Participants Database – Display Single Record

Last content update and data verfication was on Friday, April 4, 2025, at 03:19:53 (America/New York — EST — UTC -5) by MEB MediaX Webmaster or authorized designee.

Details

Mass Shooting
Standard Gravure Mass Shooting
Municipality
Louisville
State
Kentucky – KY
Zip Code
40202
Region
South
Division
East South Central
Incident Date
September 14, 1989
Venue Type
Workplace
Killed
8
Injured
12

Ranking Data

Preventable Factors/Rankings
239 1630784739 Parental Failures/Interventions Lacking – Parent(s) Negligent for Inaction Against Dependent Child (Perpetrator) Behavioral Red Flag Law(s) Nonexistent - Behavioral Red Flag Law(s) Nonexistent Behavioral Red Flags Ignored/Response Delayed - Perpetrator(s) Behavior Personally Erratic/Deviated from Individual/Societal Norms Behavioral Red Flags Ignored/Response Delayed - Perpetrator(s) Was in Directed and Overt Incident Preparatory Mode Behavioral Red Flags Ignored/Response Delayed - Perpetrator(s) Expressed Suicidal Ideation and/or Suicide by Police and/or Expressed Violent Intentions Privately and/or Publicly in Person and/or In Any Medium Commercial Establishment Failure - Commercial Establishment Failure Criminal Justice System Failures - Judicial System Failure - Custodial Issues - Questionable Release/Remand of Perpetrator(s) Criminal Justice System Failures - Judicial System Failure - Questionable "Blue Paper" Rejections of Perpetrator(s) Criminal Justice System Failures - Judicial System Failure - Questionable Search Warrant Rejection(s) for Perpetrator(s) Criminal Justice System Failures - Law Enforcement Failure - Delayed Response or Inaction to Perpetrator(s) at Incident Scene Criminal Justice System Failures - Law Enforcement Failure - Delayed/Ignored/or No Follow-up to Telltale Perpetrator(s) Event(s) Preceding Incident Criminal Justice System Failures - Probation/Parole Failure - Failure to Pursue/Report Probation/Parole Violation(s) for Perpetrator(s) Criminal Justice System Failures - Prosecutorial Failure - Failure to Pursue Warranted Criminal Charges Against Perpetrator(s) and/or Failure to Petition the Court for a Red Flag Hearing Gun Laws Inadequate - Inadequate Gun Law(s) Contributed to Perpetrator(s) Execution of the Incident Gun Laws Inadequate - Inadequate Gun Law(s) Exacerbated the Incident Mental Health System Failures/Interventions Lacking - Incident Principals Attested to Mental Health System Failure for Perpetrator(s) Mental Health System Failures/Interventions Lacking - Incident Principals Charged With Mental Health System Failure for Perpetrator(s) Mental Health System Failures/Interventions Lacking - Incident Principals Identified With Metal Health System Failure for Perpetrator(s) School System Failures/Interventions Lacking – School Officials Negligent for Inaction Against Perpetrator(s) Unnecessarily Accessible Perpetrator(s) Weapon(s) - Weapon(s) Was Unnecessarily Accessible to the Perpetrator Venue Lacked Armed Individuals/Personnel - Venue Lacked Armed Individuals (Civilians)/Personnel (Military/Police/Security) Venue Structural Security Lacking - Venue Had Limited Structural Security Venue Structural Security Lacking - Venue Structural Security was Nonexistent Venue Perimeter Security Lacking - Venue Had Limited Perimeter Security Venue Perimeter Security Lacking - Venue Perimeter Security was Nonexistent Vexatious Cascade of Events Beset Perpetrator(s) - Vexatious Cascade of Events Beset Perpetrator(s) Whatever System Failure - Whatever System Failure3
    Blatant Rankings - Points Doubled
    3
    Preventable Rankings Score
    6
    Preventable Status
    Largely Unpreventable

    Preventable Factors

    Preventable Factor Details

    Last content update and data verfication was on Friday, April 4, 2025, at 03:19:53 (America/New York — EST — UTC -5) by MEB MediaX Webmaster or authorized designee.

    Takeaway(s): —It’s difficult to pinpoint, particularly with the passage of time, who knew what and when they knew it. But it’s abundantly clear that this individual was a ticking time bomb, and no one intercepted the obviously burning fuse. Incident Preventable Factor(s): —Whatever System Failure – Whatever System Failure Perpetrator failed to earn a high school GED, had two failed marriages both of which ended in divorce, and the first one included a bitter battle over custody and support for his two sons. “As a consequence he became increasingly reclusive and suicidal, separated from most of his family members and lived an overall lonely life, in whose center his work remained. [Perpetrator] had a long history of psychiatric illness and was treated for it in hospitals at least three times between 1978 and 1987. He was diagnosed as suffering from alternating episodes of deep depression and manic depression, was beset, among others, by confusion, anger, and anxiety, and made several attempts to commit suicide. Hospital records also suggested that [the perpetrator] posed a threat to himself and others. In August 1988, [the perpetrator] stopped working and was finally put on a long-term disability leave in February 1989, though there was also an agreement to re-employ him as soon as he recovered sufficiently. Between August 1988 and May 1989 [the perpetrator] bought several weapons, among them the AK-47 and pistol he later used in the shooting. Shortly before the shooting at Standard Gravure, where he showed up the last time on September 13, [the perpetrator] presumably received a letter from the company, announcing the cancellation of his disability income.” 1 This is deemed blatant and therefore the ranking points have been doubled. Editor’s Note: Pay close attention to these dates. After approximately a decade of serious mental health problems the perpetrator buys several guns. We say the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) be dammed when it comes to buying guns. No individual with approximately a decade of well documented mental health issues ought to be able to purchase a blow gun at a now mostly defunct Kmart, much less an AK-47. The day before the incident, his (sole?) income source is severed by his former employer. With such a troubled individual, why didn’t that action logically lead those in the know to raise a red flag? As indicated “He had a long history of mental illness, and because he began taking Prozac about a month prior to the shooting, family members of the deceased and wounded filed suit against Eli Lily, the manufacturer of Prozac, claiming that Prozac played a role in [the perpetrator’s] actions. The jury decided in favor of Eli Lily.” 2 Source(s): 1. None. Last Edited June 15, 2021. “Standard Gravure Shooting”. Wikipedia. Retereived September 4, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Gravure_shooting. 2. Hailey’s Mom. July 4, 2009. “Joseph Thomas Wesbecker*”. Find a Grave. Retereived September 4, 2021, from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/39067759/joseph-thomas-wesbecker. *Verifying citation needed.

    Fluidity

    Criminal Case Pending?
    No
    Civil Litigation Pending?
    No
    Trending
    ⯀

    Administrative Information

    Credible Source Inquires?
    2
    Are Credible Source Inquires Inline Endnotes?
    Yes
    Assessment Status?
    Pending
    Editorial Board Approval?
    Pending

    Record Information

    Last Updated
    Lexar
    Record ID
    37
    Private ID
    249RRQS
    Date Recorded
    2021-09-04 19:40:51
    Date Updated
    2023-10-25 01:59:34
    Last Accessed
    Type Designation