Leo Held

Mass Murderer

Leo Held and the 1967 Clinton County Shooting Rampage

Overview of the Massacre

On the morning of October 23, 1967, Leo Held carried out a carefully directed shooting rampage across Clinton County, Pennsylvania. The violence began inside the Hammermill Paper Company plant in Lock Haven, continued at the nearby Lock Haven Airport, and ended in the small community of Loganton, where Held attacked a neighboring family before exchanging gunfire with police. Six people were killed that day, six others were wounded, and another victim died several years later from complications associated with her injuries. Held was a longtime Hammermill employee, a husband, and the father of four children. He had once been regarded as a dependable member of his community, serving as a school-board member, Boy Scout leader, volunteer firefighter, and churchgoer. Behind that respectable appearance, however, acquaintances later described a man who had become increasingly resentful and suspicious. He reportedly believed that coworkers were talking about him, that his employment was threatened, and that people around him were deliberately humiliating or mistreating him. The attack shocked Lock Haven and the surrounding rural communities because Held did not fire randomly into a crowd. His movements suggested that he had selected particular people connected to workplace disagreements, personal resentments, or perceived insults. He moved quietly through the paper mill, firing at supervisors and coworkers before calmly leaving the building and driving to his next destination.

Leo Held Before the Shootings

Leo Held lived with his wife, Alda, and their four children in Loganton, approximately 17 miles southeast of Lock Haven. He had graduated from Sugar Valley High School in 1946 and later attended Lock Haven State College, where he studied chemistry. He also served in the United States Army as a clerk in Japan. Held worked as a laboratory technician at Hammermill Paper Company for approximately 19 years. He was considered intelligent and technically capable, but he had apparently grown dissatisfied with his position. Several of the people he later attacked had supervisory authority over him or had received promotions while he remained in the laboratory. In the period before the massacre, Held reportedly displayed signs of paranoia and increasing hostility. His physician later said that Held believed people at the plant were talking about him. He had also experienced conflicts with neighbors, including an argument with an elderly woman over a fallen tree limb and a dispute with Floyd Quiggle over smoke from burning leaves.

The Attack at Hammermill Paper Company

On October 23, 1967, Held watched his wife leave for work and his children depart for school. He then armed himself with a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol and a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver. An experienced marksman, Held carried one weapon in a shoulder holster and the other in a pocket before driving his station wagon to the Hammermill Paper Company plant in Lock Haven. Held arrived shortly before 8:00 a.m. He parked carefully, removed both handguns, and entered the plant. His first target was Carmen H. Edwards, a supervisor. Held approached Edwards near an entrance leading toward the mill's engine-room area and shot him from behind. Edwards was struck through the heart and fatally wounded. Held then climbed to the second-floor laboratory where he normally worked. Inside the laboratory, he shot Elmer E. Weaver, Allen R. Barrett Jr., and Richard Davenport. All three men were killed. Two other employees in the laboratory, Richard Carter and James Allen, were wounded. Held continued through the facility without shouting or explaining his actions. Witnesses later emphasized his unnerving calmness. He reportedly maintained an ordinary walking pace and said little or nothing as the attack unfolded. One bullet struck a transformer, temporarily darkening part of the plant and adding to the confusion. As he moved away from the laboratory, Held shot and wounded machine operator David Overdorf. He then entered the main office area and killed superintendent Donald V. Walden. Another manager, Woodrow Stultz, was wounded before Held left the building through the stock-preparation area. The shooting inside the mill lasted approximately ten minutes. Held fired at least 30 rounds, and several victims were struck more than once. Five Hammermill employees were dead, and four others were wounded. Despite the violence behind him, Held reportedly behaved calmly as he returned to the parking lot. Some workers arriving at the plant did not immediately understand what had happened because Held did not appear hurried or visibly agitated. ...

Confirmed Victims: (6)

Allen E. Barrett Jr. 44 yr old Male

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