Dean Mellberg

Mass Murderer

Dean Mellberg and the 1994 Fairchild Air Force Base Hospital Shooting

Background

Dean Allen Mellberg was a 20-year-old former United States Air Force airman who carried out a deadly mass shooting at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane, Washington, on June 20, 1994. Armed with a semiautomatic rifle, Mellberg entered the base hospital and opened fire on medical personnel, patients, and visitors. Four people were killed, an unborn child died after the mother was wounded, and approximately 22 other people suffered gunshot wounds or related injuries. The attack was closely connected to Mellberg's troubled military career. During his brief time in the Air Force, supervisors and medical personnel repeatedly documented behavioral and psychological concerns. He had difficulty adjusting to military life, reportedly displayed inappropriate behavior, and became the subject of several mental-health evaluations. Medical professionals at Fairchild Air Force Base concluded that he was unsuitable for continued military service.

Military Service and Psychological Evaluations

Mellberg entered the Air Force in 1992 and completed basic military training despite concerns about his behavior. He was eventually assigned to Fairchild Air Force Base, where Major Thomas Brigham and Captain Alan London evaluated him through the hospital's mental-health clinic. Both officers became involved in efforts to determine whether Mellberg was psychologically capable of remaining in the military. After being found unsuitable for duty at Fairchild, Mellberg was sent to Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas for additional evaluation. He was subsequently permitted to remain in the Air Force and was reassigned to Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico. His behavioral problems continued, however, and military authorities again referred him for evaluation. Mellberg was eventually diagnosed with several psychological and developmental conditions, including paranoid personality characteristics, anxiety, and a developmental disorder. Military officials determined that he could not function effectively in the Air Force. He received an administrative discharge from Cannon Air Force Base on May 20, 1994, exactly one month before the shooting.

Return to Washington

Following his discharge, Mellberg traveled to the Spokane area. Investigators later determined that he acquired a Chinese-manufactured MAK-90 semiautomatic rifle, a weapon patterned after the AK-47. He also obtained a large-capacity drum magazine and ammunition. The evidence indicated that Mellberg specifically selected Fairchild Air Force Base and its hospital as his targets. Major Brigham and Captain London had played significant roles in the mental-health evaluations that contributed to his removal from military service. Mellberg apparently blamed them, and possibly the Air Force more broadly, for the loss of the military identity and career he wanted to retain. ...

Confirmed Victims: (4)

Thomas Brigham 31 yr old Male

Gunman shoots and kills four people and wounds 22 at ...