The Psychology
of
Spree Killing
Craig Jackson
Prof. Occ Health Psychology
Birmingham City University
“Going Postal”
Unfortunate term - misleading
Incidents from 1983 onwards
Involving USPS workers
Shot / killed colleagues, managers, police, public
1986 – 1997
23 spree kill incidents
Three incidents elsewhere:
Australia (1926, 1987)
Canada (1934)
Not all “Postal killings” are “Spree killings”
48 murdered
Notable Incidents
Edmond, Oklahoma: 1986
Patrick Sherrill PT letter carrier facing dismissal
due to troubled work history
14 employees shot and killed & 6 wounded
Ridgewood, New Jersey: 1991
Joseph Harris shot and killed four people
1 yr after being fired
Included former boss & 2 USPS employees
Royal Oak, Michigan: 1991
Thomas McIlvane killed 5 people, including himself
Used a rifle in Royal Oak's post office
Was fired from the USPS for "insubordination"
Had been previously suspended for getting into altercations with postal
customers on his route.
Notable Incidents
Double event
May 6th 1993
Two shootings took place on the same day, a few hours apart
At a post office in Dearborn, Michigan Lawrence Jasion wounded
three and killed two (including himself)
In California, Mark Hilburn killed his mother, then shot two postal
workers dead
Goleta, California: 2006
Jennifer SanMarco - SanMarco Former postal employee, retired due to
previous mental health problems. Killed 6 postal employees (and a further
non-related victim at her old apartment block)
Committing suicide at a large postal processing facility
Used handgun. Victim selection racially biased – “The Racist Press”
Notable Incidents
Baker City, Oregon: 2006
Grant Gallaher, 41 yrs old. current employee
of eighteen years, ran over his supervisor then
shot him several times.
Gallaher reportedly was on a new route for three weeks and had felt
pressured by a week-long work-time study and an extra twenty minutes
added to his new route
Sacramento, California: 2009
A post office clerk threatened to kill a customer, and the branch had to be
closed for the day.
Going Postal Mythology?
Interventions
1993 USPS creates 85 “Workplace
Environment Analysts” to cope with
Violence prevention and environmental
improvement.
All fired in Feb 2009 due to cutbacks.
Epidemiology
2.1 homicides per 100,000 retail workers
1.7 homicides per 100,000 public admin workers
0.2 homicides per 100,000 USPS workers
USPS employs 0.75% of civilian labour force
13% of employee-directed homicides occurred at USPS facilities by (former)
staff (NIOSH)
UK “Spree Killing” hides subtle differences
Year
Day
Duration
Killed
Suicide
Dead
Injured
Victims
Targeted
Indiscriminate
Mobile
School
Shootist
Legal firearms
“Normal”
Family
Police on scene
Communications
Ryan
Sartin
1987
Sat
8 hrs
Yes
Yes
16
15
All
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
No
1989
Sun
2hrs
No
NA
1
14
Adult
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
No
Hamilton
1996
Wed
20mins
Yes
Yes
17
13
All
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Bird
Moat
2010
Wed
4 hrs
Yes
Yes
13
11
Adult
Some
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
2010
Sat
7days
Yes
?
1
2
Adult
All
No
Yes
No
No
No
Yes/No
No
Yes
Yes
Military Spree Killings
Since 1995 there have been 6 recorded
spree killings in the US Military
Fort Hood massacre in 2009 most memorable
Major Nidal Malik Hasan was a US Army Psychiatrist
Killed 13 and injured 30 others
With more qualifications, career progression and life chances than most
spree killers, he does not fit the typical pattern of spree killers - he was not
under undue stress at the time of the killings
There is some suggestion of some sub-standard aspects to his clinical work
and possible Islamic radicalisation prior to the killings.
Schools & Colleges
The place that features most in spree killings is that
of educational establishments, sometimes schools,
but mostly university colleges.
Since Charles Whitman took refuge in an observation tower and killed 16,
and injured 31 at the University of Texas in 1963, there have been
numerous spree killers who engage in their sprees entirely on the premises:
Hamilton, Lepine, Cho, Klebold and Harris, or Kretschmer , or who kill
elsewhere who then seem to migrate to their former alma mater, such as
Weise, Whitman, or Ryan.
Whether their former schools represent safety or security for them in a siege
situation is unknown – after all who can’t recall the layout of their former
school - but it is clear that schools and colleges play an important role for a
sizeable percentage of spree killers.
