Patrick Sherrill

Patrick Sherrill
Memorial of the 1986 post office incident in Edmond, Oklahoma.
Background information
Birth name	Patrick Henry Sherrill
Occupation	Postal worker
Born	November 13, 1941 Watonga, Oklahoma, United States
Died	August 20, 1986(1986-08-20) (aged 44) Edmond, Oklahoma, United States
Cause of death	Suicide
Killings
Date	August 20, 1986
Location(s)	Edmond, Oklahoma
Target(s)	Edmond Postal Service employees
Killed	14
Injured	6
Weapon(s)	Two Remington-manufactured M1911 (.45 ACP) Semi-automatic Pistols One Ruger (.22-caliber) Semi-automatic Pistol

Patrick Henry "Crazy Pat" Sherrill (November 13, 1941 – August 20, 1986) was a United States Postal Service employee who shot twenty co-workers in Edmond, Oklahoma, killing fourteen of them, before committing suicide.

Sherrill's attack was the third worst single-gunman mass murder in U.S. history at the time. It is credited with inspiring the American phrase "going postal".

The Attack

Shortly after 7:00 AM on August 20, 1986, Sherrill began his deadly rampage by shooting Richard Esser Jr., one of two supervisors who had disciplined him the previous day. Bill Bland was the other supervisor but had overslept and was an hour late to work, by which time the shootings were already underway. Sherrill's second victim was Paul "Mike" Rockne, grandson of legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne. 80 to 100 workers were in the small facility at the time of the attack; Sherrill sealed off exits and pursued his victims in a massacre that lasted approximately fifteen minutes. Fourteen people died at the scene, and six others were wounded and taken to nearby hospitals.

Possible Motive(s)

Sherrill was, by many accounts, a mediocre postman. During his sixteen months as a part-time letter carrier his supervisors disciplined and suspended him twice: once for seven calendar days; then five months later for fourteen calendar days. On the afternoon of August 19, 1986, two of Sherrill's supervisors again reprimanded him for poor job performance, stating (among other reasons) that Sherrill had made numerous delivery errors and frequently delivered mail late. On the date of the shooting, Sherrill most likely believed he was facing job termination.

Sherrill's victims / 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

Sherrill's victims / wounded

Six USPS employees were wounded that day but survived:

• William Nimmo (injury unknown)
• Gene Bray (shot in back, bullet pierced one kidney and lodged in stomach)
• Michael Bigler (shot in shoulder from behind)
• Steve Vick (injury unknown)
• Judy Walker (shot in chest)
• Joyce Ingram (bullet entered chest and exited armpit, shattering bone in right arm)

External links

• Going postal
• "Crazy Pat's" Revenge, Time Magazine (June 24, 2001)
• The loner: From shy football player to "Crazy Pat", The New York Times (August 22, 1986)
• Aug. 20, 1986: Just an ordinary day, EnidNews.com (August 20, 2006)