Stockton massacre

Infobox civilian attack
title=Stockton massacre
location=Stockton, California, USA
target=Students and faculty at Cleveland Elementary School
date=January 17, 1989
type=School shooting, mass murder, murder-suicide, , suicide attack
fatalities=6 (including the perpetrator)
injuries=30
perps =Patrick Purdy
weapons =Type 56 semi-automatic rifle

The Stockton massacre was an incident of mass murder that occurred on January 17, 1989, at Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, California, United States. The gunman, Patrick Purdy, who held a long criminal history, shot and killed five schoolchildren, and wounded 29 other schoolchildren and one teacher, before turning the rifle onto himself and committing suicide. His victims were predominantly Southeast Asian refugees.

The shooting had sparked gun laws in California, notably the Federal Assault Weapons Ban.

Details

On the day of the shooting, an unknown person phoned the Stockton Police and warned of a death threat against Cleveland Elementary School. Later that day, Patrick Purdy, a disturbed drifter and former Stockton resident, opened fire on the school playground with a Chinese-made Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, killing five children and wounding twenty-nine others and a teacher. The fatalities, Raphanar Or (9), Ran Chun (8), Sokhim An (6), Oeun Lim (8) and Thuy Tran (6), were all Cambodian immigrants, except for Tran who was born in Vietnam. ref|WP Purdy, who had carved the words "freedom", "victory", and "Hezbollah" on his weapon, and "PLO", "Libya", and "death to the Great Satin" "(sic)" on his flak jacket, then took his own life by shooting himself in the head with a pistol.ref|Tim

Repercussions

The multiple murders at Stockton received national news coverage and spurred calls for regulation of semi-automatic weapons. "Why could Purdy, an alcoholic who had been arrested for such offenses as selling weapons and attempted robbery, walk into a gun shop in Sandy, Oregon, and leave with an AK-47 under his arm?" "Time" magazine asked, ignoring the fact that the weapon used was not an AK-47. They continued, "The easy availability of weapons like this, which have no purpose other than killing human beings, can all too readily turn the delusions of sick gunmen into tragic nightmares." [Editors (June 24, 2001) [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,151105,00.html "Slaughter in a Schoolyard."] "Time"] Purdy was able to purchase the weapons because the judicial system had not convicted him of any crime that prevented him from purchasing firearms.

In California, measures were taken to first define and then ban assault weapons, resulting in the Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Act. On the Federal level, Congress struggled with a way to ban weapons like Purdy's military-style semi-automatic rifle without also including semi-automatic hunting rifles. In the end, Congress defined "assault weapons" as semi-automatic weapons with certain military-style secondary features such as flash suppressors, bayonet lugs, and pistol grips. These were banned in the Federal assault weapons ban, enacted in 1994, which expired in 2004. President George H. W. Bush signed an executive order banning importation of assault weapons in 1989. President Bill Clinton signed another executive order in 1994 which banned importation of most firearms and ammunition from China.ref|3

References

Further reading

#Jay Mathews, Matt Lait, "Rifleman slays five at school", Washington Post, Jan, 18, 1989, pg. A1.
# [http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,151105,00.html "Slaughter in A School Yard", "Time" Magazine, January 30 1989]
# [http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/173405.pdf National Institute of Justice Brief — PDF file]
# [http://www.atf.gov/pub/fire-explo_pub/2005/p53004/18usc_chap44.pdf Title 18 USC Chapter 44 — PDF file]
# [http://www.atf.gov/pub/fire-explo_pub/2005/p53004/26usc_chap53.pdf Title 26 USC Chapter 53 — PDF file]