Serial Murder or Spree Murder
Mass murder
The killing of several people at one location.
Spree murder
The killing of several people at different locations over a period of days.
These killers typically commit suicide or are killed by the police.
Two types of mass murderers
Those who chose specific targets who the killers believe to have caused
them stress.
Those who attack targets having no personal connection with the killer but
belong to groups the killer dislikes.
Serial Murder or Spree Murder
Spree killers move from victim to victim in fairly rapid succession.
Spree killing is rare, but spree-killing teams are even rarer and are typically
composed of a dominant leader and submissive (lover?).
Spree and mass murderers have increased steadily in the United States
since the middle of the 20th Century.
How can anyone feel so abruptly angry that they suddenly and so
completely lose all touch with reality to the extent of killing such a large
group of total strangers?
A very real difficulty for forensic specialists attempting to research the
subject, is that most killers end up unavailable for proper study.
Either because the authorities had to shoot them, or the perpetrators end up
taking their own lives.
Serial Murder or Spree Murder
Not as widely researched as serial killing
Very uncommon, although they do appear to becoming more common
Spree killers generally have not come to the attention of the police
previously
Some incident / incidents build up in their life that they feel they need to take
action against, and that they are able to access a suitable weapon
PLUS
Need the creation of an offending space:
(1) Firearms
(2) Trigger event(s)
(3) Victims
(4) Autonomy
Giannangelo's Diathesis / Stress Model
Biological
Predisposition
(low arousal
levels, possible
prefrontal cortex
damage, etc)
Environmental
Trauma/Stress
Predisposition
Self-esteem and
self- control
problems
Sexual
dysfunction

Maladaptive
coping skills
Retreat into
fantasy world

Dissociative
process

Kill!

Home-Based Spree
San Diego, California: Jan 1979
Brenda Spencer 16yrs old
History of petty theft, truancy, drug use
Christmas 1978 father gave her .22
semi-automatic rifle
Grover Cleveland Elementary School
Opened fire on pupils from bedroom window
Fired 30 rounds
Killed 2, injured 9 (8 pupils, 1 police)
Barricaded into bedroom
Eventually surrendered
Tried as adult – double murder and assault with deadly weapon
25 years to life sentence
Failed parole 4 times
Eligible in 2019
The UK’s Unknown Spree
Robert Sartin
22yrs old. Social security admin worker
Monkseaton, Tyneside
April 30th 1989
Took fathers shotgun
20 mins spree
Killed 1 (Ken Mackintosh);14 wounded
Dressed in black
Cartridges in bandolier
Drove off to seaside
Arrested by undercover officer
1 Murder & 17 attempted murders
Insanity plea. Subsequent Sz diagnosis
Detained indefinitely at Ashworth Special Hospital
Hungerford
Michael Ryan 27 yrs Unemployed casual labourer
Legal ownership of shotguns, handguns & semi-automatics
No criminal record
No mental illness
Loner. Fantasists. Military “fanatic”
Withdrew after death of father aged 25
Lost occasional labouring jobs. Lived with mother
Joined the Tunnel Rifle & Pistol Club
Told people he had a gun shop, a fiancé, was ex SAS
Started at 12 noon Sat August 19th 1987
Savernake Forest
Susan Godfrey 35
picnic mum. 2 kids spared
Hungerford narrative #1
Susan Godfrey 35 killed
picnic mum. 2 kids spared
Refuelled car
Kakoub Dean shot at
petrol station owner. Gun jammed
Drove home to no.4 South View
Family dogs Killed
Re-supplied / re-armed
Car failed to start
Shot car 4 times
Returned into house – started petrol fire
Took 2 rifles and handgun and left on foot
Roland & Sheila Mason killed
Wounded eye-witness neighbour
Witness sees Ryan warn some children to leave the area
Moves up and down the same street
Dorothy Smith swore at him to shut up and stop
Ryan leaves by footpath
Lisa Mildenhall (14) shot 4 times but survives
Hungerford narrative #2
Ken Clements killed
Police air support spots him
South View cordoned off
PC Roger Bereton shot 4 times killed
Shot another car injured occupants (mum and daughter)
Abdul Khan shot 3 time – survived
