He died at age 87 in 2016. 'I don't like Mondays': School shooter Brenda Spencer's bid for freedom What on that day had been unimaginable -- that a school could become a killing field -- is grimly familiar. McGlinn believes Spencer's accounts that her divorced father, Wallace Spencer, sexually abused her and that under his influence she began dressing as a boy and learned to hunt and shoot with him. Police later found half empty alcohol bottles throughout the house. Brenda Spencer was born April 3rd, 1962 to her mother and father, Dorothy and Wallace Spencer. He always remembered that day, Barnes said. Which is not a good thing to live with., CBS 8 San Diego/YouTubeIn 1993, Brenda Spencer told CBS 8 San Diego that she didnt remember saying, I dont like Mondays.. Her father, Wallace, still lives in the house on Lake Atlin Avenue from where Brenda took aim at the playground opposite. Twenty-two years later, his son, Dan Barnes, also a teacher, found himself a target of Granite Hills High School shooter Jason Hoffman. Police SWAT team members arrested her following a 6-1/2 hour siege at the home she shared with her divorced father. Case Study: Brenda Spencer - Case Study: Brenda Spencer 1 SPENCER, Gordon Wallace Passed away suddenly at home on Wednesday, May 30, 2018 at the age of 84. She remembers that there was snow in the mountains on the morning of the shooting; her father, Norm (her mother died when she was 3), considered letting his kids play hooky so he could take them up to play in it. It was Jan. 29, 1979, and in a tranquil San Diego suburb, Grover Cleveland Elementary School had just become ground zero in an undeclared war. Then, she aimed it out the window and began firing at the kids. [1][5] Although Spencer showed exceptional ability as a photographer, winning first prize in a Humane Society competition, she was generally uninterested in school. My parents split up when I was 8 and they still argue 20 years later, but I never shot anyone or took it out on anyone else. Later, during tests while she was in custody, it was discovered Spencer had an injury to the temporal lobe of her brain. "If I go somewhere, like to a restaurant, I have to sit where I can avoid having my back to the window," he says. Brenda Spencer - Biography - IMDb A version of this article originally appeared in Good Housekeeping magazine. CAPTION: (Photo ran in an earlier edition) Police rush to the scene of a sniper attack on Grover Cleveland Elementary School in a San Diego suburb 20 years ago. Brenda Spencer was sentenced to 25 years to life imprisonment. Two of the worst before the Spencer shootings in 1966 at the University of Texas, where a gunman killed 17 people and wounded 31, and in 1976 at Cal State Fullerton, where seven were killed and two were wounded involved adult male shooters. . When Brenda's parents divorced, she and her siblings stayed with their father. 6:15 p.m. Jan. 30, 2019: A previous version of this story failed to mention that custodian Michael Suchar, who was fatally shot, was survived by a son in addition to a wife, who was mentioned in the article. Patrol Officer Ted Kasinak halted a garbage truck driver headed into the shooting scene and commandeered the truck. what about there family there life they had but now they last it !!!! Unwanted Holidays For Sale, Brenda Spencer was born on April 3, 1962 in San Diego, California, USA as Brenda Ann Spencer.Trivia (3)On January 29, 1979, sixteen year old Brenda Spencer pointed her .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle that she had received as a Christmas present from her father out her bedroom window to San Diego's Grover Cleveland Elementary . Police Officer Robert Robb. [5][2] Spencer has been repeatedly reminded of these statements at parole hearings. Katie Serena is a New York City-based writer and a staff writer at All That's Interesting. The next victim was the schools custodian, who also attempted to bring the children to safety. On that January day, she woke up, took the gun and, just as the school bell rang to signal the beginning of the classes, Brenda began shooting from her window at the young students who were standing outside the school. Sniper's dad weds teen Desert Sun 9 June 1980 California Digital He was not hired to represent Spencer at her parole hearings. Business California brenda ann spencer father . But whenever she did attend class, she raised eyebrows. An Excerpt From The Culture Code Answer Key, Add or change photo on IMDbPro Add to list More at IMDbPro Contact info Agent info Known for I Don't Like Mondays 5.8 TV Movie Self 2006 Credits Edit IMDbPro Self Previous 1 I Don't Like Mondays Self TV Movie 2006 Personal details Spouse Dot Spencer? Brenda Ann Spencer. Then, read about the Dunblane Massacre, the