On a summer day, June 20, 1994, the life of 39-year-old Anita Louise Knight Lindner, a White female, was tragically cut short in a violent rampage at Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington. A mother of three and a dedicated Camp Fire leader, she had driven to the base from her home in Cheney to refill a prescription. Little did she know she would cross paths with a disgruntled ex-airman intent on revenge.
That afternoon, 20-year-old Dean Mellberg, who had been discharged from the Air
Force, returned to the base armed with a MAK-90 assault rifle. He first targeted and killed two mental health clinicians in the hospital annex who he believed were responsible for his discharge. From there, his deadly path continued through the main hospital and into the cafeteria, where he fired indiscriminately, injuring several people and killing an 8-year-old girl.
As chaos erupted, Anita was in the hospital parking lot, attempting to flee the terrifying scene. Mellberg, having exited the cafeteria, spotted her and opened fire. She was struck by five bullets, the only victim to be hit more than once. Witnesses reported seeing the gunman stand over her and fire three more rounds as she lay wounded behind a vehicle.
The rampage, which lasted less than ten minutes, ended when a 25-year-old Air Force Security Police officer, Senior Airman Andrew P. Brown, confronted Mellberg and fatally shot him. An investigation by the Spokane County District Attorney's office later determined that the officer's use of force was lawful and necessary to stop the deadly assault. Dean Mellberg was identified as the sole suspect, and his death at the scene concluded the immediate search for those responsible for the day's horrific events.
