| “ | I gotta get out of here. | ” |
— Sherrill on his work
| ||
Patrick Henry Sherrill was an American stalker and later mass murderer and workplace shooter who on August 20, 1986, perpetrated the Edmond post office shooting, which left 15 people dead, including himself, and 6 others injured.
It is currently the deadliest workplace massacre perpetrated by a single gunman in U.S. history.
Background[]
Little is known about Sherrill's early life. It is known that he was an disliked man, he was a peeping tom, who would prowl around at night looking through people's windows. Children mocked him, he would chase other children while they yelled "Crazy Pat!". He was fired because he was reported for misdirected letters and outbursts against other employees. He told others the day before the massacre claiming he was being mistreated.
Edmund Post Office Shooting[]
Sherrill went to work with two mailbags that had three Colt 45s slung over his shoulder. He shot two people outside the post office. He then walked inside and shot a few others while they fled from the scene. He then walked around the office looking for more people. He shot people under desks. Sherrill shot people multiple times after they were already dead. He took one of his pistols and shot himself in the forehead. The police tried to speak with him, not knowing he was already dead. They spent 45 minutes trying to communicate. They went inside the post office and saw the carnage. Fourteen had died at the scene and six others were injured.
Aftermath[]
A newspaper about the shooting.
John Merlin Taylor
The shooting coined the term "Going Postal". Sherrill's attack left Oklahoma in shock. The shooting made a mark in American history and helped make more of these type of massacres more frequent.
Many other Post Office shootings happened in a ten year time period. One of these shootings was the case of John Merlin Taylor. John Taylor was a postal worker and was a model employee and was known to be kind. So it came as a shock when he shot and killed his wife before going to his work and killed two other postal employees. He shot himself after the attack and was taken to the hospital but was pronounced brain dead. He died hours later after the massacre.
Possible Motives[]
Sherrill's job title was relief carrier, meaning he was often required to work alternate routes on different days, a position dictated by his rank on the seniority list. His lack of a permanently assigned route meant that he did not rate the same job stability of other USPS workers. Opinions vary concerning his job performance. Some reports portray him as an erratic, irritable worker; others claim he performed well and was being picked on by management. In any case, on the afternoon of August 19, 1986, supervisors Esser and Bland reprimanded Sherrill for his behavior. Anger over this reprimand, coupled with anxiety that he was likely to be fired, could have been possible motives behind the attack the following morning.
Modus Operandi[]
One of the guns Sherrill used.
Sherrill used two M1911 pistols (one made by Colt and the other a Remington Arms model, both .45 caliber) and a .22 Ruger MK II. He evaded detection by putting the guns in mail carrier bags. He then shot two people to get the others attention. Sherrill hunted down employees to shoot. He looked throughout the building and shot multiple people under desks and other furniture He shot people after they were already dead.
Known Victims[]
Memorial to the Edmond Post Office Victims
- Unspecified dates: Numerous unnamed people (all stalked and peeped at only)
- August 20, 1986: The Edmond post office shooting
- Fatalities:
- Patricia Ann Chambers, 41, (part-time clerk)
- Judy Stephens Denney, 41, (part-time clerk)
- Richard C. Esser Jr., 38, (supervisor)
- Patricia A. Gabbard, 47, (clerk)
- Jonna Gragert Hamilton, 30, (clerk)
- Patty Jean Husband, 48, (supervisor)
- Betty Ann Jarred, 34, (clerk)
- William F. Miller, 30, (rural carrier)
- Kenneth W. Morey, 49, (rural carrier)
- Leroy Orrin Phillips, 42, (rural carrier)
- Jerry Ralph Pyle, 51, (rural carrier)
- Paul Michael Rockne, 33, (letter carrier)
- Thomas Wade Shader Jr., 31, (part-time clerk)
- Patti Lou Welch, 27, (clerk)
- Injuries:
- William Nimmo
- Gene Bray (shot in back; bullet pierced one kidney and lodged in his stomach)
- Michael Bigler (shot in the shoulder from behind)
- Steve Vick
- Judy Walker (shot in the chest)
- Joyce Ingram (bullet entered neck and exited arm; shattered bone in right arm)
- Fatalities:
On Criminal Minds[]
- Season Thirteen
- "False Flag" - The Edmond Post Office Shooting was one of several similar incidents that conspiracy theorist Melissa Miller claimed were staged by the U.S. government in order to increase gun control.
Notes[]
- The Edmond post office shooting is currently the 12th deadliest mass shooting committed by a lone gunman in U.S. history
- One could argue that the 2009 Fort Hood shooting (perpetrated by Nidal Malik Hasan, who was shot and apprehended alive) is tied with the post office shooting since an unborn child was also killed along with 13 adult victims.
- The 2015 San Bernardino attack could also be tied with the the post office shooting or even deadlier since it had two perpetrators who both died in the massacre (along with 14 victims).