deadliest school shooting in the U.K. Before The Columbine Massacre Or Parkland Shooting, There Was Brenda Ann Spencer. Stahl said her mother, Penny Wragg, never got the right help dealing with the murder of her father at the school. It has a very strong ripple effect; even if youre not hit by a bullet, that stays with you forever. Blank, empty stare. Soon after the police arrived on the scene, they realized that the shots had come from Spencers home. [5][7] Police officers found beer and whiskey bottles cluttered around the house but said Spencer did not appear to be intoxicated when arrested. He said Suchar and the principal didnt get along all that well, but that day when Wragg was felled in the parking lot, Suchar didnt hesitate to run out and try to help. A reporter reached Spencer by phone while she was still in the house after the shooting, and asked her why she committed the crime. Unforgiven and Alone: Brenda Spencer and Secret Shame Even The Sun Sets In Paradise Meaning, The teens attorneys considered pursuing an insanity plea, but it never came to fruition. (Barry Fitsimmons/San Diego Union-Tribune). At her 2016 parole eligibility hearing, she cried frequently demonstrating emotional instability, Sachs said. Wallace Spencer - Biography - IMDb Brenda Spencer was 16 when she opened fire at a San Diego elementary school from a window in . It includes a memorial paid for by people in the community. ON a chilly Monday morning in January 1979, bored US schoolgirl Brenda Spencer picked up a .22 calibre rifle and took aim at the playground opposite her home. Rintoul suffered nightmares and got counseling. Tijuana sewage isnt only in Imperial Beach waves. For 20 years now, Wallace Spencer has maintained a public silence about his daughter's crime. She deserves life and no less. 6:15 p.m. Jan. 30, 2019A previous version of this story failed to mention that custodian Michael Suchar, who was fatally shot, was survived by a son in addition to a wife, who was mentioned in the article. Head Custodian Mike Suchar. Can I Get A Tattoo After Rhinoplasty, [13] She injured eight children; she began with nine-year-old Cam Miller, since he was wearing Spencer's favorite color blue. According to acquaintances who knew Brenda Spencer, she also dabbled in drug use and petty theft as a teenager. In 1979, 16-Year-Old Brenda Spencer Killed 2 People. When - Vintag ". Spencer house - San Diego, California - Wikimapia Acquaintances said Brenda expressed hostility toward policemen, had spoken about shooting one and had talked of doing something big to get on television. Born in San Diego, Spencer purportedly took an early liking to guns and also to stories that contained violence. Thus, he had first- Eight students ranging in age from 7 to 10. A previous version of this story failed to mention that custodian Michael Suchar, who was fatally shot, was survived by a son in addition to a wife, who was mentioned in the article. Many customers have had positive experiences ordering from them, and their customer service has been praised for keeping buyers updated on order status. They still live in the same house. I remember that fear; you dont know whats going on. The principals widow, Kathe Wragg, and daughter Penny made sure the parole board heard their opposition to releasing Spencer from prison. He does not mention Brenda Spencer by name but the connection is clear in the lyrics: And nobodys gonna go to school today/Shes going to make them stay at home.. we have been doing it in drama that is how i know. For Christmas 1978 her father, Wallace, had given her a .22 rifle as a present. Hart was a private investigator involved in the case and interviewed Spencer's mother, father, brother, sister, friends, and neighbors within months of the attack. 16-year-old bulldyke Brenda Ann Spencer had spent the previous night drinking and taking PCP to dull the emotional pain that came with being constantly raped by her father, Wallace Spencer, and that morning she finally . Anna 027 457 7918 | Landline 09 579 9841 | hudanalys kristianstad Brenda Spencer was born April 3rd, 1962 to her mother and father, Dorothy and Wallace Spencer. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the San Diego Union-Tribune. Head Custodian Mike Suchar. Lawyers say she could now make a successful parole application. She was Mary Clark then, aged 9, when she was shot through her lower torso and didnt know it. Spencer house House where Brenda Ann Spencer fired the shots at the Cleveland Elementary shooting. [5], Further casualties were avoided only because the police obstructed her line of fire by moving a garbage truck in front of the school entrance. During the search of their house, police. He could see Wallace through the screen door, sitting in front of the TV. I held it in. From NE Ohio to North Central Mississippi, everyone has their own ideas and preferences for what they will plant this year. Foundation named for slain Poway teen Chelsea King closes its doors, New Pacific Beach shuttle aims to make it more convenient to take mass transit to the beach, Spring training recap: Padres no-hit by Cubs. Aged 16 at the time of the shooting, she was 5'2" (157cm) and had bright red hair. Cleveland Elementary School shooting (San Diego) - Wikipedia For Christmas in 1978, her father Wallace gave her a semi-automatic .22 caliber rifle. Miraculously, none of the children were killed, though eight of them were injured. She hurt so many people and had so much to do with starting a deadly trend in America, said Richard Sachs, a San Diego County deputy district attorney, in an interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune. At the time, she lived in a house across the street from the school. Still, she finds herself thinking about it in the abstract at the preschool where she teaches, especially when she's outside with the children. He wore T-shirts when swimming to cover his scar. I stopped following Brendas parole hearings 25 years ago. Wragg and Suchar died; the others, including San Diego police Officer Robert Robb, survived their wounds. Charles Cam Miller sees the scar on his chest every day and remembers how, when he was 9, a bullet from Brenda Spencers .22 rifle pierced him from back to front. Aztecs to honor 8 on Senior Night against Wyoming, but are all of them leaving? 2019-01-30 - PAULINE REPARD Repard writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. In 2001 she accused her father of having drunkenly subjected her to beatings and sexual abuse. The principal of the school, Burton Wragg, was killed during the attack. 1978- December 25-Brenda Spencer's father, Wallace Spencer, gave Brenda a .22 caliber rifle as a Christmas present. "Six months after I got my jacket back, I found a hole in the hood," she recalls, surmising that a third bullet passed through it without striking her. Monika Selvig was shot. Spencer came out of her house about 2:30 p.m., laying her .22 rifle and a pellet rifle on the ground, then boxes of ammunition. Trivia (3) On January 29, 1979, sixteen year old Brenda Spencer pointed her .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle that she had received as a Christmas present from her father out her bedroom window to San Diego's Grover Cleveland Elementary School across the street. She lived in perpetual squalor in a house in San Carlos, California, with her alcoholic father, Wallace, after her parents separated. Brenda and her father slept on a single mattress in their living room, empty alcohol bottles scattered around the floor. Brenda Spencer was a shy, 16-year-old misfit. Eventually, Spencer surrendered peacefully. As of 2022, Spencer has been unsuccessful at six parole board hearings. Blue was Brenda Spencer's favorite color, he later heard. The janitor used to give me erasers. He had wanted to confront her, finally. Another 9-year-old, Christy Buell, was pretending to ice-skate on the frosty grass before the final bell rang. ">. Connie DeVaul. . Whenever she drives past the hospital, Buell automatically looks for the same window on the second floor. She hurt so many people and had so much to do with starting a deadly trend in America, said Richard Sachs, a San Diego County deputy district attorney tasked with formally opposing parole for Spencer on several occasions. In April 1980, Spencer pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Her father went on to marry Spencer's 17-year-old Juvenile Hall cellmate but they later divorced. Brenda Spencer, aged 16, fired rifle shots into a school playground in California in January 1979, killing the head teacher and caretaker and wounding eight children and a police officer. Brenda Spencer - Everything2.com On January 29, 1979, in San Diego, California, 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer, who lived just across the road from the Cleveland Elementary School, opened fire on the students and school personnel with a .22-caliber rifle. The school was sold and leveled, and new housing was built on the 9-acre site. Brenda Spencer's father still lives across the street from the old school, and if Brenda were ever paroled, Cam figures, that is where she would return. The 2006 British documentary I Don't Like Mondays also revisits the case. