Goleta postal facility shootings
| Goleta postal facility shootings | |
|---|---|
| Location | Goleta, California, United States |
| Date |
January 30, 2006 ~7:00 a.m. (UTC-09) |
| Target | Santa Barbara Processing and Distribution Center |
Attack type | Mass shooting, murder-suicide |
| Weapons | S&W Model 915 (9mm) |
| Deaths | 8 (including the perpetrator) |
| Perpetrators | Jennifer San Marco |
| Motive | Unknown |
The Goleta postal facility shootings were a spree killing by Jennifer San Marco (December 6, 1961 – January 30, 2006), a former US Postal Service employee who shot and killed seven people in Goleta, California on January 30, 2006, before taking her own life.
Spree shooting
On January 30, 2006, San Marco shot and killed her one-time neighbor, Beverly Graham, and then drove to the mail processing plant at which she previously worked in Goleta, California. San Marco entered the sprawling plant by driving through a gate behind another car. She gained entry to the building by taking an employee's identification badge at gunpoint.[1] She then shot and killed six employees of the plant with a pistol before taking her own life.
San Marco apparently believed that she was the target of a conspiracy centered at the Goleta postal facility, according to writings recovered from her house in New Mexico. A spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office speculated that San Marco's paranoia and history of mental illness may have motivated her to commit the murders.[2]
Perpetrator
| Jennifer San Marco | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | December 6, 1961 |
| Died |
January 30, 2006 (aged 44) Goleta, California, United States |
| Cause of death | Suicide by gunshot |
| Occupation | Former postal worker |
San Marco had previously worked as a dispatcher for the Santa Barbara Police Department in the mid-1990s, a job for which she underwent a background check and psychological evaluation. She left the job after several months, which was not unusual for the high-stress occupation.[3] San Marco eventually went to work for the postal service as a clerk, but left on psychological disability following a 2003 incident in which she had to be removed from her workplace by police.[1] San Marco subsequently moved to a small town in New Mexico sometime in 2004. According to colleagues, she had a history of making racially charged statements, and once attempted to start a publication entitled The Racist Press.[4]
See also
References
- 1 2 Kasindorf, Martin (February 1, 2006). "Woman kills 5, self at postal plant". USA Today. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
- ↑ "Postal killer believed she was target of a plot". Associated Press. 3 February 2006. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- ↑ "Postal Shooter's Bizarre Behavior". CBS News. February 2, 2006.
- ↑ Jennifer San Marco