Andrew Golden and the 1998 Westside Middle School Massacre
Background
Andrew Douglas Golden was an 11-year-old student at Westside Middle School when he participated in one of the most notorious school shootings of the 1990s. On March 24, 1998, Golden and 13-year-old Mitchell Scott Johnson carried out a planned armed attack at the school in unincorporated Craighead County, Arkansas, just outside Jonesboro. Four students and one teacher were killed, while nine students and another teacher were wounded.
Golden was born on May 25, 1986, in Jonesboro, Arkansas. He came from a family familiar with firearms and hunting. His father and grandfather reportedly taught him how to shoot when he was young, and his grandfather worked as a wildlife conservation officer. Golden had access to his grandfather’s firearms and understood how to operate several types of guns before the massacre occurred.
Golden and Johnson attended the same school and rode the same school bus, although accounts indicated that they were not especially close friends before planning the attack. Johnson was two years older and was reportedly angry over problems involving girls at the school. The precise extent to which Golden shared Johnson’s grievances remains unclear, but the evidence established that Golden knowingly helped obtain the weapons, prepare for the attack and lure students and teachers outside.
Planning the Attack
On the evening of March 23, 1998, Golden helped Johnson gather firearms, ammunition, food, clothing and camping equipment. Numerous weapons were taken from Golden’s grandfather’s residence, including rifles, revolvers and semiautomatic pistols. The boys placed the weapons and approximately 2,000 rounds of ammunition inside a Dodge Caravan belonging to Johnson’s family.
The collection of food, sleeping bags and outdoor supplies indicated that Golden and Johnson expected to flee after the shooting and remain away from authorities for an extended period. Their preparation showed that the massacre was not a sudden or spontaneous act. They had selected weapons, accumulated ammunition, arranged transportation and developed a method of drawing people out of the school building.
There were also warning signs before the attack. Johnson had reportedly made threatening comments and told at least one student not to attend school that day. Those statements were not taken seriously enough to prevent the shooting. Golden’s specific statements before the massacre were less extensively documented, but his actions demonstrated his direct participation in the plan.
The Westside Middle School Shooting
On the morning of Tuesday, March 24, 1998, Golden and Johnson deliberately missed their regular school bus. They traveled to Westside Middle School in the loaded van and arrived after classes had begun. The school was located along Arkansas Highway 91 in Craighead County, near Jonesboro.
Shortly after 12:30 p.m., during the beginning of the fifth class period, Golden entered the school and pulled a fire alarm. Students, teachers and staff members began evacuating the building according to normal emergency procedures. Golden then left the building and joined Johnson in a wooded area overlooking the school grounds.
The boys had positioned firearms in the woods and were dressed in clothing suitable for concealment. As students and teachers emerged from the school, Golden and Johnson opened fire from their concealed position. The victims had been led outside by the alarm and were exposed in the open area between the building and the woods.
The attackers fired a combined total of approximately 22 rounds. Four young girls were killed. Teacher Shannon Wright was fatally wounded while attempting to protect students from the gunfire. Ten other people, consisting of nine students and one teacher, were wounded but survived. One of the injured students was Tristan McGowan, who was Golden’s cousin.
When the shooting ended, Golden and Johnson ran toward the van in an attempt to escape. Police officers responding to the school intercepted and arrested them approximately ten minutes after the attack began. The van contained weapons, ammunition, food and survival equipment, further confirming that the boys had planned to flee the area.
Victims Killed on March 24, 1998
- Natalie Brooks, 11 — A student killed during the shooting outside Westside Middle School near Jonesboro, Arkansas, on March 24, 1998.
- Brittheny Varner, 11 — A student killed after being evacuated from Westside Middle School during the false fire alarm on March 24, 1998.
- Stephanie Johnson, 12 — A student killed in the attack on the school grounds on March 24, 1998. She was not related to Mitchell Johnson.
- Paige Ann Herring, 12 — A student fatally shot outside Westside Middle School near Jonesboro on March 24, 1998.
- Shannon Dawn Wright, 32 — A teacher who was fatally wounded while trying to shield and protect students during the shooting on March 24, 1998.