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [27] In 2018, the school was demolished to construct a housing development, and the plaque was relocated to the former school's southern edge, at the corner of Lake Atlin Avenue and Lake Angela Drive. He took cover behind the truck as SWAT officers surrounded the Spencer house. Robb was awarded a medal of valor for rushing forward to try to save those who had been shot. Wallace passed away on Thursday, February 11, 2016. The Union-Tribune regrets the error. brenda spencer father, wallace They had a child, and the little girl attended Buell's preschool. Although it did not make the Top 40 in the U.S., it still received extensive radio airplay (outside of the San Diego area) despite the Spencer family's efforts to prevent it. It might have even changed the nation. 40 years after school shooting - PressReader All I can think was, his military training kicked in. her father was described as an anti-social . Echoes of a Different Schoolyard - The Washington Post [4][5][6][7] After her parents separated, she allegedly lived in poverty with her father, Wallace Spencer. During the later interrogation, she was asked why she did it and responded: I just dont like Mondays.. Charles "Cam" Miller sees the scar on his chest every . To this day, Cam Miller hesitates before dressing in blue. Brenda Spencer: The 'I Don't Like Mondays' School Shooter - All That's Reportedly, Brenda later said that she asked for a radio instead but he insisted on a gun as a present. In 20 minutes she had shot: Principal Burton Wragg. people beat her up and i am not suprised she killed those people even the teachers took the mick out of her. Born in 1962 in San Diego, California, and raised across the street from the Grover Cleveland Elementary School, by her sixteenth birthday Brenda stood all of 5'2" and sported bright red hair. "I went over there father-to-father, hoping to talk to him," he recalls. Officer Robb, wounded in the neck by a round from Spencer, was huddled behind a tree with other officers, Kasinak recalled. He died at age 87 in 2016. . In her 2001 hearing, Spencer claimed that her father had been subjecting her to beatings and sexual abuse, but he said the allegations were not true. Its a very dark subject, Geldof said in an interview, adding that some listeners assume the song is just about having a hangover and not wanting to go to work. [dead link][5][7] [8], Acquaintances said Spencer expressed hostility toward policemen, had spoken about shooting one, and had talked of doing something big to get on television. But Officer Paul Olson, primary negotiator, talked to Spencer on and off by phone for hours, urging her to throw out her gun and surrender. . Not long after Brenda Spencer went to jail, her father married his daughter's teenage cellmate. She was frequently absent from school. In the aftermath of the attack, it was revealed that Brenda Spencer had shot at the school one year earlier with a BB gun. After her parents separated, she lived with her father, Wallace Spencer . After her parents divorced, Brenda lived with her father, Wallace Spencer, in poverty. Charles "Cam" Miller, age 9 was shot. According to The Daily Beast, she would later claim that her father was abusive toward her and that her mother "just wasn't there." Other children in down coats were targeted, too, and Spencer later was quoted as saying she enjoyed seeing feathers fly as she shot them. Brenda Ann Spencer, now 56, has spent the last 40 years in prison at the California Institution for Women. "I didn't talk about it. "I was psyching myself up," he explains. Charles "Cam" Miller, age 9 was shot. Asked why he had done that, she answered, "He bought the rifle so I would kill myself. Eight students and a police officer were wounded. Twin Creeks Golf Membership Cost, Since the verdict, Brenda Spencer has been denied parole four times but will be eligible to have another Board of Parole Hearing next year. Brenda Spencer | WickedWe - The Dark Side Of Humanity Explaining the motive for her mass murder, Brenda said, Those I shot just made easy targets. Later, at parole hearings, Brenda was reminded of those statements and she said: Maybe I did. The school was closed in 1983, along with a dozen other schools around the city, due to declining enrollment. "He said to go away, and I respected that," Norm recounts. [18] Early reports indicated that Spencer had scratched the words "courage" and "pride" into her own skin; Spencer corrected this during her parole hearing as reading "unforgiven" and "alone". A KB developer sign notes homes available starting at $700,000. When the story takes place she was 16 years old. This livens up the day." He noted that Suchar had been in the Seabees, a Navy construction battalion, during World War II and emerged with no battle wounds. Brenda Spencer began shooting at 8:30. The principal and a custodian were killed; eight children and police officer Robert Robb were injured. After her parents separated, she lived with her father, Wallace Spencer, in poverty. (Disturbingly, Wallace