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1974 Olean High School shooting: Difference between revisions

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Only 7 of the injured were shot.
 
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{{Short description|Mass shooting in Olean, New York}}
{{Short description|Mass shooting in Olean, New York}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Olean High School shooting
| title = 1974 Olean High School shooting
| partof = [[mass shootings in the United States]] and [[school shootings in the United States]]
| location = [[Olean, New York]], United States
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| coordinates =
| location = [[Olean, New York]], United States
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| date = Monday, December 30, 1974
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| coordinates =
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| time = 2:50 p.m. - 5:20 p.m. ([[Eastern Time Zone|EST]])
⚫
| date = Monday, December 30, 1974
⚫
| timezone =
⚫
| time = 2:50 p.m. - 5:20 p.m. ([[Eastern Time Zone|EST]])
⚫
| type = [[School shooting]], [[mass shooting]]
⚫
| timezone =
| fatalities = 4 (including an unborn child)
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| type = [[School shooting]], [[mass shooting]]
⚫
| injuries = 11 (7 by gunfire)
| fatalities = 3
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| perp = Anthony F. Barbaro
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| injuries = 11
| motive = [[Suicidal ideation|Suicidal Ideation]]
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| perp = Anthony F. Barbaro
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| weapons = * [[Remington Arms|Remington]] [[.30-06 Springfield|.30-06-caliber]] rifle with [[telescopic sight]]
| weapons =
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* [[Remington Arms|Remington]] [[.30-06 Springfield|.30-06-caliber]] rifle with [[telescopic sight]]
* [[Gauge (bore diameter)|12-gauge]] [[shotgun]]
* [[Gauge (bore diameter)|12-gauge]] [[shotgun]]
* [[Smoke bomb]]
* [[Smoke bomb]]
| charges = *[[Murder in New York law|Second-degree murder]] (3 counts)
*First-degree [[assault]] (6 counts)
*First-degree [[reckless endangerment]] (5 counts)

(''Charges dropped after perpetrator's death'')
}}
}}


The '''Olean High School shooting''' was a [[school shooting]] that occurred on December 30, 1974, at [[Olean High School]] in [[Olean, New York]]. The gunman, 17-year-old Anthony F. Barbaro, an honor student and member of the school's rifle team, indiscriminately shot at people on the street from windows at the third floor of the school building. Three people were killed and another 11 people were injured during the shooting.<ref name="sniper">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pQAOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hHkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5285,4047540&dq=anthony+barbaro |title=Sniper at high school kills 3 and wounds 11|first=Richard|last=Usiak|work=[[Tampa Bay Times|St. Petersburg Times]]|date=December 31, 1974}}</ref><ref name=bryan>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vQ4LAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-VEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3163,7727175&dq=anthony+barbaro+regent|first=Richard| last=Usiak|title=Teen sniper kills three, 11 wounded|work=[[The Bryan Times]]|date=December 31, 1974}}</ref>
The '''Olean High School shooting''' was a [[school shooting]] that occurred on December 30, 1974, at [[Olean High School]] in [[Olean, New York]]. The gunman, 17-year-old Anthony F. Barbaro, an honor student and member of the school's rifle team, indiscriminately shot at people on the street from windows at the third floor of the school building. Three people were killed and another 11 people were injured during the shooting.<ref name="sniper">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pQAOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hHkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5285,4047540&dq=anthony+barbaro |title=Sniper at high school kills 3 and wounds 11|first=Richard|last=Usiak|work=[[Tampa Bay Times|St. Petersburg Times]]|date=December 31, 1974}}</ref><ref name=bryan>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vQ4LAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-VEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3163,7727175&dq=anthony+barbaro+regent|first=Richard| last=Usiak|title=Teen sniper kills three, 11 wounded|work=[[The Bryan Times]]|date=December 31, 1974}}</ref>


On November 1, 1975, Barbaro hanged himself in his cell at the Cattaraugus County Jail.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/11/02/archives/upstate-youth-in-sniper-trial-a-suicide.html|title= Upstate Youth in Sniper Trial a Suicide|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 2, 1975}}</ref><ref name="life">{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=X7gMAAAAIBAJ&sjid=K2ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=7249,3505727&dq=olean |title=He regretted his life|work=[[Tampa Bay Times|St. Petersburg Times]]|date=November 5, 1975}}</ref><ref name=eugene>{{cite news| url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QhMRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LeADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6787,224374&dq=olean|title= Young man found dead in jail cell|work=[[The Register-Guard]]|date=November 2, 1975}}</ref>
On November 1, 1975, Barbaro [[Suicide by hanging|hanged himself]] in his cell at the Cattaraugus County Jail.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/11/02/archives/upstate-youth-in-sniper-trial-a-suicide.html|title= Upstate Youth in Sniper Trial a Suicide|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 2, 1975}}</ref><ref name="life">{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=X7gMAAAAIBAJ&sjid=K2ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=7249,3505727&dq=olean |title=He regretted his life|work=[[Tampa Bay Times|St. Petersburg Times]]|date=November 5, 1975}}</ref><ref name=eugene>{{cite news| url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QhMRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LeADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6787,224374&dq=olean|title= Young man found dead in jail cell|work=[[The Register-Guard]]|date=November 2, 1975}}</ref>


