| Lindhurst High School shooting | |
|---|---|
| Location | Olivehurst, California, United States |
| Date | May 1, 1992 2:40 p.m.–ca.11:30 p.m. (PST) |
| Attack type | School shooting, spree killing, hostage taking, siege |
| Weapon(s) | 12 gauge shotgun, sawed off .22 caliber rifle. |
| Deaths | 4 |
| Injured | 10 |
| Perpetrator(s) | Eric Houston |
The Lindhurst High School shooting was a school shooting and subsequent siege that occurred on May 1, 1992 at Lindhurst High School in Olivehurst, California, United States. The gunman, 20-year-old[1] Eric Houston, was a former student at Lindhurst High School. Houston killed three students and one teacher, and wounded nine students and a teacher before surrendering to police. [2][3][4]
Lindhurst High School, where the shooting took place, has a multiethnic student body, most from poor and working class backgrounds.[5]
Eric Houston arrived on campus armed with a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun and a sawed off .22 caliber rifle[6] around 2:40 p.m. on May 1st. As he entered the school, he fatally shot teacher Robert Brens, his Civics teacher during his senior year. He then shot and killed Judy Davis, a 17-year-old student inside Brens' classroom. Houston then walked through the hallway outside the classroom and fatally shot student Jason Edward White in the chest. Further on Houston pointed his shotgun at a female student, but before he could fire his weapon another student, Beamon A. Hill, pushed her aside and took the shotgun blast to the side of his head.
Houston then entered a classroom with about 25 to 30 students inside. According to reports, Houston would send student Andrew Parks to retrieve more hostages threatening that if he didn't come back he would kill another student, and eventually held over 80 students hostage. He engaged in an eight-hour standoff with police before surrendering to authorities.
While in police custody, Eric Houston stated that he was despondent over losing his job and was angered that he failed to graduate from high school or obtain a GED.[7] He claimed to be "out of touch with reality" when he committed the murders.[8] He also confessed to holding a grudge against his former Civics teacher Robert Brens, who failed Houston in his class. On September 21, 1993 Houston was found guilty on all charges against him, and was sentenced to death. [9]He is currently awaiting execution at San Quentin State Prison.[10] Eric Houston also stated that he had not warned the school that he was coming on campus as some alleged. His statements were introduced as evidence in both the civil and criminal trials.
A memorial park was erected on McGowan Parkway in Olivehurst, California in remembrance of the four people who died that day, as reported to this editor by a local resident who was friends with Jason White at the time of the shooting.
Detention: The Siege at Johnson High (a.k.a. Hostage High and Target for Rage) is a 1997 drama thriller film based on the Lindhurst High School shooting. The film stars Rick Schroder, Freddie Prinze, Jr., Katie Wright, Alexis Cruz, and Henry Winkler. The script was written by Larry Golin and directed by Michael W. Watkins. The film was released on May 19, 1997. The television show Hostage Do or Die: also did an episode recreating the events of that day. The show aired on December 29, 2011.