Ugh, its Monday are the words that usually follow the arrival of the most dreaded day of the week. ( )Tj Her father left home for work around 7 oclock in the morning. )]TJ She later also spoke with police negotiators, telling them those she had shot made easy targets, and that she was going to "come out shooting." The diminutive 16-year-old with bright red hair then armed herself . ( )Tj Brenda threatened with new shots, so for such a long time she could not be forced to surrender to the police. She was home alone, as her single father had left for work. Cam [Charles] Miller was seven when she shot him in the back. The ruthless shooter continued shooting until the police blocked the school entrance by moving a garbage truck in front of it. According to our Database, She has no children. (98)Tj [(H)23 (are, )]TJ -2.118 -1.529 Td Brenda Spencer explained her act by shooting at children just for the sake of her pleasure, and also for laughs. 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. 0 Tw 2.118 0 Td /T1_4 1 Tf This livens up the day." She was tried as an adult, and pled guilty to two counts of murder and assault with a deadly weapon. /T1_3 1 Tf /Span<>> BDC Brenda Spencer is however, America's first female school shooter. ( )Tj I was shooting into the parking lot.. I was 10 years old when I was shot by Brenda Spencer.. Some of them were seriously injured, but all survived. Spencer showed no remorse in her crime; her full explanation of her actions was "I don't like Mondays; this livens up the day. 0.177 Tw /Span<>> BDC EMC At 16 and using a .22 rifle her father had given her as a Christmas present she started shooting, wounding 8 and killing 2. Almost a year after receiving the semi-automatic weapons of the 22nd caliber, namely on January 9, 1979, shooting took place in the school, which took the lives of several people. -2.118 -1.529 Td /Span<>> BDC /T1_3 1 Tf Brenda Spencer was born April 3rd, 1962 to her mother and father, Dorothy and Wallace Spencer. ( )Tj But the lawyer also noted that while visiting Spencer at a juvenile-detention facility after her arrest, the father had met a girl who resembled his daughter, but was younger. Brenda Spencer She indulged in drugs and often skipped classes at school. Discover Brenda Spencer's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. -2.118 -1.529 Td 78. She shot eight children, and she shot a responding police officer, Robert Robb, in the neck. I dont think the shooting should have been the choice at all, she could have gone to her mom if she had some problems. -2.118 -1.529 Td /T1_4 1 Tf /T1_4 1 Tf 0 Tw 2.118 0 Td ( )Tj 0 Tw 2.118 0 Td [(able at www)80.1 (.scho)-5 (olsho)-4.9 (ot)-10 (ers.info. For Christmas 1978, he gave her a Ruger 10/22 semi-automatic .22 caliber rifle with a telescopic sight and 500 rounds of ammunition. EMC 0 Tw 2.118 0 Td However, I find their reasons to be interesting to learn about. By then, police were responding to the school shooting. Eight students and a police officer were wounded. (\251)Tj Nine counts of attempted murder. /T1_5 1 Tf After her parents separated, she lived with her father, Wallace Spencer, in poverty. The article kept my attention the entire time. 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. ( )Tj ( )Tj She confirmed that she had heard the kids in the school across the street. 0 Tc 0.76 Tw /Span<>> BDC /T1_5 1 Tf Even if she maybe had her own problems with her father, she is just as guilty to if she only did it to make a better Monday. /T1_3 1 Tf Brenda pled guilty to two counts of murder and assault with a deadly weapon. The fact that school shootings are more normalized in 2021 than anything is sad. People have told me that I look like him, act like him, that my kids are the spitting image of him, she said. (75)Tj Adobe InDesign CC 2015 (Macintosh) The girl was born in the USA, California, the city of San Diego, in 1962. It is very saddening to read that she would target an elementary school full of innocent children but it is very satisfying to also read that she is still serving time for the horrific thing she had committed. [(and )0.5 (A)4.9 (dult P)10 (erpetrat)-10.1 (ors. Principal Burton Wragg heard the shooting and ran out to get the children out of harms way, and the inmate shot him in the chest and killed him. 1)40.1 (3, 14. )Tj /T1_3 1 Tf /T1_3 1 Tf ( )Tj At another hearing, she claimed she had opened fire because she wanted police to kill her. [(Langman, P)90 (. /Span<>> BDC [(\223H)23 (earing 2001,)80 (\224 pp. )]TJ The schools principal, Burton Wragg, while rushing outside, was hit on the shoulder and chest with Spencers bullets and eventually died. A)39.7 (vail)]TJ 0 Tw 2.118 0 Td -2.118 -1.529 Td The other daughter had been saved from harm when a notebook with a pouch of pens stopped a bullet. 