The Wounded Survivors
Nine students and one teacher suffered gunshot wounds during the massacre. All ten survived, although some experienced serious physical injuries and lasting emotional trauma. The shooting also affected hundreds of students, employees, emergency responders and relatives who witnessed the violence or dealt with its aftermath.
The survivors were attacked while following what they believed was a legitimate fire alarm. The use of the alarm transformed a familiar school safety procedure into a trap, contributing to widespread fear and changes in how schools across the country evaluated emergency evacuations and threats of armed violence.
Juvenile Court Proceedings
Golden and Johnson were taken into custody immediately after the shooting. Because Golden was 11 and Johnson was 13, Arkansas law did not permit prosecutors to try them as adults for murder. Their cases proceeded through the juvenile justice system despite the number of victims and the extensive evidence of planning.
On August 11, 1998, Golden and Johnson were adjudicated delinquent for five counts of capital murder and ten counts connected to the people they wounded. They were committed to the Arkansas juvenile correctional system and ordered held until their twenty-first birthdays, the maximum period allowed under the law at that time.
The sentences generated national controversy. Many members of the public and several victims’ relatives believed that confinement only until age 21 was inadequate for a deliberately planned massacre that killed five people. The case exposed limitations in Arkansas juvenile law and contributed to demands for stronger laws addressing extremely violent crimes committed by children.
Civil Lawsuit and Financial Judgment
The families of those killed and wounded pursued civil claims against Golden and Johnson. A civil judgment totaling approximately $150 million was entered against the two attackers. The judgment represented compensation for wrongful deaths, injuries and other damages, although neither offender possessed the financial resources to satisfy such an enormous award.
The civil proceedings ensured that the massacre remained part of the legal record even after the juvenile cases were sealed. They also allowed victims’ families to establish the attackers’ responsibility through a separate legal process.
Release and Name Change
Golden remained confined longer than Johnson because he was younger at the time of the attack. He was released on May 25, 2007, his twenty-first birthday, after serving approximately nine years in juvenile custody. Under the law governing his case, authorities could not continue holding him solely for the 1998 murders after he reached the age limit.
Following his release, Golden changed his name to Drew Douglas Grant and attempted to live privately. His new identity became publicly known after he applied for an Arkansas concealed-handgun license in 2008. State police connected Grant to Golden through fingerprint records and denied the application. Authorities maintained that he was legally prohibited from possessing a firearm.
The application caused renewed anger among some survivors and victims’ relatives. Golden had participated in an attack involving numerous stolen firearms, yet only a short time after completing his juvenile sentence, he sought official permission to carry a concealed weapon.
Death of Andrew Golden
Andrew Golden, then legally known as Drew Douglas Grant, died on July 27, 2019. He was 33 years old. Golden was driving a Honda CR-V on U.S. Highway 167 near Cave City in Independence County, Arkansas, when it collided head-on with a Chevrolet Tahoe. The other driver, 59-year-old Daniel Petty, was also killed. Three passengers were injured.
Golden’s death produced complicated reactions among those affected by the Westside massacre. Some relatives expressed sympathy for his wife and child while continuing to grieve the students and teacher murdered in 1998. His death ended any possibility that he might provide a fuller public explanation of his motives, his relationship with Johnson or his thoughts about the lives destroyed by the attack.
Legacy of the Massacre
The Westside Middle School shooting occurred approximately 13 months before the Columbine High School massacre and became one of the defining American school shootings of the late 1990s. Golden and Johnson were among the youngest perpetrators of a mass school shooting in United States history.
The massacre demonstrated that even very young offenders could plan and execute a coordinated attack involving stolen weapons, a false emergency alarm and an attempted escape. It intensified national debates concerning firearm access, school security, juvenile sentencing, warning signs and the legal treatment of children accused of mass murder.
Memorials were created near Westside Middle School to honor Natalie Brooks, Brittheny Varner, Stephanie Johnson, Paige Ann Herring and Shannon Wright. Their names remain central to the history of the tragedy. Although Andrew Golden and Mitchell Johnson became widely known because of the attack, the enduring human cost is represented by the five people killed, the ten survivors who were wounded and the community permanently changed on March 24, 1998.
