Eric Houston and the 1992 Lindhurst High School Shooting
Background
Eric Christopher Houston was a 20-year-old former student of Lindhurst High School when he carried out a deadly shooting and hostage siege on May 1, 1992. The attack occurred at the school's campus on Olive Avenue in Olivehurst, an unincorporated community in Yuba County, California. Houston had attended Lindhurst but failed to earn enough credits to graduate with his class.
Houston later blamed some of his personal and employment difficulties on his failure to graduate. He was particularly resentful toward Robert Brens, a civics and economics teacher whose class Houston had failed. Houston believed that this academic failure had prevented him from receiving a diploma and contributed to his inability to obtain stable, well-paying employment. Prosecutors maintained that Houston's anger toward Brens and the school developed into a plan for violence.
Arrival at Lindhurst High School
At approximately 2:40 p.m. on Friday, May 1, 1992, Houston arrived at Lindhurst High School armed with a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun and a sawed-off .22-caliber semiautomatic rifle. He carried ammunition for both weapons and entered the school while classes were still in session.
Houston went directly toward the classroom of Robert Brens, who had taught him during his senior year. Students and staff initially had little warning that an armed former student had entered the building. The attack began suddenly inside Brens' classroom and quickly spread into the adjoining hallway.
The Classroom Shooting
Houston entered Robert Brens' classroom and confronted the teacher. He shot Brens at close range, killing him. Seventeen-year-old student Judy Davis was also shot and killed inside the classroom. Other students attempted to hide, escape or protect themselves as Houston continued firing.
Houston then moved into the hallway. There he encountered student Jason Edward White and fatally shot him in the chest. As panic spread through the building, students ran through classrooms and corridors in an effort to escape the gunfire.
Houston later aimed his weapon toward student Angela Welch. Sixteen-year-old Beamon Aton Hill pushed Welch out of the line of fire. Hill was struck and killed. His actions were widely remembered as an attempt to save another student's life during the attack.
In addition to the four people killed, Houston wounded nine students and one teacher. Some victims were struck by shotgun pellets, while others suffered injuries during the confusion and attempts to escape. Emergency personnel were initially unable to reach everyone inside because Houston remained armed and began taking hostages.
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