==Details==
==Details==
The incident began during the afternoon of December 30, 1974, when Barbaro left his house with his mother's car. He told his brother, Chris, that he was going [[Shooting sport|target shooting]]. Barbaro arrived at Olean High School at approximately 2:50&nbsp;p.m. After leaving his car, he entered the school building through an opened side entrance and proceeded to the third floor where he set off a coke bottle filled with gasoline and a wick. Unable to open the locked door to the student council room, Barbaro shot off the lock, entered the student council room, and tied the door shut. A 12-man custodial crew was doing routine maintenance in the basement of the school at this time. When they heard a fire alarm sound, the superintendent dispatched Earl Metcalf to see what the problem was at the 3rd floor. He met Joe Kosidlo, the 3rd floor custodian, who asked him to vacate because he thought he heard gun shots. Mr. Metcalf did not listen and proceeded to where he heard the noise. Anthony Barbaro was then confronted by Earl Metcalf. Seeing Metcalf through the glass window of the student council room, he opened his door, shot and killed him.<ref name=bryan/> Barbaro then positioned himself in the student council room on the third floor of the school. There, he began shooting at people outside of the school.
The incident began during the afternoon of December 30, 1974, when Barbaro left his house with his mother's car. He told his brother, Chris, that he was going [[Shooting sport|target shooting]]. Barbaro arrived at Olean High School at approximately 2:50&nbsp;p.m. After leaving his car, he entered the school building through an opened side entrance and proceeded to the third floor where he set off [[Molotov cocktail|a coke bottle filled with gasoline and a wick]]. Unable to open the locked door to the student council room, Barbaro shot off the lock, entered the student council room, and tied the door shut. A 12-man custodial crew was doing routine maintenance in the basement of the school at this time. When they heard a fire alarm sound, the superintendent dispatched Earl Metcalf to see what the problem was at the 3rd floor. He met Joe Kosidlo, the 3rd floor custodian, who asked him to vacate because he thought he heard gun shots. Mr. Metcalf did not listen and proceeded to where he heard the noise. Anthony Barbaro was then confronted by Earl Metcalf. Seeing Metcalf through the glass window of the student council room, he opened his door, shot and killed him.<ref name=bryan/> Barbaro then positioned himself in the student council room on the third floor of the school. There, he began shooting at people outside of the school.


Fire trucks began to respond to the fire alarm, then local police and finally New York State troopers. At this time there were no students present and only Principal Louis Nicol, secretaries, business office, maintenance and custodians were at the school. All but the Supt. secretary immediately went to the boiler room at the rear of the school. By 5:20&nbsp;p.m., local and State Police officers were surrounding the school building,<ref name=ellensburg/> and a [[Army National Guard|National Guard]] tank had arrived to remove the injured victims.<ref name="blade"/> Before night fall, two New York State Police entered the school and threw [[tear gas]] grenades into the student council room,<ref name="gazette"/><ref name=McFadden>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/12/31/archives/3-killed-and-9-wounded-by-an-upstate-sniper-18-3-killed-and-9.html|first=Robert D.|last=McFadden|title=3 Killed and 9 Wounded By an Upstate Sniper, 18|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 31, 1974}}</ref><ref name=freelance>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yw4QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=24sDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1682,4379722&dq=sniper|title=New York youth faces charges in sniper deaths of 3 persons|work=[[The Free Lance–Star]]|date=December 31, 1974}}</ref><ref name=kingman/> where Barbaro was found unconscious inside the room wearing a defective gas mask.<ref name=prescott/><ref name=spokane/> Barbaro was laid onto a stretcher and transported by ambulance to the hospital, examined and, suffering no injuries, was then transferred to the Olean City Jail.<ref name=prescott/><ref name="missourian"/>
Fire trucks began to respond to the fire alarm, then local police and finally New York State troopers. At this time there were no students present and only Principal Louis Nicol, secretaries, business office, maintenance and custodians were at the school. All but the Supt. secretary immediately went to the boiler room at the rear of the school. By 5:20&nbsp;p.m., local and State Police officers were surrounding the school building,<ref name=ellensburg/> and a [[Army National Guard|National Guard]] tank had arrived to remove the injured victims.<ref name="blade"/> Before night fall, two New York State Police entered the school and threw [[tear gas]] grenades into the student council room,<ref name="gazette"/><ref name=McFadden>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/12/31/archives/3-killed-and-9-wounded-by-an-upstate-sniper-18-3-killed-and-9.html|first=Robert D.|last=McFadden|title=3 Killed and 9 Wounded By an Upstate Sniper, 18|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 31, 1974}}</ref><ref name=freelance>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yw4QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=24sDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1682,4379722&dq=sniper|title=New York youth faces charges in sniper deaths of 3 persons|work=[[The Free Lance–Star]]|date=December 31, 1974}}</ref><ref name=kingman/> where Barbaro was found unconscious inside the room wearing a defective gas mask.<ref name=prescott/><ref name=spokane/> Barbaro was laid onto a stretcher and transported by ambulance to the hospital, examined and, suffering no injuries, was then transferred to the Olean City Jail.<ref name=prescott/><ref name="missourian"/>


