Last content update and data verfication was on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, at 06:30:58 (America/New York — EST — UTC -5) by MEB MediaX Webmaster or authorized designee.
Details
- Mass Shooting
- General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) Mass Shooting
- Municipality
- Jacksonville
- State
- Florida – FL
- Zip Code
- 32258
- Region
- South
- Division
- South Atlantic
- Incident Date
- June 18, 1990
- Venue Type
- Workplace
- Killed
- 8
- Injured
- 5
Ranking Data
- Preventable Factors/Rankings
- Blatant Rankings - Points Doubled
- 3
- Preventable Rankings Score
- 12
- Preventable Status
- Debatable/Inconclusive
Preventable Factors
- Preventable Factor Details
Last content update and data verfication was on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, at 06:30:58 (America/New York — EST — UTC -5) by MEB MediaX Webmaster or authorized designee.
Takeaway(s):
—We’ve expounded on it before, but everybody, mostly those in critical positions, like government workers, need to do their goddamn job.
—We’re all beset by hardships, and lots of them are our own making, but sometimes for a person down on one’s luck, with nobody at their back, it’s too much. Still, violence is never the answer.
Incident Preventable Factor(s):
—Unnecessarily Accessible Perpetrator(s) Weapon(s) – Weapon(s) Was Unnecessarily Accessible to the Perpetrator and Whatever System Failure – Whatever System Failure:
On May 8, 1971, the perpetrator and his best friend had an argument that resulted in a scuffle and the perpetrator subsequently shot his best friend three times, who eventually died in a hospital. The perpetrator was initially charged with murder which was apparently later reduced to manslaughter. 1 “Because of a plea-bargain, [the perpetrator] eventually pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was placed on five years’ probation. But in a gesture of leniency, perhaps motivated by [the perpetrator’s] claims of self-defense, the judgment of guilty was withheld by the court subject to the successful completion of probation, the sheriff [Duval County, Florida, Sheriff James E. McMillan] said.” 2 Another source states it this way: “Adjudication was withheld, so when [the perpetrator] successfully completed his five years of probation, his record was cleared.” 3 “Because of this action, under state law he was not considered a felon barred from purchasing a handgun, the sheriff said. Police records indicate that he did purchase two guns – a .357 magnum and the .38-caliber revolver with which he took his own life.” 2 (About two months prior to the shootings, [the perpetrator] purchased a Universal Brand M1 carbine at a local pawnshop [the primary gun used during the incident].” 1 “Under Federal law, he should have been barred from purchasing a weapon because of the 1971 case. [The sheriff] said he could not explain how the police failed to catch this in 1979 and 1986, when the two revolvers were purchased. The sheriff said the judge in the 1971 case, taking note of [the perpetrator’s] past violent behavior, specified in his findings that he should not ever be allowed to own a gun. That fact was unknown to the police until today [June 20, 1990], the sheriff said.” 2 This is deemed blatant and therefore the ranking points have been doubled.
—Vexatious Cascade of Events Beset Perpetrator(s) – Vexatious Cascade of Events Beset Perpetrator(s):
The perpetrator also had a lengthy criminal record, had affiliations with gangs, dropped out of vocational school in his sophomore year, and the only job he ever held was that of a common laborer. Also, according to relatives, he never managed to get over the fact that he had killed his best friend. “After the death of his mother three years prior to the shootings, [the perpetrator] was said to have emotionally changed for the worse, saying that he had nothing left to live for and arguing that he would ‘take someone with him when he leaves this world.'” The perpetrator had a close relationship with his mother. 1 In January 1990 his new vehicle was voluntarily repossessed by General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) [Now Defunct] and he received a bill from them for $6,394. Also in January 1990 he and his wife were separated due to her being concerned for her safety living with him. “[The perpetrator] was living in a rundown duplex in Jacksonville’s Northwest Quadrant at the time, was known by his neighbors as a quiet and nice man who kept a regular and fixed schedule, but also as someone who would become angry fairly quickly and get engaged in enraged conversations, especially in matters concerning money and his car. Relatives described him as a recluse with no friends.” 1
Some or all of this is likely what triggered the perpetrator.
Jack Levin, co-author of “Mass Murder: America’s Growing Menance“, said the shootings probably were triggered by the loss of his wife and car in the same month – January [1990]. The triggering event, he said, “doesn’t
have to be immediately before the massacre and doesn’t even have to be tragic from the casual observers point of view.” 4
Editor’s Note:
We’ve given this incident a pass on Venue Lacked Armed Individuals/Personnel, Venue Structural Security Lacking, and Venue Perimeter Security Lacking, because it was 1990. It wouldn’t be long, but then our mindset just wasn’t where we are today. It should be noted that had we applied those Incident Preventable Factors to this case it would have become Largely Preventable or even Completely Preventable.
Source(s):
1. None. Last Edited August 31, 2021. “James Edward Plough”. Wikipedia. Retereived September 3, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Edward_Pough.
2. Smothers, Ronald. June 20, 1990 “Hazy Records Helped Florida Gunman Buy Arms”. The New York Times. Retereived September 3, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/20/us/hazy-records-helped-florida-gunman-buy-arms.html.
3. None. None. “Where’d They Get Their Guns?”. Violence Policy Center. Retereived September 3, 2021, from https://vpc.org/studies/wgun900618.htm.
4. Word, Ron (Associated Press). June 24, 1990. “Officials puzzled over [the perpetrator]”. The Gainesville Sun. Retereived September 3, 2021, from https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FPMRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PuoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6051,8213818&dq=pough.
Fluidity
- Criminal Case Pending?
- No
- Civil Litigation Pending?
- No
- Trending
- ⯀
Administrative Information
- Credible Source Inquires?
- 4
- Are Credible Source Inquires Inline Endnotes?
- Yes
- Assessment Status?
- Pending
- Editorial Board Approval?
- Pending
Record Information
- Last Updated
- Lexar
- Record ID
- 36
- Private ID
- LLK7T5P
- Date Recorded
- 2021-09-03 13:39:45
- Date Updated
- 2023-10-25 01:47:09
- Last Accessed
- Type Designation