While there were no sweeping federal laws immediately passed after this specific event, it contributed to ongoing local/state discussions about security measures in schools, juvenile justice, and gun storage/transfer laws. (No major specific federal act directly tied to this case alone.)