According to police Barbaro had fired 31 shots.<ref name=ADE>{{cite news| url=http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn86033360/1975-01-03/ed-1/seq-3.pdf|title= Funeral services for shooting victims|work=Adirondack Daily Enterprise|date=January 3, 1975}}</ref> Three people were killed in the shooting, and eleven others were wounded.<ref name="sniper"/><ref name=ellensburg>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dTkQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=U48DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3914,5438465&dq=olean| title=Schoolboy sniper kills 3|work=[[Daily Record (Washington)|Ellensburg Daily Record]]|date=December 30, 1974}}</ref><ref name=prescott>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5tgKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UVADAAAAIBAJ&pg=5558,2181803&dq=olean|title=High school sniper kills three people|work=[[The Daily Courier (Arizona)|The Prescott Courier]]|date=December 31, 1974}}</ref> Those killed were Earl Metcalf, Neal Pilon, and Carmen Wright Drayton, who was six months pregnant.<ref name="blade"/><ref name=ADE/><ref name="McFadden"/> Earl Metcalf, 62, was killed inside the school building, while Columbia Gas Co. employee Neal Pilon, 58, was shot while crossing the street outside of the school. Carmen Wright, 25, was shot in the head inside her car while driving by the school. Both Pilon and Wright were pronounced "dead on arrival" at Olean General Hospital. Seven people survived the shooting with gunshot wounds, while four others sustained injuries from flying glass fragments.<ref name=spokane/> Eight of the wounded victims were Olean city firemen responding to a fire complaint at the school.<ref name=ocala>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qh8TAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ggUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5059,6191122&dq=olean Honor student held as sniper], ''[[Ocala Star-Banner]]'' (December 31, 1974)</ref> At the time of the shooting the school was closed for the Christmas Break.
According to police, Barbaro had fired 31 shots.<ref name=ADE>{{cite news| url=http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn86033360/1975-01-03/ed-1/seq-3.pdf|title= Funeral services for shooting victims|work=Adirondack Daily Enterprise|date=January 3, 1975}}</ref> Three people were killed in the shooting, and eleven others were wounded.<ref name="sniper"/><ref name=ellensburg>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dTkQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=U48DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3914,5438465&dq=olean| title=Schoolboy sniper kills 3|work=[[Daily Record (Washington)|Ellensburg Daily Record]]|date=December 30, 1974}}</ref><ref name=prescott>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5tgKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UVADAAAAIBAJ&pg=5558,2181803&dq=olean|title=High school sniper kills three people|work=[[The Daily Courier (Arizona)|The Prescott Courier]]|date=December 31, 1974}}</ref> Those killed were Earl Metcalf, Neal Pilon, and Carmen Wright Drayton, who was six months pregnant.<ref name="blade"/><ref name=ADE/><ref name="McFadden"/> Earl Metcalf, 62, was killed inside the school building, while Columbia Gas Co. employee Neal Pilon, 58, was shot while crossing the street outside of the school. Carmen Wright, 25, was shot in the head inside her car while driving by the school. Both Pilon and Wright were pronounced "dead on arrival" at Olean General Hospital. Seven people survived the shooting with gunshot wounds, while four others sustained injuries from flying glass fragments.<ref name=spokane/> Eight of the wounded victims were Olean city firemen responding to a fire complaint at the school.<ref name=ocala>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qh8TAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ggUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5059,6191122&dq=olean Honor student held as sniper], ''[[Ocala Star-Banner]]'' (December 31, 1974)</ref> At the time of the shooting, the school was closed for the Christmas Break.


==Perpetrator and motives==
==Perpetrator and motives==
[[File:Anthony_Barbaro.png|thumb|Still of Barbaro from [[The Killing of America]].]]
[[File:Anthony_Barbaro.png|thumb|Still of Barbaro from ''[[The Killing of America]]'']]


