Rylee

17 years ago, Michael Kenneth McLendon shot and killed 10 people in Geneva, Alabama. It remains as the deadliest mass shooting in Alabama's history.

On March 10, 2009, 28-year-old Michael Kenneth McLendon perpetrated a mass shooting across Geneva County, Alabama, which claimed the lives of 10 victims and injured six others. The violence began around 3:30 PM at the Kinston home McLendon shared with his mother, 52-year-old Lisa White McLendon. He fatally shot her and her three dogs, placed objects on her corpse, and ignited the house. Armed with an SKS rifle, a Bushmaster rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol, McLendon drove 12 miles to Samson where he opened fire on his uncle’s porch, killing 3 relatives; 55-year-old James White, 34-year-old Tracy Wise, 15-year-old Dean James Wise,  and the wife and infant daughter of a Geneva County Sheriff's Deputy; 31-year-old Andrea Myers and her 18-month-old daughter Corrine Gracy Myers. McLendon then walked next door where he shot and killed his 74-year-old grandmother, Virginia White, in the doorway of her mobile home. Continuing through Samson, he began shooting randomly, killing pedestrian 24-year-old James Irvin Starling and gas station clerk 43-year-old Sonja Smith. He continued driving down Highway 52, firing into passing vehicles and businesses, which resulted in the death of 51-year-old Bruce Malloy in his pickup truck. The 30 minute rampage culminated at the Reliable Products metal manufacturing plant in Geneva, his former workplace, where McLendon engaged in a fierce shootout with law enforcement, wounding Samson Police Chief Bryce Lemon. After doing so, McLendon proceeded into the building where he took his own life with the .38-caliber handgun.

McLendon abruptly quit his job at the Kelley Foods sausage factory just days before the shooting, adding to an erratic career history that includes employment at a Wayne Farms poultry plant, a Reliable Products metals plant (as mentioned previously), and a forced 2003 resignation from the Alabama Aviation Center police academy for failing to meet physical standards. He had also attempted to join the Marines, but it was short-lived when he was given a fraudulent enlistment discharge from the U.S. Marine Corps after less than a month in service at Parris Island. McLendon felt immense frustration over his military failure and deeply believed that former supervisors across his various jobs had wronged him by disciplining him for minor, everyday workplace infractions, such as omitting earplugs while at work. This perceived persecution is likely what led him to compile a handwritten hit-list which contained the names of former co-workers and bosses. His personal journals and writings revealed a desire to go out in "grand style," explicitly noting that he and his mother, Lisa, had suffered enough, Escalating tension over a family bible dispute with his aunt and uncle further explains why he may have snapped.

Despite his inability to complete Marine Corps basic training and his forced resignation from a police academy, McLendon remained fixated on military and tactical interests. Following the incident, law enforcement investigators searched his bedroom which was left undamaged by the fire. They discovered a gun safe left open at his residence, as well as a significant collection of military-style gear, including camouflage clothing and tactical backpacks, along with a substantial amount of ammunition. Investigators concluded that the amount of remaining ammunition and the equipment found indicated preparation for a sustained engagement. Evidence showed he had also modified his equipment for efficiency, such as joining magazines together to decrease reloading time. Reports from the scene highlighted the extent of his preparations. Because Alabama possesses a highly conservative legislature on gun ownership, the shooting did not alter the state's gun laws. Local officials, including the mayor of Samson at the time, publicly stated that gun ownership was common in the region. Federal investigators confirmed that McLendon had obtained his entire arsenal completely legally.

On October 30th, 1985, Sylvia Seegrist entered Springfield Mall armed with a .22 LR Ruger semi-automatic rifle, killing 3 customers and injuring 7 others. 

