On a cold December night in 1992, the quiet campus of Bard College at Simon's Rock in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, was shattered by an eruption of violence. In an event that would leave a lasting scar on the small college town, a student named Thomas McElderry, a 19-year-old white male, became one of the victims of a shooting spree. He was shot once, the bullet fracturing his right femur.
The evening of December 14th took a dark turn when 18-year-old student Wayne Lo began a
calculated and armed assault on the campus community. Earlier in the day, Lo had traveled to Pittsfield, where he purchased an SKS semi-automatic rifle. That night, he unleashed a barrage of gunfire, forever altering the lives of many. The attack claimed the lives of 18-year-old student Galen Gibson and 37-year-old Spanish professor Ñacuñán Sáez.
In the midst of the chaos and terror, several others were wounded. Besides McElderry, a security guard and two other students, Joshua A. Faber and Matthew Lee David, also sustained injuries. The campus was thrown into a state of panic and fear as Lo moved through different locations, firing his weapon.
The rampage came to an end when Lo's rifle jammed. He then walked to the student union and called the police to surrender. He was taken into custody without further incident. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Wayne Lo was tried and convicted for his actions. He is currently serving two life sentences for the lives he took on that devastating night.