Spencer later married one of his daughters 17-year-old cellmates who bore a striking resemblance to her.) While there, she spoke by telephone to a reporter from The San Diego Union-Tribune, who had been randomly calling telephone numbers in the neighborhood. B renda Ann Spencer was born on April 3, 1962. Get Ready for a New Season of Gardening -Choose from Tomatoes, Peaches, Corn, Zinnias & More! During this time, Spencer gave her infamous interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune over the phone. Now 72, Olson has kept his report notes from that day. I felt really scared like shed come after me. Standing 52 tall and weighing 89 pounds, Brenda Spencer was once described as too small to be scary., true stories behind Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. I know there was a lot of turmoil in the family every time Brenda was up for parole, she said in a recent interview. He promised that a Burger King Whopper would be waiting for her. She fired 36 rounds. The Union-Tribune regrets the error. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. Brenda Spencer had a reputation for being a problem child who struggled with numerous health issues. However, in 2005, Brenda claimed her father was to blame, stating he had drunkenly kicked her in the head when she was fourteen and that she was forced to make up the 'bicycle story.' Born in San Diego on April 3, 1962, Spencer purportedly took an early liking to guns and to stories of violence. Authorities say they are investigating the marriage of Wallace Spencer, the 41-year-old father of convicted San Diego schoolyard sniper Brenda Spencer, to his daughter's former 17-year-old cellmate. Spencer met the girl when visiting his daughter in Juvenile Hall. Brenda's attorney said that the mother "became like a stone . She later gave a written statement and claimed that Wallace Spencer started . While many gardeners prefer the reliable production and compact size of determinates, others are drawn to the larger fruits and greater yields of indeterminates. Even The Sun Sets In Paradise Meaning, Spencer house. SWAT Officer Jim McGinley said he took up a sniper position on a neighbors roof, his rifle trained on the Spencer back door. Geldof said in the same interview, She wrote to me saying she was glad shed done it because I made her famous, which is not a good thing to live with., Related story from us:The 1972 Olympic Games were called The Peaceful Games until they turned into the Munich massacre. San Diego Union-Tribune/Wikimedia Commons (cropped)The arrest of school shooter Brenda Spencer, shortly after her infamous I dont like Mondays quote. I remember feeling weird, but no pain. Author: Alfred Weidinger CC BY 2.0, When the shooting was finished, Spencer shut herself in her house and stayed there for hours. :P xx. But Haley Wragg, who at age 26 wasnt alive when Spencer killed her grandfather, learned as a child to fear her release from prison. all becoause she didnt like mondays and even if she was gettin picked on she should of gone to the teacher no brin in a gunn then kill poeple for no simple reson !!!!:'(. Authorities say they are investigating the marriage of Wallace Spencer, the 41-year-old father of convicted San Diego schoolyard sniper Brenda Spencer, to his daughter's former 17-year-old cellmate. And Miller has never forgotten the horror he felt when he lay in an ambulance next to an inert Suchar and, as the ambulance rounded a curve, the custodian rolled on top of him, face to face. Brenda Ann SPENCER Homicide Juvenile - School shooting 2 January 29, 1979 Same day April 3, 1962 Principal Burton Wragg, 53 and Michael Suchar, 56 Shooting San Diego, California, USA photo gallery The two victims were Principal Burton Wragg and custodian Mike Suchar. Bob Geldof in the Belvedere, Vienna -16 Sept. 2012. There are emotional scars, as well. She said she learned the gun wasnt the danger, but the person firing it. He vividly recalls the sight of Principal Burton Wragg and head custodian Michael Suchar lying bleeding in front of Cleveland Elementary School in the San Carlos neighborhood. It's an incident that will never leave my mind. But this argument has never swayed the parole board. On Monday, January 29, 1979, a journalist from The San Diego Union-Tribune got the quote of a lifetime from 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer. Brenda Spencer began shooting at 8:30. We talk about it all the time. While at the California Institution for Women in Chino, she worked repairing electronic equipment.[7][18]. . Hoffman fired at him, but missed. She wrote him a letter in 2015, thanking him for his criminal defense work and noting, what I did was horrible so I dont really complain about the amount of time Ive done..