The perpetrator of the shooting was 17-year-old Anthony F. Barbaro (September 9, 1957 — November 1, 1975), a lifelong Olean resident. He had attended Olean High School,<ref name="missourian"/> where he was an honor student and a star [[marksman]] on his school's rifle team.<ref name="sniper"/><ref name=ellensburg/><ref name=spokane/><ref name="sniper 2">[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vNkPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8owDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5408,8443118&dq= Sniper kills 3, hurts 11], ''[[Boca Raton News]]'' (December 31, 1974)</ref> He ranked eighth highest academic score in his [[senior (education)|senior]] class,<ref name=bryan/><ref name=ocala/> and was inducted into the [[National Honor Society]] in February 1974.<ref name=eugene/><ref name="blade">[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AgkVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LQIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5732,6190773&dq=sniper Student kills 3 at school in sniper fire], ''[[Toledo Blade]]'' (December 31, 1974)</ref> He had also won a Regents Scholarship that December.<ref name="blade"/><ref name=spokane>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=T7ISAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mvgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7280,5301721&dq=sniper Young honor student held as sniper in death of three], ''[[Spokane Daily Chronicle]]'' (December 31, 1974)</ref><ref name="sniper 2"/><ref name="nytimes">[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02EEDC1231F93AA35757C0A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=3 They Threaten, Seethe and Unhinge, Then Kill in Quantity], ''[[The New York Times]]'' (April 9, 2000)</ref> Those who knew Barbaro remember him as being quiet, and his school principal described him as a "more of a loner than not.".<ref name=kingman/> Louis Nicol, former principal of Olean High School, and present in the building at the time of shooting, said that Barbaro excelled scholastically and caused no disciplinary problems at school.<ref name=freelance/><ref name=prescott/><ref name="missourian"/><ref name=ocala/> Barbaro lived in Olean, New York, with his parents and his three younger siblings &ndash; sister Cecile, brothers Steven and Chris.<ref name="sniper 2"/> His father was an executive of a successful manufacturing firm,<ref name=freelance/> while Anthony worked with his mother at a local fast-food restaurant. Barbaro had also shown an interest in [[engineering]], and had hoped to become a scientist.
The perpetrator of the shooting was 17-year-old Anthony F. Barbaro (September 9, 1957 — November 1, 1975), a lifelong Olean resident. He had attended Olean High School,<ref name="missourian"/> where he was an honor student and a star [[marksman]] on his school's rifle team.<ref name="sniper"/><ref name=ellensburg/><ref name=spokane/><ref name="sniper 2">[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vNkPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8owDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5408,8443118&dq= Sniper kills 3, hurts 11], ''[[Boca Raton News]]'' (December 31, 1974)</ref> He ranked eighth highest academic score in his [[senior (education)|senior]] class,<ref name=bryan/><ref name=ocala/> and was inducted into the [[National Honor Society]] in February 1974.<ref name=eugene/><ref name="blade">[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AgkVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LQIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5732,6190773&dq=sniper Student kills 3 at school in sniper fire], ''[[Toledo Blade]]'' (December 31, 1974)</ref> He had also won a Regents Scholarship that December.<ref name="blade"/><ref name=spokane>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=T7ISAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mvgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7280,5301721&dq=sniper Young honor student held as sniper in death of three], ''[[Spokane Daily Chronicle]]'' (December 31, 1974)</ref><ref name="sniper 2"/><ref name="nytimes">[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02EEDC1231F93AA35757C0A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=3 They Threaten, Seethe and Unhinge, Then Kill in Quantity], ''[[The New York Times]]'' (April 9, 2000)</ref> Those who knew Barbaro remember him as being quiet, and his school principal described him as a "more of a loner than not."<ref name=kingman/> Louis Nicol, former principal of Olean High School, and present in the building at the time of shooting, said that Barbaro excelled scholastically and caused no disciplinary problems at school.<ref name=freelance/><ref name=prescott/><ref name="missourian"/><ref name=ocala/> Barbaro lived in Olean, New York, with his parents and his three younger siblings &ndash; sister Cecile, brothers Steven and Chris.<ref name="sniper 2"/> His father was an executive of a successful manufacturing firm,<ref name=freelance/> while Anthony worked with his mother at a local fast-food restaurant. Barbaro had also shown an interest in [[engineering]], and had hoped to become a scientist.


Police have found no apparent motives as to why Barbaro committed his crimes.<ref name=bryan/><ref name=ellensburg/><ref name=freelance/><ref name=kingman/><ref name=spokane/><ref name="sniper 2"/> A teammate of Barbaro on the school's rifle team recalls Barbaro having spoken of wanting to "hold up" the [[Olean Armory]] and engage in a police standoff.<ref name=eugene/> Barbaro had just tried out for the bowling team but did not qualify.
Police have found no apparent motives as to why Barbaro committed his crimes.<ref name=bryan/><ref name=ellensburg/><ref name=freelance/><ref name=kingman/><ref name=spokane/><ref name="sniper 2"/> A teammate of Barbaro on the school's rifle team recalls Barbaro having spoken of wanting to "hold up" the [[Olean Armory]] and engage in a police standoff.<ref name=eugene/> Barbaro had just tried out for the bowling team but did not qualify.


