July 18, 1984 Twenty-one people are shot to death at McDonald's
On this day twenty-two years ago, former welder James Oliver Huberty opens fire in a crowded McDonald's restaurant in San Ysidro, California, killing 21 people and wounding 15 others with several weapons. Minutes earlier, Huberty had left home, telling his wife, "I'm going hunting . . . hunting for humans." The crime would become known as the "McMurders."
Huberty
Huberty, who had a history of mental problems, lost his welding job in Canton, Ohio the previous year. He brought his family to San Diego and worked as a security guard until he was fired again, a month before the shootings. His wife claimed that the day before, Huberty called a mental health clinic to make an appointment for counseling but was never called back. She said he muttered, "Society had their chance."
Neighbors described him as very angry. His bumper sticker read: "I'm not deaf, I'm ignoring you."
US-Mex border at San Ysidro looking south into Mexico
On the day of his meltdown, Huberty walked into a San Ysidro, CA McDonald's two miles from the Mexican border and demanded that the 45 patrons get on the floor. He then walked around the restaurant, calmly shooting people.
Scene of the crime. Its torn down now.
Huberty used a nine-millimeter Uzi automatic (the primary weapon fired in the massacre), a Winchester pump-action twelve-gauge shotgun, and a nine-millimeter Browning "Hi-Power" semi-automatic pistol in the restaurant, killing 21 people and wounding 19 others.
Huberty's victims were predominantly Mexican and Mexican-American and ranged in age from eight months to 74 years. The massacre began at 4 p.m. and lasted for 77 minutes. By the time it was over, Huberty had fired 257 rounds.
He killed 20 in the first ten minutes, including four who tried to escape. There were so many shots fired that the police first assumed that there was more than one gunman inside. Firing at a fire truck that responded to the scene, Huberty also grazed one firefighter with a bullet.
An hour after the shooting began, an employee managed to escape through the basement and inform the SWAT team that Huberty was alone and without hostages. With this information, sharpshooters were told to "take him out."
The fifth shot by SWAT marksmen tore through Huberty's chest and killed him. After making sure that he was dead, police finally entered the restaurant. San Diego Police Chief William Kolender said, "I hope to God I never see such a thing again.
A job app filled-out and signed by Huberty with a big notation by the HR department. I found this thing for sale on a crime memorabilia website.
On 26 September 1984, McDonald's tore down the restaurant where the massacre occurred and gave the property to the city, which opened San Ysidro Southwestern Community College there. In front of the school is a memorial to the massacre victims, consisting of 21 hexagonal granite pillars ranging in height from one to six feet.
In 1986 Etna Huberty, his widow, unsuccessfully sued McDonald's and Babcock and Wilcox, James Huberty's longtime former employer, in an Ohio state court for $7.88 million, claiming that the massacre was triggered by the combined mixture of McDonald's food which Huberty very often ate and work around poisonous metals.
She alleged that monosodium glutamate in the food, combined with the high levels of lead and cadmium in Huberty's body, induced delusions and uncontrollable rage. An autopsy did reveal high levels of the metals, most likely built up from fumes inhaled during 14 years of welding. Autopsy results also revealed there were no drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of the killings.
As mentioned earlier, on the day before the massacre, Huberty had called a mental health center hot line. The receptionist misspelled his name on intake. Since he had not claimed there was an immediate emergency, his call was not returned.
Originally Posted by Okla-homey
