John T. Miller: The Watkins Glen Welfare Office Mass Murder — October 15, 1992
Overview
On October 15, 1992, 50-year-old John T. Miller entered the Support Collection Unit of the Schuyler County Department of Social Services in Watkins Glen, New York, and opened fire, murdering four employees before killing himself. The attack targeted the county’s child-support office and shocked the small community.
The Shooter
Miller, an Ohio resident from North Ridgeville, had a long history of arrests for failure to pay child support and harbored deep resentment toward the enforcement system. Contemporary reporting and later summaries describe him as fixated on perceived injustices related to his arrears; one account notes he was facing $6,780 in back payments.
The Attack
Arriving around 10:00 a.m., Miller carried a 9mm semiautomatic pistol into the Support Collection Unit on the second floor. He moved through the office area and shot four women who worked there. When confronted by deputies immediately after the shootings, Miller declared he had “killed everyone he had come to kill,” then turned the gun on himself.
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Account