Shot at Ambulance team
Ivor Jackson shot 4 times (survived) played dead
Ivor’s driver shot died in crash
Dorothy Ryan arrived on scene
Dorothy shot 2 times (leg and stomach) shot twice more in back (dead)
TFU called (40 miles away)
Ryan moved on across school play ground
Elderly neighbour shot at (survived)
Francis Butler (dog walker) shot 3 times dead
Abandoned M1 carbine (left with berretta and ak47)
Shoots at boy on bike (misses)
Marcus Barnard shot killed
Hungerford narrative #3
Ryan ditches AK47 then picks it up again
Shoots and wounds 2 more
Shoots at car – killing male driver, wounding female passenger
Shoots at 2 people in a van. Van crashes into pole. Eric Vardy driver killed
Sandra Hill (20) shot killed driving past
Went to no. 60 Priory Rd – broke in
Shot killed Victor Gibbs and Myrtle Gibbs
Used their house to shoot out to road
Shot a passing car killing driver Ian Playle
Left no. 60 Priory Rd and headed to former school John o’Gaunt
On way shot & killed George Noon (67)
Pointed at neighbour and said “bang” then moved on
Fired at houses as he passed
TFU surround school
Ryan throws AK47 with “white flag” from 3rd floor window
Hungerford narrative #4
At first he was belligerent, refused to give his name
Eventually he seemed willing to talk
They kept up an exchange for over an hour
Helpfully, Ryan let them know where he had dropped his rifle, with a
magazine
Lamented his mother's death, as well as his shooting of the dogs
He asked that they give his dog a proper burial
He kept asking if his mother had died, but TFU would not confirm this.
"I won't come out until I know“
"I did not mean to kill her. It was a mistake.“
Throws berretta magazine from window
Claims 1 round left in chamber
“I wish I had stayed in bed”
“If only my car would’ve started”
6:45 muffled shot from berretta
3 hours later police find body in school classroom
Cremated 3rd Sept
Hungerford Victims
Susan Godfrey, 35 –
Kakoub Dean –
Roland Mason –
Sheila Mason –
Marjorie Jackson –
Lisa Mildenhall, 14 –
Kenneth Clements –
PC Roger Brereton –
Linda Chapman –
Alison Chapman –
Abdul Rahman Khan, 84 –
Alan Lepetit –
Hazel Haslett –
Ivor Jackson –
George White –
Dorothy Ryan, 61 –
shot and died
shot at (missed & firearm malfunction)
shot and died
shot and died
shot and survived
shot and survived
shot and died
shot and died
shot and survived
shot and survived
shot and died
shot and survived
windscreen shot, glass injury and survived
shot and survived
shot and died
shot and died
Hungerford Victims
Betty Tolladay, 71 –
Francis Butler, 26 –
Marcus Bernard, 30 –
Man –
Douglas Wainwright –
Kathleen Wainwright, 62 –
Woman driver –
John Storms, 49 –
Eric Vardy –
Sandra Hill, 22 Victor Gibbs, 66 Myrtle Gibbs Man from 62 Priory Road –
Woman from 71 Priory Road –
Ian Playle, 34 –
George Noon, 67 –
shot and survived
shot and died
shot and died
shot and survived
shot and died
shot and survived
shot and survived
shot and survived
shot and died
shot and died
shot and died
shot and died
shot and survived
shot and survived
shot and died
shot and survived
Hungerford Motives
Attempt raped / assault of Susan Godfrey?
Did “stalk” people
Wore camouflage etc.
Petrol station shot?
Inability to cope with what he had (tried) to do to Godfrey?
Legacy that spree killing is form of pent up rage and anger – not always true
The Hungerford Report led to the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988, which
banned the ownership of semi-automatic centre-fire rifles and restricted the
use of shotguns with a magazine capacity of more than two rounds
Hungerford
Gregory Moffat, childhood specialist
Claimed that victims of bullying are generally small, weak, lack confidence
and are loners.
Inability to defend themselves against their bullies means that shame, guilt,
anger, hate and the need for revenge builds inside them.
This powerful mix of emotions is often later expressed in an inappropriately
violent response.
This seemed to fit the “profile” of Michael Ryan
Dunblane
Thomas W Hamilton
Unemployed former shopkeeper 43yrs old
13th March 1996
8.15 am Thomas Hamilton was seen by a
neighbour to be scraping ice off his van
outside his home at 7 Kent Road, Stirling. They had a chat.