35 years later, Brenda Ann Spencer, who killed two and wounded eight, faced her victims in a parole hearing. 76\22677)70 (. ( )Tj /T1_3 1 Tf 21.746 0 Td Monday blues are common among teenagers, who are forced to wake up at 8 am to get on a yellow school bus. 0.238 Tw /Span<>> BDC 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 . Family Brenda Spencer, the culprit of this shooting, in case her second statement was true, she should not have opened fire to that school, she should have called the police directly. ", In early 1978, staff at a facility for problem students, into which Spencer had been referred for truancy, informed her parents that she was suicidal. /Span<>> BDC 88. /T1_4 1 Tf (85)Tj 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. Brenda Ann Spencer was the killer who started it all. The next time (2001), she began to advance the theory that her brutal act was preceded by her father's abuse of her, but these facts were also not confirmed. [(M)31 (urd)-5 (er C)30 (ase,)]TJ ( )Tj Spared the death penalty because of her age, Spencer was sentenced to two terms of 25 years to life in prison, running concurrently and with the chance of parole. [(V)45 (ersion 1.0 \()13 (11 F)35 (ebruary 2016)8.1 (\))]TJ /T1_4 1 Tf Status /T1_3 1 Tf /T1_3 1 Tf 0.02 Tw /Span<>> BDC Nothing was different for Brenda Ann Spencer; she was one of the girls who typically hated Mondays. /T1_4 1 Tf EMC 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. /T1_3 1 Tf /T1_4 1 Tf Brenda Ann Spencer (born in San Diego, California on April 3, 1962) is a convicted American murderer who performed a deadly shooting spree, during which she killed two people at the Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego on January 29, 1979. Brenda told police negotiators that the children were easy targets and warned that she would come out shooting.. [(H)23 (art)30 (, )]TJ /T1_4 1 Tf [( pp. EMC /T1_5 1 Tf A)40 (vailable at www)80 (.scho)-4.9 (olsho)-5 (ot)-10 (ers.info. Little did they know, however, that across the street, sixteen-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer was aiming her .22 caliber semiautomatic rifle right at societys ultimate refuge, the elementary school, and its surroundings. ( )Tj 0 Tc 0 Tw 0.471 0 Td For all his ex-clients notoriety, Michael McGlinn insists the day she is released is getting close. 0 Tw 2.118 0 Td (61)Tj ( )Tj He recalled the phone call from the neighbor who said there had been a shooting at Cleveland, the frustration of not being able to get near the school because the incident was still going on, the terror in my wifes eyes, her screams of anguish at not knowing whether our girls were involved, the phone call from the hospital telling us that one of them had been wounded, looking at the bullet hole in her right elbow and the bullet burns on the inside if each thigh where a bullet had passed between her legs.. ( )Tj Every new school shooting by a teenager reinforces the argument that she was not uniquely wicked or crazed. Learn How rich is She in this year and how She spends money? As Spencer acknowledged at one of her parole hearings: With every school shooting, I feel Im partially responsible. He returned to the shooting. /T1_3 1 Tf Because I wanted to die, she said. Nothing was different for Brenda Ann Spencer; she was one of the girls who typically hated /T1_5 1 Tf Mary Rintoul aged nine when she was shot in the attack has mixed feelings about letting her out. 0.766 0.053 Td She answered a reporters question on why she fired the gun, by saying I dont like Mondays. Survivors of the shooting who attended court recall a bespectacled Spencer staring at them blankly. ( )Tj As of December 2015, shed been denied parole four times. ( )Tj 0 Tw 2.118 0 Td ( )Tj /T1_4 1 Tf (76)Tj 0 Tw 2.118 0 Td