“Ugh, it’s Monday” are the words that usually follow the arrival of the most dreaded day of the week. The sighs floating in the air are palpable and nothing seems possible. Mondays always carry with them a negative connotation and contain components such as depression, fatigue, and anguish. But to a San Diego elementary school, and to a troubled sixteen year old, Monday, January 29, 1979 held an even more distressing meaning.
Students at Grover Cleveland Elementary School, located in San Diego, California, began what they believed would be a normal Monday morning like any other, with bells ringing and students racing to their classes. Little did they know, however, that across the street, sixteen-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer was aiming her .22 caliber semiautomatic rifle right at society’s ultimate refuge, the elementary school, and its surroundings. After the first bell rang, Brenda broke the panels on the front door of her home, which was located right across the street from the elementary school. And she began to fire. The school’s principal, Burton Wragg, while rushing outside, was hit on the shoulder and chest with Spencer’s bullets and eventually died. Michael Suchar, the school’s custodian, ran outside with a blanket in order to cover Wragg and keep him from going into shock, but he quickly became the second victim of Spencer’s shooting and lost his life. In between all the chaos, 28 year old Robert Robb, a recent graduate of the police academy, while examining Wragg’s and Suchar’s bodies, was shot under his right shoulder blade.1 He would go on to survive though, along with the eight other children who were wounded in the incident. At least three of those children had abdominal wounds. A nine-year-old student, Cam Miller, was struck in the back with a bullet that exited through his chest without hitting any internal organs. Another, Christy Buell, was shot through her abdomen and in the buttocks, and had to undergo surgery in order to repair her intestine.2
When Gus Stevens, a reporter for the San Diego Evening Tribune, began calling around the area to gain more information about the shooting, he coincidentally placed a call to Spencer’s home where she gave him exactly what he wanted. She described the shooter, a sixteen year old, and the shooter’s address. When Stevens realized that she gave him her own address, he recognized what was going on and requested an interview while another staff member informed the police of the situation. The police, now aware of where the shots were coming from, were able evacuate the children and obstruct Spencer’s line of sight while trying to negotiate with her. After several hours, Brenda Spencer surrendered her weapon and several rounds of ammunition, and was subsequently arrested. While on the phone with Stevens, Spencer had stated that she was just shooting for the “fun of it.” She went on to say that she just didn’t like Mondays and did this “because it’s a way to cheer up the day.”3
Contrary to her initial claim, she later went on to state in her 2001 parole hearing that she had been “sexually abused by [her] father” and was “waiting for the cops to show up so they could shoot [her].”4 This new information has fueled many more theories today about Brenda Spencer’s true motives in committing such a crime. During her pretrial psychological testing, an injury to Spencer’s temporal lobe came to light. Spencer has also stated in a letter from prison that she experiences “grand mal seizures” that she has to counteract with medications.5 Such a brain injury would definitely be a precursor to epilepsy, which is two to four times more common among violent offenders than the public.6 The lack of treatment she received for this disease, to some, proves the neglect that she experienced from her family and in her childhood. Psychologist Jonathan Fast introduces the idea that her brain injury, abuse, and the effects of it pushed her to her final actions. He believes that the shame, ridicule, inferiority, and powerlessness that she felt encouraged her to go as far as she did. In another letter she wrote in prison, she stated that her “father had done everything a person could do to another person. The beatings, the touching, the emotional abuse.” She went on to state that no one, not teachers or counselors, gave her assistance through this, so she simply thought that this was how the world and how life worked. When her father gifted her the .22 caliber rifle, she thought that he was finally telling her to do it: to take her life successfully, unlike her past suicide attempts, and leave the world forever.7
Whether these theories are true or not, Brenda Spencer was tried as an adult and pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and nine counts of assault. She was sentenced to twenty-five years to life in prison, and is still serving her sentence at the California Institute for Women. The shooting has inspired a song by the Boomtown Rats called “I Don’t Like Mondays,” and has also gained other media coverage through a documentary.8 Her action went down in history as the first high profile school shooting and has become a vanguard to many future, unimaginable school situations and violent outbreaks. Whether Spencer was a cold-hearted killer or a truly lost and confused soul that simply wanted an escape, it is undeniable that her horrible actions have had some frightening consequences in our modern world.