About two hours before initiating her rampage, Sylvia Seegrist entered the Springfield Mall, where she was a frequent visitor whom employees frequently referred to as “Miss Rambo” due to her routinely aggressive demeanor and her habit of wearing military fatigues. Seegrist began her afternoon by purchasing Halloween decorations from a party store followed by a workout session at a fitness club in the mall. After completing these errands, she exited the building and returned to her parked car to prepare for the attack. Inside the vehicle, she changed into the same green military fatigues and retrieved her hunting rifle. Upon exiting the car, she immediately fired at two shoppers at an ATM. She then turned toward the entrance, fatally shooting two-year-old Recife Cosmen, who was waiting outside the mall with his parents. She then returned to the building where she shot and killed 64-year-old Augusto Ferrara and 67-year-old Earl Trout in front of a shoe store, who was hospitalized in a coma before ultimately succumbing to his injuries. Both victims were discovered at the scene by their wives, who had been shopping in other areas of the mall. As she continued, Seegrist approached 24-year-old volunteer firefighter John W. Laufer III with the intent to kill him, but Laufer tackled and disarmed her before she could continue the rampage. When a security guard apprehended her at the scene and questioned her about the crime, she replied, “My parents make me nervous,” Once in custody, she asked detectives how many people she had killed, and if any of her victims were children. She proceeded to express frustration that only two people had been confirmed dead at that time.

Seegrist had a documented history of erratic behavior, as previously noted in the description given by mall employees. Previous violent incidents include stabbing her guidance counselor in the back with a paring knife, attempting to strangle her mother, and throwing a lit cigarette directly into her psychiatrist's face. She heavily abused alcohol and street drugs, which significantly worsened her psychiatric symptoms and frequently caused violent interactions. She was known to blast loud music and shout threats to disturb her neighbors, and she spray painted her apartment walls with violent phrases. She was first hospitalized and diagnosed with schizophrenia and anorexia at age 15, and she was involuntarily committed between 12 and 15 times in the years leading up to the rampage. She was known to harass customers at the mall and publicly praise figures such as James Huberty; she often described spree killings as “good”. An instructor at the fitness club said "she hated everyone and would often talk about shooting and killing people". After enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1984, Seegrist faced severe ostracization during basic training, where she was falsely accused of being a lesbian and became the laughingstock of her platoon. During this time, she developed an obsessive fixation on global conflict and political propaganda, leading her to aggressively study international affairs, teach herself Russian, and express a desire to fight as a guerrilla warrior in Iran. Her erratic behavior resulted in a discharge in early 1985 after only two months of service. Despite her troubled military record and past psychiatric history, she still managed to purchase a hunting rifle at a Best Products catalog showroom after initially being denied a weapon at Kmart.

Prior to the competency hearing, Seegrist was transferred to Norristown State Hospital for evaluation. On March 6th, 1986, she was deemed competent to stand trial and was charged with three counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder. The trial began on June 2nd, during which her erratic courtroom behavior took center stage; she screamed a string of random numbers when asked basic questions, yelled defiance at the judge, burst out giggling when prosecutors read police accounts of her violent past, and periodically swayed from side to side in her chair. On June 27th, she was found guilty but mentally ill, and she was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences and seven consecutive 10-year terms. She was sent to the psychiatric specialty hospital Mayview State Hospital for evaluation and was eventually moved to the State Correctional Institution in Muncy, Pennsylvania. Seegrist served her first 2 1/2 years of imprisonment at Norristown State Hospital, and then was transferred to Muncy State Prison for women. While remaining conservative on gun laws to this day, the attack exposed how Pennsylvania tracked gun buyers diagnosed with “psychiatric illnesses”, which is directly responsible for the creation of the Pennsylvania Instant Check System. Prior to the attack, gun buyers were merely required to fill out a paper application and manually select a box stating whether they had ever been committed to a mental institution, which is exactly what Seegrist did. Retailers had no way of verifying her answer, allowing her to easily walk out with a hunting rifle despite her 12 prior involuntary institutionalizations. Beyond firearm sales, the attack also triggered a thorough re-evaluation of Pennsylvania's involuntary commitment standards, forcing stricter treatment on patients with documented histories of violence.