Also learn how She earned most of networth at the age of 58 years old? Brenda would go to claim sexual abuse by her father. EMC Contradicting police reports that found no evidence of drugs or alcohol in her system, she said she had been taking both and was hallucinating at the time of the shooting. /T1_4 1 Tf On Monday morning, January 29th, she asked her father if she could stay home from school because she didnt feel well, the deputy district attorney reported. Brenda Spencer is currently serving his sentence and looks forward to a pardon. Incarcerated The shooting has inspired a song by the Boomtown Rats called I Dont 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. EMC He was then a part of the Allied occupying forces in northern Germany. H\0z )]TJ Spencer barricaded herself in her house for hours before an offer for a Burger King meal from negotiators convinced her to surrender. 7)30 (3, 75. (60)Tj The custodians brother, Andrew Suchar also submitted a statement, noting that Michael had survived two ship sinkings during the war only to be killed by a 16-year-old in a schoolyard. -0.001 Tc -0.05 Tw 2.124 0 Td /Span<>> BDC But for the heroic efforts of a police officer who risked his life to drive a trash truck in front of her residence to block her field of fire, no doubt further children would have been shot.. During a 2009 parole hearing, her most recent, she insisted that she had not intended to shoot anybody. Sixteen-year-old Brenda Spencer fired from the window of her house children who had come to school, across the road from the ill-fated home. Children were going to school as the birds chirped. 0 Tw 2.118 0 Td (80)Tj Yet, while it was all happening, so beautiful, so serene, I couldnt get over the perverse violence associated with my dads passing. 22. Mike to the children, ran to Mr. Wraggs aid, and the inmate shot him in the chest and killed him. Neighbors claimed Spencer had . EMC Location The blood hadnt been scrubbed from where he had fallen on the concrete. 0 Tw 2.118 0 Td This was a horrible event that resulted in two lives lost I have never heard of this case before this article. 0 Tc 0 Tw 0.471 0 Td I was 9 years old when I was shot, he began. 0 Tw 2.118 0 Td /T1_2 1 Tf Spencer was not once searching for ways to go free. The brother said that although his widowed sister-in-law lived until 1991, her life actually ended in January 1979. /T1_4 1 Tf ( pp. ( p. EMC One was from Wilfred Suchar, son of the murdered custodian, Michael Suchar. Born in Decatur, Illinois, Jan 29,. Many are convinced the other killers were inspired by her. 0 Tw 2.118 0 Td -0.04 Tc 0.496 Tw /Span<>> BDC I cannot reconcile the fact that Brenda claimed she started shooting just for the fun of it with the trauma she probably experienced in her childhood because both are terrible and inexcusable acts. EMC EMC The song in 1979 was in the lead in the British charts for four weeks in a row. ( )Tj [(\223H)23 (earing 2005,)80 (\224 p. [(M)31 (urd)-5 (er C)30 (ase,)]TJ 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. In a prison two-and-a-half hours from the scene of the UCSB murders sits the killer who started it all, with the first high-profile school shooting more than three decades ago. Grover Cleveland Elementary School, San Diego, CA A police officer (age28), responding to a call for assistance during the incident, was wounded in the neck as he arrived. -2.118 -1.529 Td 42. Despite watching the principal die, he continued saving kids from the line of fire. [( p. 77)70 (. ( p. From 2005 to 2017, it housed the Magnolia Science Academy, a public charter middle school serving students in grades 68. Both girls had witnessed the death of the principal and the custodian. EMC A few weeks ago, she marked her 40th anniversary in prison after successive parole applications had been refused. ( )Tj 1.647 0 Td Brenda Ann Spencer (born in San Diego, California on April 3, 1962) is a convicted American murderer who performed a deadly shooting spree, during which she killed two people at the Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego on January 29, 1979. 