Later he drove off in the van in the direction of Dunblane
9.30 am he parked the van beside a telegraph pole in the lower car park of
Dunblane Primary School
He took out a pair of pliers and to cut the telephone wires at the foot of the
telegraph pole. These did not serve the school but a number of adjoining
houses
Crossed the car park, carrying weapons, ammunition and other equipment
2 Brownings, 2 Magnums, 743 rounds.
Dunblane
Entered the school by way of a door on its north
west side which was next to the toilets beside the gym
The school day had started at 9 am for all primary
classes. Morning assemblies were held in the school's
Assembly Hall which was situated between the dining area and the
gymnasium.
The school had 640 pupils, making it one of the largest primary schools in
Scotland. The Assembly Hall was not large enough to accommodate the
whole school at one time.
Hamilton fired 2 rounds at the stage in the Assembly hall
Entered Gym – wearing black, woolly hat and ear defenders
Fired indiscriminately into groups of teachers and children
Some teachers and children hid in store cupboard nearby
Dunblane
Hamilton walked around the inside of the gym, then outside the fire escape
and fired at passing strangers
Re-entered the gym and continued shooting then immediately shot himself.
Took less than 5 minutes. Fired 109 times.
1 teacher and 16 children dead
3 teachers and 10 children injured and survived
Dunblane Motives and History
Withdrawal of his warrant as a Scout leader in 1974
Undying resentment against the Scouts
Hamilton claimed they undermined his work with various
boys clubs which he ran from the 1970s onwards
The way he ran those clubs, and in particular his insistence that the boys
should wear brief swimming trunks which he provided caused complaints
from parents
Led to his coming into contention with a number of local authorities which
owned the school premises where his clubs met
Dunblane Motives and History
His summer camps in 1988 and 1991 and his residential sports training
course in 1992 were investigated by the police, but he was never
prosecuted
Hamilton countered these complaints and investigations with complaints of
his own against the police and local authority officials
In 1995 Central Regional Council was still endeavouring to find ways of
making it more difficult for him to obtain the let of their premises
Allegations as to his conduct with firearms, and in particular showing them
to others and an occasion on which he is said to have threatened Mrs
Doreen Hagger with a gun
In 1996 his clubs were then in decline
He was in serious financial difficulties
Dunblane Motives and History
His mood was low and he was deeply resentful of those who had claimed
that he was a pervert and had discouraged boys from attending his clubs
After a gap of about 8 years his interest in firearms was resurgent
There is evidence which points to his making preparations for what he did,
a) questions which he put to a boy about the layout and timing of
events at the school.
b) questioning of a retired police officer about the time which the
police would take to respond to an incident.
Hamilton was not mentally ill but had a paranoid personality with a desire to
control others in which his firearms were the focus of his fantasies.
The violence which he used would not have been predictable.
His previous conduct showed indications of paedophilia.
Copycat Phenomenon
Martin Bryant, 28 yrs old
April 1996, Tasmania
Port Arthur Tourist Site
35 dead – 35 wounded
Shot on the road, Broad Arrow cafe, car park, tool booth, service station,
then kidnapped a couple, held man hostage then killed him
Captured by police
Claimed he “wanted to beat Hamilton’s record”
Hungerford occurred 10 days after the “Hoddle St” killings in Melbourne
Cumbria Spree
Derrick Bird, 52 yrs
Taxi Driver
2nd June 2010
Killed 12, Injured 11
Targeted Killings in Lamplugh
David Bird brother
Kevin Commons – family solicitor
Shot taxi drivers in Whitehaven, then drove through Egremont, Gosforth,
Seascale
Shooting from vehicle
Targeted those could get close to e.g. shotgun range
Committed suicide at Boot before any stand off or siege
Cumbria Motives
Bird angered by taxi colleagues
Angered by Brother and family will
Previous conviction for theft (suspended)
3 of dead were former Sellafield staff
Inland Revenue investigation (£60K stashed in accounts)
Thai girlfriend / sex tourist background
Sent money to Thailand – dumped by text
Northumbria Manhunt
Raoul Moat, 37yrs old. PT Bouncer
Recently released from Durham Prison
2 days after release, shot 3 people with sawn off shotgun
ex-girlfriend Sam Stobbart
Chris Brown
PC David Rathband
Six days on the run and UK’s biggest manhunt
Moat wrote to police - said would not attack civilians – “Not like Bird”
Left recordings to say would shoot civilians due to “experts slagging him off”
Moat recognised by police and contained in the open at Rothbury
6 hours of negotiation, Moat shot himself in the early hours
Northumbria Manhunt
Narcissistic
Manipulative
Compensation
Non-lethal cartridge
Warning marks
Controlling
Body augmentation through anabolic androgenic steroids
Obsessed with leaving the legacy of an avenger
“Cops harassing some young mum”
Role of Media
Moat case:
ongoing TV
24 hours to fill
Influenced investigation
Influenced crime
TV swamping communities
TV infamy influencing killers
APA letter to NBC and CBS
Thoughts
Spree killing as a form of social protest
Akin to slave revolts
Reaganomics
Engaged in by powerless who cannot cope
“Randomness” is questionable
Not “crazed” or out of control – some elements of planning and calmness
Many types of spree
roaming
stationary
driving
mono-location
mission-driven
Gravitate towards helpless
Gravitate towards siege-friendly locations
Narcissistic Injury
‘Narcissistic injury’ is a term used to describe spree killers
They are particularly emotionally wounded by their failures in life.
