Leo Held: The 1967 Clinton County, Pennsylvania Spree Murders
Overview
On October 23, 1967, 40-year-old Leo Held carried out a targeted shooting rampage across Clinton County, Pennsylvania. Beginning at his workplace—the Hammermill Paper Company laboratory in Lock Haven—he murdered supervisors and co-workers, then drove to the William T. Piper Memorial Airport and finally to a neighbor’s home in Loganton. Six people were killed and six more were wounded. Held was shot by police outside his home the same day and died of his injuries on October 25, 1967.
Prelude and Background
Held was a longtime laboratory technician at Hammermill Paper Company, a church volunteer, and a former local school board president. In the year leading up to the attack, those around him observed signs of paranoia and festering resentments toward specific individuals at work and in his neighborhood. On the morning of October 23, he left his Loganton home with a .45-caliber M1911 pistol and a .38-caliber revolver, setting in motion a carefully directed series of shootings.
The Rampage: Timeline and Locations (October 23, 1967)
Hammermill Paper Company, Lock Haven: Entering through the front, Held first shot his boss at the doorway to the mill’s engine room. He proceeded to the second-floor lab, killing multiple co-workers and wounding others, then moved through the office areas, firing with deliberate aim.
William T. Piper Memorial Airport (Lock Haven Airport): He next drove to the airport and shot an acquaintance with whom he had previously carpooled.
Loganton Neighborhood: Returning to Sugar Valley, Held entered a neighbor’s home through the back door, killing the husband as the couple slept and wounding the wife. Shortly after, responding officers confronted Held outside his own home; a shootout ensued, and Held was mortally wounded.
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