0 Tw 2.118 0 Td Photos of Brenda Ann Spencer, 16, who killed two adults and wounded eight children in a 1979 sniper attack on a San Diego elementary school. We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 3 April. /Span<>> BDC Basically, what shes telling this board are a series of untruths, the representative concluded. The likelihood of a successful parole hearing is slim at best. In 2001 Brenda accused her father of having drunkenly subjected her to beatings and sexual abuse. /T1_4 1 Tf ( p. Her father still lives in the house where the shooting took place. Block 10A, Row 2, Space 46. ( )Tj ( p. After firing 30-36 rounds of ammunition, Spencer barricaded herself inside her home for nearly seven hours. Geldof has later mentioned that, "[Spencer] wrote to me saying 'she was glad she'd done it because I'd made her famous,' which is not a good thing to live with. EMC [(M)31 (urd)-5 (er C)30 (ase,)]TJ The representative further reported that blood and urine samples taken after Spencers arrest tested clean. Defence experts from Yale University who examined her said she had been in a disassociated state, he said. adobe:docid:indd:dd4a55d2-0e77-11de-96a0-c0933d61f99d [(H)23 (are, R. )]TJ EMC -0.003 Tc -0.051 Tw 0.476 0 Td Are you pretty good with a rifle? he asked. /Span<>> BDC 35 years later, Brenda Ann Spencer, who killed two and wounded eight, faced her victims in a parole hearing. , money, salary, income, and assets. My name is Crystal Hardy, one began. [(H)23 (art)30 (, )]TJ Five students were killed and thirty were injured. EMC ( pp. The head custodian, Michael Suchar, known as Mr. /T1_4 1 Tf In December, a psychiatric evaluation arranged by her probation officer recommended that Spencer be admitted to a mental hospital for depression, but her father refused to give permission. -2.118 -1.529 Td (77)Tj ( )Tj -2.118 -1.529 Td -2.118 -1.529 Td Being from San Diego, California this article sparked my interest. When the kids hear this, they cant possibly relate to such statements, because they have never met their grandfather, and they know they never will, because Ive told them over and over again that he is dead, that he was murdered by Brenda Spencer.. We have estimated [(\223H)23 (earing 2001,)80 (\224 pp. FBI profiler Candice DeLong says doll mutilation is something that has been observed in children and teenagers who latter become killers or stalkers. The police, now aware of where the shots were coming from, were able evacuate the children and obstruct Spencers line of sight while trying to negotiate with her. EMC 0 Tw 2.118 0 Td They cite the considerable progress she has made in rehabilitating herself in prison. (contr4488032) Brenda Ann Spencer passed away peacefully surrounded by family Thursday March 30, 2017. [(H)23 (art)30 (, )]TJ /CS0 cs 0 0 0 0.5 scn Spencer later said, "I asked for a radio and he bought me a gun." The most terrible thing in all this story was the announcement of the reasons for shooting from the mouth of the murderer. 0.355 Tw /Span<>> BDC Brenda Ann Spencer. ( )Tj His crimes and conviction detailed, How did Charles Stanley Gifford die? (157 cm) and had bright red hair. /Span<>> BDC Thrill Killers. . We will update Brenda Spencer's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible. 0.4 Tw /Span<>> BDC /T1_5 1 Tf 0.298 Tw /Span<>> BDC Brenda Spencers name is largely forgotten now. 8\2269. As a boy he had nightmares in which Spencer popped up out of a bathtub to finish him off. /T1_3 1 Tf 0.237 Tw /Span<>> BDC She is currently single. EMC On January 17, 1989, almost ten years after the events at San Diego's Grover Cleveland Elementary, there was another shooting at a school named Grover Cleveland Elementary, this one in Stockton, California. ( )Tj On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. /Span<>> BDC Brenda is the youngest child and has one older brother and one older sister. When asked why she did the shooting, she responded: "I don't like Mondays. /T1_5 1 Tf /T1_5 1 Tf )Tj 2 dead9 wounded -0.03 Tc 0.358 Tw /Span<>> BDC )Tj ( )Tj On January 29, 1979, 16-year-old Brenda Spencer killed two people and wounded nine when she fired on San Diego's Grover Cleveland Elementary School with a .22-caliber rifle from her family's house across the street. Even as an adult, he was gripped by an abiding fear of leaving his back exposed in restaurants he always sits with his back to the wall. A single .22 caliber shot entered his back and out of Cam's chest. [(M)31 (urd)-5 (er C)30 (ase,)]TJ Brenda Spencer's Mugshot taken in 1996 | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. 