Alan Winterbourne 1993 Rampage
Background
Alan Douglas Winterbourne was a 33-year-old computer engineer from Ventura, California, who had been unemployed since approximately 1986 and frustrated by repeated failure to find work. He endured a bitter seven-year job search, submitting around 2,000 applications and appeals before finally snapping on December 2, 1993. At 11:15 a.m. that day, he handed a manila envelope to an editor at the Ventura Star-Free Press containing job search documents, appeals, and letters. Thirty minutes later he began his deadly assault.
The Rampage Begins – Oxnard Employment Office
At roughly 11:41 a.m., Winterbourne entered the Employment Development Department office in Oxnard. Armed with a 12-gauge shotgun, he opened fire silently, randomly targeting staff behind the service counter. He killed three people and wounded several others. After the shotgun jammed, he drew a .44 Magnum revolver and continued firing before calmly exiting through a side door.
Chase and Police Officer Killed
Winterbourne fled in a vehicle, leading responding officers on a pursuit through lemon groves and farmland. Traffic congestion forced him to stop. Sgt. James Edward O’Brien, age 35, took cover behind his unmarked cruiser. Winterbourne exited his car with a rifle and shot O’Brien in the head, killing him instantly. The suspect then resumed his flight toward Ventura.
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