California State University, Fullerton library massacre
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| California State University, Fullerton massacre | |
|---|---|
| Location | Fullerton, California, United States |
| Date | Monday, July 12, 1976 |
| Attack type | School shooting, mass murder, massacre |
| Weapon(s) | .22-caliber rifle. |
| Deaths | 7 |
| Injured | 2 |
| Perpetrator(s) | Edward Charles Allaway |
The California State University, Fullerton massacre was an incident of mass murder that occurred on Wednesday, July 12, 1976 at the California State University, Fullerton, in Fullerton, California, United States. Edward Charles Allaway, a custodian at the school library, shot nine people in the basement and first floor of the library. Seven of the nine people shot died, and the other two were injured.
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[edit] The shooting
Allaway armed himself with a .22-caliber semiautomatic rifle and roamed the halls of the campus library, methodically shooting nine people, killing seven in a duration of five minutes. He drove to a nearby hotel where his estranged wife worked, called police and quietly surrendered.
[edit] Trial and imprisonment
He was later found guilty of six counts of first degree murder and one count of second degree murder. However, a second phase of the trial determined that he was not sane. Five different mental health professionals diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia. He presented a history of mental illness. He was committed to the California state mental hospital system, where he remains at Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino, as of 2007.
[edit] Suspected motive
Allaway's apparent motive was that he thought pornographers were forcing his wife to appear in movies. This served to enrage him. His wife had filed for divorce just before the attack occurred. The defense alleged that commercial pornographic movies were being shown by library staff members before library opening hours and in break rooms, but Allaway's wife was not in them.