93. Tom Leonard for the Daily Mail, Sleeping girls, 10 and 13, are shot as home is sprayed with 17 bullets during second drive-by in the neighborhood in just 24 hours, One person killed and two police have been shot by a gunman suspected of holding a teen hostage near Atlanta, Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Insane moment river of rocks falls onto Malibu Canyon in CA, Mom who lost both sons to fentanyl blasts laughing Biden, Pavement where disabled woman gestured at cyclist before fatal crash, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' )Tj )]TJ Spencer, an introverted and scrawny tomboy, had a history of petty theft, drug abuse and school truancy. (89)Tj [(\223H)23 (earing 2009,)80 (\224 p. Sometimes Wallace Spencer would say hello when he came to pick his daughter up, and Buell is certain that he knew who she was, and she wonders now what he thought. The author also focused, not just on the shooting itself, but also the aftermath that centered on Brenda Spencer. [(Langman, P)89.7 (. /Span<>> BDC /Span<>> BDC Copyright 2018 en.unansea.com. [(M)31 (urd)-5 (er C)30 (ase,)]TJ www.schoolshooters.info 42. The look at Brenda Foster gave me was enough to scare any young child to death.. ( )Tj Yet she wonders whether Spencer could ever adapt to the outside world and if she will snap again. A model prisoner, she wants to be a forklift truck driver if she ever regains her freedom. However, according to the rules of imprisonment, the next time, giving her the right to request pardon, will come in 2019. )Tj 72. ( )Tj For Christmas 1978 her father, Wallace, had given her a .22 rifle as a present. The court sentenced her to life in prison with a possibility of parole after 25 years. [(H)23 (are, )]TJ 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. [(\223H)23 (earing 2001,)80 (\224 p. ( Lanham, )Tj However, lawyer Michael McGlinn, who defended Spencer at her trial, told me he continues to believe she will never reoffend. 0 tv_nwa_ J endstream endobj 50 0 obj <>stream ( )Tj I wasnt specifically aiming at people, she said. EMC EMC )]TJ /T1_2 1 Tf They slept on a single mattress on the living room floor, with empty alcohol bottles throughout the house. Her ashes are to be buried at a later date. [(WWW)55 (.SCHOOLSHOOTERS.INFO)]TJ /T1_4 1 Tf )]TJ The murderer was tried as an adult. The issue is in plain sight but nobody in the right places of power wants to say it because its easier to point fingers. After several hours, Brenda Spencer surrendered her weapon and several rounds of ammunition, and was subsequently arrested. 24\22625. And then there was a statement by Steve Wragg, son of Principal Burton Wragg. She hurt so many people and had so much to do with starting a deadly trend in America, said San Diego Country deputy district attorney Richard Sachs. He allowed that Spencers father had never owned up to sexually abusing her. /T1_3 1 Tf According to court documents she would open fire from her home aiming at young children waiting to get into the school. ( )Tj 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 . EMC 78, 80. This page was last changed on 2 May 2022, at 09:58. Well, you could have shot out one window of the school and the police would have come., You didnt have any anger at the children?, The commissioner asked if she recalled saying she had fired on the schoolyard because I dont like Mondays., I might have said that, she replied. ( )Tj She was given an indefinite sentence and remains in prison. /T1_4 1 Tf She said she had been under the influence of alcohol, pot, and downers. Bob Geldof, then the lead singer of the Boomtown Rats, read about the incident when a news story about it came off the telex at WRAS-FM, the campus radio station at Georgia State University in Atlanta. 