Deanna McDavid, a 48-year-old female teacher at East Carter High School in Grayson, Kentucky, was fatally shot on January 18, 1993, by a 17-year-old student. The tragic event unfolded in her seventh-period English classroom when the student, Gary Scott Pennington, entered with a. 38-caliber revolver he had concealed in his backpack.
Initially, many of her students believed the incident was a skit arranged for the drama club, which McDavid directed.
The reality of the situation became terrifyingly clear when Pennington fired the weapon. His first shot missed, prompting McDavid to ask what he was doing. After a brief, harsh exchange, he fired a second, fatal shot that struck her in the forehead. The school's head custodian, Marvin Hicks, was also tragically killed by Pennington when he entered the classroom to investigate the noise.
Following the shootings, Pennington held his classmates hostage for approximately 15 minutes before surrendering to the police who had arrived at the scene. He was taken into custody, and it was later revealed that his motive was not personal animosity towards McDavid. Instead, he had expressed a desire to kill two people to become eligible for the death penalty.
A grand jury indicted Pennington on two counts of murder and multiple counts of kidnapping. Due to the extensive media coverage, the trial was moved to Johnson County to ensure an impartial jury. On February 28, 1995, Gary Scott Pennington was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 25 years. He is currently incarcerated at the Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex.