These humiliations stand in stark contrast to how well they believe they
should be doing, given their conviction they are in fact superior to others.
Or at the very least they should be doing better than they are.
How to explain this predicament? Well, maybe there is a conspiracy.
Paranoia
Family Annihilation vs Protest Killers
Spree killers may wipe out families as they feel the future is bleak
Workplace killers making a social protest
Killing the organization or group they hate
Colleagues
Successful people
Community
Society
e.g. Mark Lepine (25 yrs old) killed 14 women and injured 15 people at a
college in Montreal in 1989, left a suicide note claiming this was a protest
against feminism.
Failure and a Formula to Explode
In non-familial mass killings there is a repeated pattern of failures in life
Especially in work, and in personal life
Combined with diminishing ability to cope with the resulting stress
Add a chronic tendency to blame others for disappointments
Acute triggers provoke the actual decision to kill and die
Precipitants often found in rampage killings have been sudden
unemployment or relationship breakdown, such as the ending of a marriage
So a deep sense of frustration, failure, and disappointment in someone
who sees themselves as the victim, combined with blaming others for
their own problems, mixed in with mounting pessimism that their
difficulties cannot be solved, leads to suicidal and homicidal feelings
entwined.
Predictability
A total of 98 USA spree killing incidents took place from 1949 to 1999
90% occurred in the period 1980–1999
Suggests a dramatic increase in spree killings
Spree killings are much more likely to occur on week days compared to
other kinds of homicide which are more often perpetrated at week-ends???
Perhaps access to groups of weaker victims – schools co-workers is more obtainable Mon-Fri
Preparation for Seminars
Raoul Moat Case
Familiarise yourself with;
Prior events
The killings
Manhunt
Moat’s life
Media role
Death
Facebook outrage
Police conduct
Funeral
Police investigation
References
Ames M. Going Postal: Rage, Murder, and Rebellion: From Reagan's Workplaces to
Clinton's Columbine and Beyond, Washington. Soft Skull Press 2011.
Foster, Howard. "Ryan Boasted that He was Never without a Gun." The Times, Sept.
25, 1987.
Hilliard, Brian. "The Hungerford Massacre," Police Review, Oct. 9, 1987.
Lane, Brian, and Wilfred Gregg. The Encyclopedia of Mass Murder. New York: Carroll
& Graf, 2004.
Jackson CA. in Howard V. Raoul Moat: His short life and bloody death. London. Blake
Publishing; 2010
Jackson CA. Psychosocial Hazards - violence. In Smedley, J et al. (eds) Oxford
Handbook of Occupational Health. Oxford. Oxford University Press; 2007. 167-179.
Jackson CA. Can psychology help in reducing spree-killing incidents? Birmingham
Post, Jul. 24, 2011.
Jackson CA. Norway analysis: Horrific last resort of a weak and unstable narcissist,
The Scotsman, Jul. 24, 2011.
References
Mass Murderers. Time-Life Books. Alexandria, VA: 1992.
Moffatt G. Wounded Innocents and Fallen Angels: Child Abuse and Child
Aggression. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003.
Pantziarka, P. Lone Wolf: True Stories of Spree Killers. London: Virgin Books, 2000.
Uttley S. Dunblane Unburied. BookPublishingWorld (8 March 2006)
Wilson D & Jackson CA. Brevik’s not mad BCU press release
"Witnesses to a Trail of Terror that Claimed Fourteen Lives," The Independent, Aug.
20, 1987.