- Jonathan Fast, Ceremonial Violence (New York: The Overlook Press, 2008), 25, 70-71. ↵
- Tamara Jones, “Look Back in Sorrow,” Good Housekeeping 227, no.5 (November 1998): 118. ↵
- Jonathan Fast, “Unforgiven and Alone: Brenda Spencer and Secret Shame,” in School Shootings: International Research, Case Studies, And Concepts For Prevention, ed. Nils Böckler (New York: Springer, 2013), 253-255. ↵
- Debra Sevey, “Subsequent Parole Consideration Hearing of Brenda Spencer,” (Capitol Electronic Reporting, 2001), 15-16. ↵
- Jennifer Furio, Letters From Prison: Voices Of Women Murderers (New York: Algora Pub., 2001), 134. ↵
- Jonathan Fast, ” Unforgiven and Alone: Brenda Spencer and Secret Shame,” in School Shootings: International Research, Case Studies, And Concepts For Prevention, ed. Nils Böckler (New York: Springer, 2013), 251. ↵
- Jennifer Furio, Letters From Prison: Voices Of Women Murderers (New York: Algora Pub., 2001), 134-135. ↵
- Encyclopedia of School Crime and Violence, September 2011, s.v. “Brenda Spencer,” by Laura L. Finley. ↵
243 comments
Erin Vento
This is another crime that I’m surprised I have never heard of; especially in light of recent tragic events and debate in America right now. This is a great look inside a very young mass shooter and almost makes you sympathize with her. Its heartbreaking and angering that a father could do that to his daughter, but I don’t think it excuses what she did. Although it gives her a motive and a little more understanding into why she did it, I still have to say it was wrong and evil even if it feels like I should feel more sorry for her.
Mark Martinez
An extremely well written and put together article. This would be the second time reading this article and the story is just as shocking as the first. I can’t imagine looking down the nose of a gun pointed at defenseless children and waiting to pull the trigger. Even if her story of abuse from her father was true, which should be looked into so the father can be brought to justice, it was still Brenda that did the shooting.
Jasmine Martinez
I was really surprised after reading this because it’s so sad to think about how evil people can be. I feel so bad for the families that had to deal with the loss of their loved ones. I never knew about this incident or even heard of it, but the article did a great job on giving specific and vivid details all about the incident.
Mariet Loredo
It’s crazy to think that others have thought’s like the ones Brenda did. She didn’t like Monday’s so she shot up an elementary school? Doesn’t make any sense to me. Even if she did have a troubled past, that doesn’t give you the right to do something this awful. I couldn’t imagine what the students and faculty went through and what the families who lost someone went through as well.
Ernie Sano
Horrible tragedies such as these always make for an interesting read. The tone of dread and sadness that are usually found make for great atmosphere when it comes to story telling. Its awful to think that the person responsible for death and woe could make light of such a situation. I suppose some people have no sense of morality and empathy.
Brianda Gomez
It truly is heartbreaking to know how a person could ever be so cruel and heartless. Shooting at an elementary school surrounded by many young lives is something that no person in their right mind would even think of doing. Overall, this was a very well written article. It was interesting yet heartbreaking to learn about some of the very first incidents pertaining to violence that could have been the outcome that led to the actions of individuals in the modern world.
Briana Myers
It is shocking to know that Brenda Spencer shot up an elementary school “just for the fun of it”. To know that someone took the lives of other because she was not happy that day is so disturbing. It is unfortunate that two people lost their lives. It is crazy to know that she turned herself in and actually told the interviewer everything he wanted to hear.
Oceane Roux
Thank you for this article! I didn’t know anything about the case of Brenda Spencer before reading this article, and it was extremely informative. I find it crazy how someone, especially that young can do such a terrible thing. Her story is awful; I can’t imagine the horror that happened because of her. Even if she says her father abused her, it doesn’t excuse her actions.
Luke Willis
I thought that this article was very interesting. I had seen the mugshot of spencer before however, I had never cared to learn who she was or the story behind it. I believe that she was in fact a cold hearted murderer instead of a confused teenager. I can see how this set the stage for all of the other awful school shootings that have happened over the years. This was truly a fascinating article and very well written.
Alexandria Martinez
This was a well written article, and a very interesting and relevant topic. It is very saddening that people are capable of these types of things. To be able to take someone else’s life just for the fun of it is sickening. It is hard especially when it is a school full of young children, they usually are so innocent that they have no idea what violence is and for someone to expose them to the idea so early had to have been traumatizing.