Vickie Marie Bunnell, a 45-year-old White/Caucasian female, was a respected attorney and part-time district court judge in the small town of Colebrook, New Hampshire. Her life was tragically cut short on August 19, 1997, during a violent rampage perpetrated by a local man named Carl Drega. Drega, who had a long history of disputes with local officials, initiated his attack after being stopped by New Hampshire State Trooper Scott Phillips in a supermarket parking lot.
Drega opened fire, killing Trooper Phillips and then Trooper Leslie Lord, who had arrived as backup.
Following the initial shootings, Drega drove to the building that housed both the Colebrook district court offices and the local newspaper, the "News and Sentinel." Upon seeing Drega approach with a rifle, Vickie Bunnell heroically warned others to flee for safety. As she attempted to escape, Drega shot her in the back, and she died at the scene. The newspaper's editor, Dennis Joos, was also killed when he courageously tried to disarm the gunman.
After murdering Bunnell and Joos, Drega fled the scene, setting his own house on fire before crossing the border into Bloomfield, Vermont. There, he engaged in a shootout with law enforcement officers, wounding several before he was ultimately shot and killed. Because the sole suspect, Carl Drega, was killed on the same day as the murders, there were no arrests made in connection with Vickie Marie Bunnell's death. The community of Colebrook has since established memorials to honor the four victims of this tragic event.