In a note explaining his motives Barbaro wrote:
In a note explaining his motives, Barbaro wrote:


<blockquote>I guess I just wanted to kill the person I hate most -- myself, I just didn't have the courage. I wanted to die, but I couldn't do it, so I had to get someone to do it for me. It didn't work out.<ref name="nytimes"/></blockquote>
<blockquote>I guess I just wanted to kill the person I hate most -- myself, I just didn't have the courage. I wanted to die, but I couldn't do it, so I had to get someone to do it for me. It didn't work out.<ref name="nytimes"/></blockquote>
Line 43: Line 47:
On December 31, 1974, Anthony Barbaro was [[arraignment|arraigned]] on three counts of second-degree murder, six counts of first-degree assault, and five counts of first-degree reckless endangerment.<ref name="gazette">[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GE0NAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fW0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3614,12607&dq=olean Honor student charged in Olean sniper deaths], ''[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]'' (January 1, 1975)</ref><ref name=kingman>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HlMLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kFIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6780,3601179&dq=sniper Honor student charged with sniper shooting in New York], ''[[Kingman Daily Miner]]'' (December 31, 1974)</ref><ref name="missourian">[http://cdm.sos.mo.gov/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/colmo6&CISOPTR=651381&REC=1 "Quiet" 17-year-old sniper charged with murder of 3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721051119/http://cdm.sos.mo.gov/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=%2Fcolmo6&CISOPTR=651381&REC=1 |date=2011-07-21 }}, ''[[Columbia Missourian]]'' (January 1, 1975)</ref><ref name=spokesman/> Barbaro was then being held without [[bail]] at the Olean City Jail.<ref name=kingman/> Following the shooting, police had found homemade smoke bombs, as well as gasoline and glass bottles, and empty propane canisters in Barbaro's bedroom. Police also found, in Barbaro's bedroom, bomb recipes and a journal that detailed his plans for the shooting.<ref name=eugene/><ref name=spokesman/> In April 1975, he had entered a plea of [[insanity plea|not guilty by reason of insanity]],<ref name="gazette"/> however he was found competent to stand trial by two court-appointed psychiatrists.<ref name=spokesman/> Barbaro was soon transferred from the Olean City Jail to the Cattaraugus County Jail in [[Little Valley, New York|Little Valley]].<ref name="missourian"/> On October 21, 1975, a grand jury was seated for Barbaro's trial at the Olean Municipal Building.<ref name="missourian"/><ref name=spokesman>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=a7wRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Ve0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=2382,5008703&dq=sniper 3 killed by young sniper shooting from high school], ''[[The Spokesman-Review]]'' (December 31, 1974)</ref>
On December 31, 1974, Anthony Barbaro was [[arraignment|arraigned]] on three counts of second-degree murder, six counts of first-degree assault, and five counts of first-degree reckless endangerment.<ref name="gazette">[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GE0NAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fW0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3614,12607&dq=olean Honor student charged in Olean sniper deaths], ''[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]'' (January 1, 1975)</ref><ref name=kingman>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HlMLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kFIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6780,3601179&dq=sniper Honor student charged with sniper shooting in New York], ''[[Kingman Daily Miner]]'' (December 31, 1974)</ref><ref name="missourian">[http://cdm.sos.mo.gov/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/colmo6&CISOPTR=651381&REC=1 "Quiet" 17-year-old sniper charged with murder of 3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721051119/http://cdm.sos.mo.gov/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=%2Fcolmo6&CISOPTR=651381&REC=1 |date=2011-07-21 }}, ''[[Columbia Missourian]]'' (January 1, 1975)</ref><ref name=spokesman/> Barbaro was then being held without [[bail]] at the Olean City Jail.<ref name=kingman/> Following the shooting, police had found homemade smoke bombs, as well as gasoline and glass bottles, and empty propane canisters in Barbaro's bedroom. Police also found, in Barbaro's bedroom, bomb recipes and a journal that detailed his plans for the shooting.<ref name=eugene/><ref name=spokesman/> In April 1975, he had entered a plea of [[insanity plea|not guilty by reason of insanity]],<ref name="gazette"/> however he was found competent to stand trial by two court-appointed psychiatrists.<ref name=spokesman/> Barbaro was soon transferred from the Olean City Jail to the Cattaraugus County Jail in [[Little Valley, New York|Little Valley]].<ref name="missourian"/> On October 21, 1975, a grand jury was seated for Barbaro's trial at the Olean Municipal Building.<ref name="missourian"/><ref name=spokesman>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=a7wRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Ve0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=2382,5008703&dq=sniper 3 killed by young sniper shooting from high school], ''[[The Spokesman-Review]]'' (December 31, 1974)</ref>


