| “ | I am God. Now, who's brave enough to look God in the eye? | ” |
— Slade during the massacre
| ||
Randal "Randy" Slade was a narcissistic psychopathic school shooter, school bomber, and mass murderer who perpetrated the North Valley High School massacre on October 12, 2001. He appeared through flashbacks in the Season Seven episode of Criminal Minds, "Painless".
Background[]
Slade was a student at North Valley High School, a Boise high school. Though he was an excellent student and varsity wrestler who had many girlfriends and played a lot with his younger brother Brandon, underneath it all, he was a high-functioning, narcissistic psychopath. He spent some time planning his massacre and even made a list of people he specifically targeted together with an outcast named Lewis Ramsey, who provided him with the SEMTEX from his father's construction company; Slade used it to make a bomb. He secretly plotted to kill Ramsey in the massacre as well in order to take full credit for it, by writing at the bottom of the computer-written list the sentence "All the LoSeRs in this godforsaken school". It was a secret way of naming his own partner on the list of intended victims by capitalizing his initials in "losers". He confided in Brandon, convincing him to hide the list for him and keep it a secret from everyone else.
On October 12, 2001, at approximately 12:50 p.m., Slade carried out his massacre after posting his plan online and talking to his mother on his cell phone. He first shot and killed two students with a 9mm handgun, then forced a friend named Jerry Holtz to lock the cafeteria doors to preventing anyone from escaping. Once Holtz did so, Slade walked around the cafeteria, daring hostages to look him in the eye and shooting those who couldn't, killing another two this way. One of the people he dared was a loner named Robert Adams, who managed to look him in the eye and was spared from being shot (due to him being "not even worth a bullet"). Adams was the only hostage who complied with Slade and looked at him in the eye. He pulled out a bomb he carried in his backpack, loudly declared "I am God!", and detonated it, killing himself and another ten students. All the while, Ramsey, who wasn't aware of the entire thing, had been smoking pot in the parking lot, ultimately escaping Slade.
In the aftermath of the massacre, Rossi and Hotch became involved in the investigation. Slade's immediate family essentially became nationwide pariahs after what he did. Slade's father Harry apparently couldn't stand the negative attention and left the family five years later. However, Slade's mother Martha and brother Brandon didn't move away from the area, presumably because they would be recognized anywhere due to the media coverage on them. Brandon even came to attend North Valley High and did well, but it can be suggested that he was somewhat unpopular due to his brother's actions. During the investigation, authorities noted the fact that Slade used SEMTEX, an explosive used at construction sites held behind locked doors. This led the BAU to consider the possibility that Slade had a partner, though they never found him. People have also questioned why Slade detonated his bomb early after firing only four shots, when he clearly still had ammunition left; the reason behind this early suicide attack still remains unanswered.
Painless[]
Finally, the BAU manage to find Ramsey after ten years, near the anniversary of the massacre. After the case's conclusion, a memorial for the victims of Slade's massacre is held in front of North Valley High. When everyone starts lighting candles and saying the names of the people they want to remember, Brandon says his brother's name.
Profile[]
"I...am...GOD!"
Slade was a high-functioning yet impulsive, narcissistic psychopath, unlike the majority of school shooters. He was popular and highly intelligent. For this reason, he neglected to name his partner in his plans, taking the credit for himself. He was also possibly delusional, because at the beginning of the shooting and when he detonated his bomb, he ranted and screamed, "I am God!" He also taunted students, asking if they were "brave enough" to look him in the eye. He shot students who didn't look him in the eye and spared one who did. His pathology was about the big kill, murdering as many people as he could, despite the fact that Slade only shot four students even though he had plenty more ammunition to shoot and kill many additional victims. Slade relished the power of choosing who lived and died, hence his feeling of being God. He shot Natalie Gallo to get everyone's attention, then shot the next student in order to establish dominance.