0 Tw T* /Span<>> BDC ( )Tj [(M)31 (urd)-5 (er C)30 (ase,)]TJ EMC EMC -2.118 -1.529 Td We are no longer accepting comments on this article. /Span<>> BDC [(www)80 (.scho)-5 (olsho)-5 (ot)-10 (ers.info. ( )Tj Copyright 2016 by Peter Langman, Ph.D. Wallace Spencer (father)Dot Spencer (mother)Teresa Spencer (sister)Scott Spencer (brother)Unnamed half-sister [(201)40 (5. The court sentenced her to life in prison with a possibility of parole after 25 years. ( )Tj 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. A student organization of St. Marys University of San Antonio, Texas, featuring scholarly research, writing, and media from students of all disciplines. The commissioner asked if she remembered the police coming, and she said she did. )]TJ EMC Appearance Biography /Span<>> BDC She is now 51 and will no doubt hear of more school shootings and ask herself if they got the idea from what she did on that long ago Monday. The issue is not owning guns, the issue is mental health. 1.647 0 Td The song never mentions her name and Geldof admitted that most fans thought it was about how having a hangover made Mondays unbearable. ( p. I didnt think it all the way through, Several children were injured by gunshot wounds. Because I knew that if I fired on the school the police would show up, and they would shoot me and kill me, she said. I think her premature death in 1991 was at least partly the result of this traumatic experience.. Its entirely possible I said that, Spencer told the parole board. /T1_4 1 Tf EMC 52\22653. 12.894 0 Td The shooting was already on the news before Brenda stopped shooting. ( )Tj [(H)23 (are, )]TJ EMC He liked to keep appearances up, that everything was fine in the house, Spencer now said. 0.259 Tw /Span<>> BDC ( )Tj uuid:abfef72d-ac1c-9d47-b406-9a703c3e820b [(M)31 (urd)-5 (er C)30 (ase,)]TJ When he first met her, she was like a total zombie pale, ashen and with no recollection of what had occurred, and she stayed that way for some time. 36. Brenda pled guilty to two counts of murder and assault with a deadly weapon. -2.118 -1.529 Td Actor View popular celebrities life details, birth signs and real ages. )]TJ -2.118 -1.529 Td Spencer was charged as an adult and pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and assault with a deadly weapon. She, because of the language and cultural differences in the United States, always counted on him to manage their affairs. (86)Tj 46. )]TJ )]TJ The Brenda Spencer Murder Case, which was published in 2012, and is the single best source I am aware of regarding Spencer. The shooter killed a principal and a custodian as they tried to pull students into safety. 25\22626. ( )Tj 0.356 Tw /Span<>> BDC Principal Burton Wragg was speaking with teacher Daryl Barnes (who was gave testimony on the episode) when the gun shots started and ran outside to see school children falling to the floor, some first grabbing a body part and screaming in pain before falling. [(M)31 (urd)-5 (er C)30 (ase,)]TJ /T1_3 1 Tf Brenda's parents divorced when she was young and lived with her father. [(Scho)-5 (ol Sho)-5 (oters: Und)-4.9 (erstanding H)23 (igh Scho)-5 (ol, College, )]TJ Going to school should be a safe place and not a place to fear. As of April2020, she remains in prison and is housed at the California Institution for Women in Chino. [The father] then went on and had a sexual relationship with her and married her, the lawyer alleged. /T1_3 1 Tf /T1_4 1 Tf EMC A teacher had called for her to duck. She had asked her father for a radio. On April 4, 1980, a day after her 18th birthday, she was sentenced to 25 years to life. Later, of course, I had nightmares, and to this day I fear that someone is pointing a gun at me when Im walking in open places., And recently, my boyfriend wanted me to go to a shooting range with him because its a sport he enjoys, and although I was hesitant, I thought, Well, its been a long time, Ill probably be OK. And I sat there as he shot the silhouette, but he had to stop because I started frantically crying. Brenda Spencer was born on April 3, 1962 in San Diego, California, USA. Today, she is 56 and still behind bars at the California Institution for Women. On January 29, 1979, 16-year-old Brenda Spencer killed two people and wounded nine when she fired on San Diego's Grover Cleveland Elementary School with a .22-caliber rifle from her family's house across the street. No school or kids deserve to be shot up. /T1_3 1 Tf She didnt realise she was shooting at schoolchildren, mistaking them for birds. [(\223H)23 (earing 2009,)80 (\224 p. /T1_4 1 Tf ( )Tj For Christmas in 1978, her father, Wallace Spencer, gave her a semi-automatic .22 caliber rifle.