On October 27, defense attorney Vincent E. Doyle, Jr. presented his [[testimony]] at a preliminary hearing,<ref name=eugene/> stating that Barbaro had a "serious, deep-rooted mental illness that precluded his [Barbaro's] conviction."<ref name=spokesman/> On November 1, 1975, Barbaro hanged himself with a bedsheet in his cell at the Cattaraugus County Jail.<ref name="life"/><ref name="sptimes">[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XLgMAAAAIBAJ&sjid=K2ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6000,541166&dq=olean Sniper suspect found hanged in N.Y. jail cell], ''[[St. Petersburg Times]]'' (November 2, 1975)</ref> Cattaraugus County coroner Dr. Harry C. Law ruled the death a [[suicide]].<ref name=eugene/><ref name="sptimes"/> Barbaro had written three [[suicide note]]s that were found on his bed in his cell.<ref name="sptimes"/> One note was addressed to his family, another note was addressed to a woman he corresponded with in prison, and the third note was addressed "to whom it may concern".<ref name="life"/><ref name=eugene/><ref name="sptimes"/>
On October 27, defense attorney Vincent E. Doyle Jr. presented his [[testimony]] at a preliminary hearing,<ref name=eugene/> stating that Barbaro had a "serious, deep-rooted mental illness that precluded his [Barbaro's] conviction."<ref name=spokesman/> On November 1, 1975, Barbaro hanged himself with a bedsheet in his cell at the Cattaraugus County Jail.<ref name="life"/><ref name="sptimes">[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XLgMAAAAIBAJ&sjid=K2ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6000,541166&dq=olean Sniper suspect found hanged in N.Y. jail cell], ''[[St. Petersburg Times]]'' (November 2, 1975)</ref> Cattaraugus County coroner Dr. Harry C. Law ruled the death a [[suicide]].<ref name=eugene/><ref name="sptimes"/> Barbaro had written three [[suicide note]]s that were found on his bed in his cell.<ref name="sptimes"/> One note was addressed to his family, another note was addressed to a woman he corresponded with in prison, and the third note was addressed "to whom it may concern".<ref name="life"/><ref name=eugene/><ref name="sptimes"/>


The third note read:
The third note read:


{{quote|People are not afraid to die; it's just how they die. I don't fear death, but rather the pain. But no more. I regret the foods I'll never taste, the music I'll never hear, the sites I'll never see, the accomplishments I'll never accomplish, in other words, I regret my life. Some will always ask, 'Why?' I don't know — no one will. What has been, can't be changed. I'm sorry. It ends like it began; in the middle of the night, someone might think it selfish or cowardly to take one's own life. Maybe so, but it's the only free choice I have. The way I figure, I lose either way. If I'm found not guilty, I won't survive the pain I've caused — my guilt. If I'm convicted, I won't survive the mental and physical punishment of my life in prison.<ref name="life"/>}}
{{blockquote|People are not afraid to die; it's just how they die. I don't fear death, but rather the pain. But no more. I regret the foods I'll never taste, the music I'll never hear, the sites I'll never see, the accomplishments I'll never accomplish, in other words, I regret my life. Some will always ask, 'Why?' I don't know — no one will. What has been, can't be changed. I'm sorry. It ends like it began; in the middle of the night, someone might think it selfish or cowardly to take one's own life. Maybe so, but it's the only free choice I have. The way I figure, I lose either way. If I'm found not guilty, I won't survive the pain I've caused — my guilt. If I'm convicted, I won't survive the mental and physical punishment of my life in prison.<ref name="life"/>}}


==Wounded victims==
==Wounded victims==
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==See also==
==See also==
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{{Portal|New York (state)|Law}}
*[[List of school shootings in the United States (before 2000)]]
*[[List of school shootings in the United States (before 2000)]]
*[[List of school-related attacks]]
*[[List of mass shootings in the United States]]
*[[List of shootings in New York]]


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
* [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7193484/anthony_barbaro/ Contemporary news article] detailing the Olean High School shooting
* [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7193484/anthony_barbaro/ Contemporary news article] detailing the Olean High School shooting
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{{Portal|New York (state)|Law}}


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{{School shootings in the United States}}
{{School shootings in the United States}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Olean High School shooting, 1974}}
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[[Category:High school killings in the United States]]
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[[Category:1970s crimes in New York (state)]]
[[Category:1974 in New York (state)]]
[[Category:1974 in New York (state)]]
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[[Category:Cattaraugus County, New York]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in New York (state)]]
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[[Category:Murder in New York (state)]]
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[[Category:1974 murders in the United States]]
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[[Category:School shootings committed by pupils]]
[[Category:1974 mass shootings in the United States]]
[[Category:1974 mass shootings in the United States]]
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[[Category:1974 murders in the United States]]
[[Category:Crimes in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Crimes in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Mass shootings in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in New York (state)]]
[[Category:December 1974 events in the United States]]
[[Category:December 1974 events in the United States]]
[[Category:Mass shootings in the United States]]
[[Category:Education in Cattaraugus County, New York]]
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[[Category:High school killings in the United States]]
[[Category:High school shootings in the United States]]
[[Category:High school shootings in the United States]]
[[Category:1970s crimes in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Mass shootings in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Mass shootings in the United States]]
[[Category:Mass shootings involving shotguns]]
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[[Category:Murder in New York (state)]]
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[[Category:Olean, New York|1974]]
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[[Category:School shootings committed by pupils]]

