1998 — March 24, Violence, Westside Middle School Shootings, Jonesboro, Arkansas– 5

—  5  Fox, Roth, and Newman. A Deadly Partnership. 2003, p. 101.

—  5  NewspaperArchive.com.  “1998: The Jonesboro Massacre.” March 24, 2009.

Narrative Information

Fox: “On March 24, 1998, in the third and deadliest in a series of recent school shootings in a Southern community, Mitchell Johnson, 13, and Andrew Golden, 11, both students at Westside Middle School in Northeast Arkansas, opened fire on 96 of their classmates and teachers. As a result, four students and a teacher died and 10 others were wounded.”  (Fox, Roth, Newman 2003, 101)

NewspaperArchive.com: “After stealing three rifles and a handgun from their grandfather’s house, 13-year-old Mitchell Johnson and 11-year-old Andrew Golden activated the fire alarm at their Jonesboro, Arkansas school and shot into a crowd of students that were filing out from the building. Their attack killed four female students and a teacher, and left 11 others wounded.  “The older boy, angry at a former girlfriend, had warned classmates he would come back and wreak revenge, students said. ‘He told us that tomorrow you will find out if you live or die,’ said seventh-grader Melinda Henson, who described herself as a good friend of the boy,” reported The Capital on March 25, 1998.

“NOTE: The boys were both charged with capital murder and sentenced to confinement until they reached 21. On August 11, 2005, Mitchell Johnson was released from custody and Andrew Golden was let go on May 25, 2007. Mitchell Johnson was arrested on January 1, 2007 for possessing marijuana and a loaded 9mm pistol. He was convicted in early 2008 and is awaiting sentencing.”  (NewspaperArchive.com. “1998: The Jonesboro Massacre.” March 24, 2009.)

Sources

Fox, Cybelle, Wendy D. Roth, and Katherine Newman. “A Deadly Partnership: Lethal Violence in an Arkansas Middle School.” Chapter 4 in Deadly Lessons: Understanding Lethal School Violence, Committee on Law and Justice, Board on Children, Youth and Families, National Academies. Washington, DC:  National Academies Press, 2001. Accessed at:  http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10370&page=101

Newspaperarchive.com. “1998: The Jonesboro Massacre.” The Daily Perspective, 3-24-2009. At:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/DailyPerspectiveFullView.aspx?ViewDate=3%2f24%2f2009