“I just don’t like Mondays… I did this because it’s a way to cheer up the day.”
-Brenda Spencer, when asked by police why she committed the crime she did
This is a case that fascinates me, mostly because of the young age of the shooter. What makes a sixteen-year-old girl do what she did, with such a seeming lack of understanding or empathy?
about the killer
Brenda Spencer was born on April 3, 1962, raised in San Diego, California. She lived with her father across the street from the Grover Cleveland Elementary School, the scene of her eventual crime. Her parents had long since separated, and life wasn’t easy for her, as she lived both in poverty and in some questionable circumstances with her father, Wallace Spencer. They shared a single mattress for years in the living room, surrounded by garbage and the remnants of her father’s alcoholic tendencies.[1]Böckler, Nils; Seeger, Thorsten; Sitzer, Peter; Heitmeyer, Wilhelm (2013). School Shootings: International Research, Case Studies, and Concepts for Prevention (1st ed.). Springer … Continue reading According to her original defense attorney, her father was abusive.[2]Repard, Pauline. “40 Years Ago, Brenda Spencer Took Lives, Changed Lives in a Mass Shooting at a San Diego Elementary School.” The San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Jan. 2019, The San Diego … Continue reading Spencer has made allegations that her abuse at the hand of her father was also sexual, but there are many who question the truthfulness of the claim.
People who knew Spencer described her as “weird” and friendless. But they also described her as unaffected by that and smiling. They remembered her talking about her father, that he refused to allow her to dress as a girl, that he was mean. Many classmates remembered that she had a fascination with guns, although none of those same classmates expressed that they had had any fear of her or any thought that she would ever harm anyone.[3]“Classmates Say Alleged Sniper Seemed Lonely, Friendless Girl.” The Washington Post, 31 Jan. 1979, The Washington Post, … Continue reading But there were others who, in the aftermath, reported that she had bragged about doing “something big that would get her on TV.”[4]Associated Press. “School Sniper Suspect Bragged Of ’Something Big To Get On TV.” The Evening Independent, 30 Jan. 1979, The Evening Independent, … Continue reading
In the early part of 1978, Spencer was referred to a facility for problem students . While she was there, staff reported that she was suicidal. Later that summer, she was arrested for shooting out the windows of the elementary school that would later become the scene of her crime. In December of that year, Spencer’s probation officer ordered a psychiatric evaluation. As a result of this, it was recommended that she be admitted to a mental institution for treatment for depression. Her father refused. And then a few weeks later, for a Christmas gift, he bought his daughter a Ruger 10/22 semi-automatic, .22 caliber rifle. It came with a telescopic sight and 500 rounds of ammo.[5]Associated Press. “School Sniper Suspect Bragged Of ’Something Big To Get On TV.” The Evening Independent, 30 Jan. 1979, The Evening Independent, … Continue reading
“I asked for a radio and he bought me a gun.” Asked why he had done that, she answered, “I felt like he wanted me to kill myself.”
Later, when she was in custody, it was discovered that Spencer had damage to the temporal lobe of her brain, which resulted in epilepsy. It was attributed to an injury sustained after an accident on her bicycle.[6]Böckler, Nils; Seeger, Thorsten; Sitzer, Peter; Heitmeyer, Wilhelm (2013). School Shootings: International Research, Case Studies, and Concepts for Prevention (1st ed.). Springer … Continue reading
about the crime
On Monday, January 29, 1979, Spencer loaded her Ruger rifle and began shooting at the students arriving at their elementary school. She fired thirty-six rounds over the course of twenty minutes, eleven of them making contact. She shot eight children and three adults. The principal of the school, Burton Wragg, and the head custodian, Michael Suchar, were both killed throwing themselves over children. The children who were shot, as well as San Diego police officer Robert Robb, survived. A standoff between Spencer and police lasted more than six hours. It was during this standoff that Brenda Spencer told reporters why she committed the crime… that she didn’t like Mondays. She finally surrendered after the police negotiator promised to get her Burger King.[7]Repard, Pauline. “40 Years Ago, Brenda Spencer Took Lives, Changed Lives in a Mass Shooting at a San Diego Elementary School.” The San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Jan. 2019, The San Diego … Continue reading
the trial, punishment, & the aftermath
Brenda Spencer was charged as an adult and pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and assault with a deadly weapon. The day after she turned eighteen, she was sentenced to twenty-five years to life. She has been eligible for parole several times, but that has been denied every time.[8]Repard, Pauline. “40 Years Ago, Brenda Spencer Took Lives, Changed Lives in a Mass Shooting at a San Diego Elementary School.” The San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Jan. 2019, The San Diego … Continue reading
She is due for another parole hearing some time this year.
interesting notes
- Wallace Spencer married his daughter’s seventeen-year-old cellmate from Juvenile Hall, although they later divorced.[9]Repard, Pauline. “40 Years Ago, Brenda Spencer Took Lives, Changed Lives in a Mass Shooting at a San Diego Elementary School.” The San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Jan. 2019, The San Diego … Continue reading
- Bob Geldof, then-lead singer of the Boomtown Rats, read about the shooting. He wrote a song about it that released in July of 1979. It stayed at #1 for four weeks in the UK, the band’s biggest hit in their native country of Ireland. According to Geldof, Spencer wrote to him, telling him that she was glad she’d done what she did because the band made her famous.[10]Sanford, Jay A. “Brenda Spencer Was 16.” The San Diego Reader, 10 Mar. 2005, The San Diego Reader, https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2005/mar/10/brenda-spencer-was-16/.
- In 2020, Brenda Spencer was “inducted” into the Golden Girls club at the California Institution for Women. The GG club is a program that affords special privileges to women who voluntarily join after their 55th birthday. Being in the club allows Spencer to receive perks that most in general population don’t receive, including: front-of-the-line passes for meals and medications, special dining rooms, extra bedding and choice of bunks.[11]Johnson, Chris. “Infamous ‘I Don’t like Mondays’ Killer Who Shot up a School at 16 Is Inducted into the Golden Girls Club at Age 57 in the Prison Where She’s Serving a Life Sentence for … Continue reading
recommended “reading”
- I Don’t Like Mondays: Amazon Prime
- Killer Kids, Season 3, Episode 21/”Deadly Compulsion”
- Deadly Women, Season 2, Episode 1/”Thrill Killers: ID Discovery
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