Latest revision as of 02:02, 2 December 2024

1974 Olean High School shooting
LocationOlean, New York, United States
DateMonday, December 30, 1974
2:50 p.m. - 5:20 p.m. (EST)
Attack type
School shooting, mass shooting
Weapons
Deaths4 (including an unborn child)
Injured11 (7 by gunfire)
PerpetratorAnthony F. Barbaro
MotiveSuicidal Ideation
Charges (Charges dropped after perpetrator's death)

The Olean High School shooting was a school shooting that occurred on December 30, 1974, at Olean High School in Olean, New York. The gunman, 17-year-old Anthony F. Barbaro, an honor student and member of the school's rifle team, indiscriminately shot at people on the street from windows at the third floor of the school building. Three people were killed and another 11 people were injured during the shooting.[1][2]

On November 1, 1975, Barbaro hanged himself in his cell at the Cattaraugus County Jail.[3][4][5]

Details

[edit]

The incident began during the afternoon of December 30, 1974, when Barbaro left his house with his mother's car. He told his brother, Chris, that he was going target shooting. Barbaro arrived at Olean High School at approximately 2:50 p.m. After leaving his car, he entered the school building through an opened side entrance and proceeded to the third floor where he set off a coke bottle filled with gasoline and a wick. Unable to open the locked door to the student council room, Barbaro shot off the lock, entered the student council room, and tied the door shut. A 12-man custodial crew was doing routine maintenance in the basement of the school at this time. When they heard a fire alarm sound, the superintendent dispatched Earl Metcalf to see what the problem was at the 3rd floor. He met Joe Kosidlo, the 3rd floor custodian, who asked him to vacate because he thought he heard gun shots. Mr. Metcalf did not listen and proceeded to where he heard the noise. Anthony Barbaro was then confronted by Earl Metcalf. Seeing Metcalf through the glass window of the student council room, he opened his door, shot and killed him.[2] Barbaro then positioned himself in the student council room on the third floor of the school. There, he began shooting at people outside of the school.

Fire trucks began to respond to the fire alarm, then local police and finally New York State troopers. At this time there were no students present and only Principal Louis Nicol, secretaries, business office, maintenance and custodians were at the school. All but the Supt. secretary immediately went to the boiler room at the rear of the school. By 5:20 p.m., local and State Police officers were surrounding the school building,[6] and a National Guard tank had arrived to remove the injured victims.[7] Before night fall, two New York State Police entered the school and threw tear gas grenades into the student council room,[8][9][10][11] where Barbaro was found unconscious inside the room wearing a defective gas mask.[12][13] Barbaro was laid onto a stretcher and transported by ambulance to the hospital, examined and, suffering no injuries, was then transferred to the Olean City Jail.[12][14]

According to police, Barbaro had fired 31 shots.[15] Three people were killed in the shooting, and eleven others were wounded.[1][6][12] Those killed were Earl Metcalf, Neal Pilon, and Carmen Wright Drayton, who was six months pregnant.[7][15][9] Earl Metcalf, 62, was killed inside the school building, while Columbia Gas Co. employee Neal Pilon, 58, was shot while crossing the street outside of the school. Carmen Wright, 25, was shot in the head inside her car while driving by the school. Both Pilon and Wright were pronounced "dead on arrival" at Olean General Hospital. Seven people survived the shooting with gunshot wounds, while four others sustained injuries from flying glass fragments.[13] Eight of the wounded victims were Olean city firemen responding to a fire complaint at the school.[16] At the time of the shooting, the school was closed for the Christmas Break.

Perpetrator and motives

[edit]
Still of Barbaro from The Killing of America

The perpetrator of the shooting was 17-year-old Anthony F. Barbaro (September 9, 1957 — November 1, 1975), a lifelong Olean resident. He had attended Olean High School,[14] where he was an honor student and a star marksman on his school's rifle team.[1][6][13][17] He ranked eighth highest academic score in his senior class,[2][16] and was inducted into the National Honor Society in February 1974.[5][7] He had also won a Regents Scholarship that December.[7][13][17][18] Those who knew Barbaro remember him as being quiet, and his school principal described him as a "more of a loner than not."[11] Louis Nicol, former principal of Olean High School, and present in the building at the time of shooting, said that Barbaro excelled scholastically and caused no disciplinary problems at school.[10][12][14][16] Barbaro lived in Olean, New York, with his parents and his three younger siblings – sister Cecile, brothers Steven and Chris.[17] His father was an executive of a successful manufacturing firm,[10] while Anthony worked with his mother at a local fast-food restaurant. Barbaro had also shown an interest in engineering, and had hoped to become a scientist.

Police have found no apparent motives as to why Barbaro committed his crimes.[2][6][10][11][13][17] A teammate of Barbaro on the school's rifle team recalls Barbaro having spoken of wanting to "hold up" the Olean Armory and engage in a police standoff.[5] Barbaro had just tried out for the bowling team but did not qualify.