Modus Operandi[]
Slade arrived at the North Valley High School cafeteria armed with a 9mm Beretta 92FS and a SEMTEX bomb hidden in his backpack. After shooting two students to catch the attention of everyone else in the cafeteria and then to assert his dominance, he would dare students to look him in the eye, declaring himself to be God, and then shot two of them execution-style after when they wouldn't do so. Then, he detonated his SEMTEX bomb using his cellphone. Reid mentioned that Slade used nails for bomb shrapnel as a sadistic touch.
Real-Life Comparisons[]
Slade is similar to Andrew Kehoe, the perpetrator of the 1927 Bath School massacre - Both were school bombers who were known for their intelligence, attacked the school they were involved with (Kehoe was the school's treasurer while Slade was a student), used both explosives and a firearm (though the latter was only used in Kehoe's suicide), their massacres left over a dozen people dead and several more dozen injured, committed suicide with their bombs, and their massacres had media-given nicknames and spread lots of infamy that lasted for years afterwards.
He is also similar to Kipland Kinkel - Both were schools shooters and (attempted in Kinkel's case) bombers on their schools' sports teams, gathered bomb-making materials with friends, targeted the high schools they attended, had exchanges with their families before their attacks, attacked all their victims in the school cafeteria (almost all of them in Kinkel's case), injured dozens, and utilized both firearms and explosives in the assault.
Both Slade and Ramsey appear to have been mostly based on Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, perpetrators of the April 20, 1999, Columbine High School massacre - All were school shooters, bombers, and mass murderers (only Ramsey wasn't a killer) who attacked the high school they attended, used both firearms and explosives, attacked the cafeteria, and took ten lives in the process in the last and deadliest part of their massacres, which also left dozens injured. In addition, both Slade and Harris were diagnosed as psychopaths and were narcissistic and referred to themselves as "gods", taunted their victims in some way, had brothers, and inspired copycats who attempted to replicate their massacres.
He also may have been based on Pekka-Eric Auvinen - Both were school shooters and mass murderers who targeted the high school they attended, shot their victims with a pistol and had one other weapon (a SEMTEX bomb in Slade's case, while Auvinen attempted to set a fire), had some sort of superiority complex as a motive (Slade believed himself "God", while Auvinen believed in "natural selection"), posted their plans online, spared at least one victim, left messages for their families, and committed suicide after their massacre.
Known Victims[]
All of the following were victims in the October 12, 2001, North Valley High School massacre.
Fatalities
- The execution-style shooting victims:
- Natalie Gallo (shot in the back of the neck)
- An unnamed victim (shot in the chest)
- Brad Smith
- Allison Humwald
- The SEMTEX bomb victims:
- Jay O'Brien
- Steve Tossell
- Tucker Cranwell
- Janine Bergen
- Susie Raab
- Rosemary Fairburn
- Four unnamed other victims
- Note: It was stated that Randy shot three students, but a flashback sequence depicts him opening fire on four. However, it is possible that one of the victims that was shot survived, or that the student who was shot was later killed by the bomb blast.
Injuries
- The SEMTEX bomb victims:
- Robert Adams (previously threatened to shoot)
- Jerry Holtz (possibly)
- Five unnamed victims (all knocked unconscious from the blast)
- Dozens of unnamed other victims
Other
All of the following were named on Slade's list, though were not specified to be deceased or injured from the massacre.
- Lewis Ramsey (his partner)
- Principal Doug Givens
- Carl Belhaven (deceased)
- Chelsea Grant
- Peggy Vargas
- Carl Adelson
- Chris Whitberg
- James Braiser[1]
- Miles Gilliam
- William Coldridge
- Eli Maltin (deceased)
- Miles Hallman
- Donald Jackson
- James Braiser[2]
- Tiffany Gleason
- Khiara Freels
- Steve Bronson
- Steven Zelaski (deceased)
- Caleb Brown
- Leonard Wallach
- Charles McQueen
- Scott Kennerman
- Adam Albring
Appearances[]
- Season Seven
- "Painless" (via flashbacks)