In a note explaining his motives, Barbaro wrote:

I guess I just wanted to kill the person I hate most -- myself, I just didn't have the courage. I wanted to die, but I couldn't do it, so I had to get someone to do it for me. It didn't work out.[18]

Aftermath

[edit]

On December 31, 1974, Anthony Barbaro was arraigned on three counts of second-degree murder, six counts of first-degree assault, and five counts of first-degree reckless endangerment.[8][11][14][19] Barbaro was then being held without bail at the Olean City Jail.[11] Following the shooting, police had found homemade smoke bombs, as well as gasoline and glass bottles, and empty propane canisters in Barbaro's bedroom. Police also found, in Barbaro's bedroom, bomb recipes and a journal that detailed his plans for the shooting.[5][19] In April 1975, he had entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity,[8] however he was found competent to stand trial by two court-appointed psychiatrists.[19] Barbaro was soon transferred from the Olean City Jail to the Cattaraugus County Jail in Little Valley.[14] On October 21, 1975, a grand jury was seated for Barbaro's trial at the Olean Municipal Building.[14][19]

On October 27, defense attorney Vincent E. Doyle Jr. presented his testimony at a preliminary hearing,[5] stating that Barbaro had a "serious, deep-rooted mental illness that precluded his [Barbaro's] conviction."[19] On November 1, 1975, Barbaro hanged himself with a bedsheet in his cell at the Cattaraugus County Jail.[4][20] Cattaraugus County coroner Dr. Harry C. Law ruled the death a suicide.[5][20] Barbaro had written three suicide notes that were found on his bed in his cell.[20] One note was addressed to his family, another note was addressed to a woman he corresponded with in prison, and the third note was addressed "to whom it may concern".[4][5][20]

The third note read:

People are not afraid to die; it's just how they die. I don't fear death, but rather the pain. But no more. I regret the foods I'll never taste, the music I'll never hear, the sites I'll never see, the accomplishments I'll never accomplish, in other words, I regret my life. Some will always ask, 'Why?' I don't know — no one will. What has been, can't be changed. I'm sorry. It ends like it began; in the middle of the night, someone might think it selfish or cowardly to take one's own life. Maybe so, but it's the only free choice I have. The way I figure, I lose either way. If I'm found not guilty, I won't survive the pain I've caused — my guilt. If I'm convicted, I won't survive the mental and physical punishment of my life in prison.[4]

Wounded victims

[edit]

A total of eleven people survived the shooting with injuries.[21]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Usiak, Richard (December 31, 1974). "Sniper at high school kills 3 and wounds 11". St. Petersburg Times.
  2. ^ a b c d Usiak, Richard (December 31, 1974). "Teen sniper kills three, 11 wounded". The Bryan Times.
  3. ^ "Upstate Youth in Sniper Trial a Suicide". The New York Times. November 2, 1975.
  4. ^ a b c d "He regretted his life". St. Petersburg Times. November 5, 1975.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Young man found dead in jail cell". The Register-Guard. November 2, 1975.
  6. ^ a b c d "Schoolboy sniper kills 3". Ellensburg Daily Record. December 30, 1974.
  7. ^ a b c d Student kills 3 at school in sniper fire, Toledo Blade (December 31, 1974)
  8. ^ a b c Honor student charged in Olean sniper deaths, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (January 1, 1975)
  9. ^ a b McFadden, Robert D. (December 31, 1974). "3 Killed and 9 Wounded By an Upstate Sniper, 18". The New York Times.
  10. ^ a b c d "New York youth faces charges in sniper deaths of 3 persons". The Free Lance–Star. December 31, 1974.
  11. ^ a b c d e Honor student charged with sniper shooting in New York, Kingman Daily Miner (December 31, 1974)
  12. ^ a b c d "High school sniper kills three people". The Prescott Courier. December 31, 1974.
  13. ^ a b c d e Young honor student held as sniper in death of three, Spokane Daily Chronicle (December 31, 1974)
  14. ^ a b c d e f "Quiet" 17-year-old sniper charged with murder of 3 Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine, Columbia Missourian (January 1, 1975)
  15. ^ a b "Funeral services for shooting victims" (PDF). Adirondack Daily Enterprise. January 3, 1975.
  16. ^ a b c Honor student held as sniper, Ocala Star-Banner (December 31, 1974)
  17. ^ a b c d Sniper kills 3, hurts 11, Boca Raton News (December 31, 1974)
  18. ^ a b They Threaten, Seethe and Unhinge, Then Kill in Quantity, The New York Times (April 9, 2000)
  19. ^ a b c d e 3 killed by young sniper shooting from high school, The Spokesman-Review (December 31, 1974)
  20. ^ a b c d Sniper suspect found hanged in N.Y. jail cell, St. Petersburg Times (November 2, 1975)
  21. ^ The Troopers Are Coming, Albert S. Kurek, pp.265-66
[edit]

42°04′57″N 78°26′05″W / 42.08250°N 78.43472°W / 42.08250; -78.43472

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