Last content update and data verfication was on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, at 07:26:08 (America/New York — EST — UTC -5) by MEB MediaX Webmaster or authorized designee.
Details
- Mass Shooting
- San Ysidro McDonald's Restaurant
- Municipality
- San Diego
- State
- California – CA
- Zip Code
- 92173
- Region
- West
- Division
- Pacific
- Incident Date
- July 18, 1984
- Venue Type
- Restaurant
- Killed
- 24
- Injured
- 19
Ranking Data
- Preventable Factors/Rankings
- Blatant Rankings - Points Doubled
- 6
- Preventable Rankings Score
- 20
- Preventable Status
- Largely Preventable
Preventable Factors
- Preventable Factor Details
Last content update and data verfication was on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, at 07:26:08 (America/New York — EST — UTC -5) by MEB MediaX Webmaster or authorized designee.
Takeaway(s):
—When individuals display bad, or even questionable behavior the “mind our own business” or “I don’t want to make things worse” or “I’m afraid of him” or whatever seems to kick in and we don’t do and/or say anything. Perhaps during generations long gone and past that made sense and it worked, but today it’s working against us. They’re a lot of sick individuals in society today, and if we ignore them we do so at our own peril.
—When somebody says they’re going to do something horrible, from committing suicide to becoming homicidal, we err on the side of caution. and believe them, and act accordingly immediately.
—Law enforcement officers must relentlessly, if not ruthlessly, pursue perpetrators(s) immediately without exception.
Incident Preventable Factor(s):
—Behavioral Red Flags Ignored/Response Delayed – Perpetrator Behavior Personally Erratic/Deviated from Individual/Societal Norms:
Perpetrator had a history of domestic violence, frequently slapping or punching his daughters, holding knives to their throats, or beating his wife. To his neighbors and co-workers, perpetrator was perceived as a sullen, ill-tempered, and somewhat paranoid individual, obsessed with firearms and who harbored a mental tally of every setback, insult, or general source of frustration—real or perceived—against himself or his family. According to his wife, shortly after her husband became unemployed, he began hearing voices. In early 1983, he placed a loaded pistol against his temple, threatening to commit suicide. His wife successfully dissuaded her husband from shooting himself, although he later remarked to her: “You should have let me shoot myself.” 1
—Behavioral Red Flags Ignored/Response Delayed – Perpetrator Expressed Suicidal Ideation and/or Suicide by Police and/or Expressed Violent Intentions Privately and/or Publicly in Person and/or In Any Medium:
Midafternoon on July 18, 1984 (the day of the mass shooting), “[The perpetrator’s wife] asked him [the perpetrator] where he was going, to which he replied he was ‘going hunting…hunting for humans.’” 2
Editor’s Note:
There are multiple versions of that statement online, and in at least one case the same source uses three different versions. Nowhere does it indicate that she did what she should have done and was told to do with that information. In fact, an online Murderpedia entry states that “Earlier that day he had commented to his wife ‘Society had its chance,’” and “When questioned by police, Etna gave no explanation as to why she failed to report this bizarre behavior. A witness, who spotted Huberty as he left his apartment and proceeded down San Ysidro Boulevard with two firearms, phoned police, but the dispatcher gave the reporting [sic] officers the wrong address.” 3 We laud the neighbor and berate the wife. Long before “If You See Something, Say Something®” that neighbor acted and acted correctly. As for the wife, we talk a lot today about red flags. She didn’t need the ability to decipher such things. He told her explicitly what he was going to do, and given the events leading up to his statement, she surely should have thought he might just do it. And according to a UPI article she did think so. The article states that “The next day [the day the incident happened], ‘a woman who said she was [the perpetrator’s] wife called the National City Health Center [No Link Found] and said her husband had guns and was going to kill someone. She was told to call police. She did not call police,’ Kolender said.” Kolender is Police Chief Bill Kolender, San Diego Police Department. 4
Editor’s Note:
Even though it was 1984, when our mindsets were different, she was told explicitly by her husband what he was going to do. Likewise, she was told explicitly by the National City Health Center what she needed to do but didn’t. There’s no excuse for her negligence. Her chance for intervention, that in all likelihood would have been successful, given other factors that were indicative of the perpetrator’s accepting mindset, is deemed blatant and therefore the ranking points have been doubled.
—Criminal Justice System Failures – Law Enforcement Failure – Delayed Response or Inaction to Perpetrator(s) at Incident Scene:
This mass shooting is in stark contrast to how they unfold today. The police failed to stop the incident for 77 harrowing minutes, which according to numerous people resulted in many deaths and allowed the dying to die. “Some say that so much time went by, a few victims bled to death although they could have been saved.” 5
Editor’s Note:
While we understand this was a different era with a different law enforcement mindset, it seems that 77 minutes is extreme. “‘This is an extremely difficult tragedy to analyze,’ Minn wrote in a statement he said would appear at the end of the movie. In it, he says he understands the explanations provided by San Diego [California] police but concludes that it’s difficult to comprehend how one gunman managed to ‘control’ 175 police officers.” We agree. Minn is New York filmmaker Charlie Minn who produced a documentary about the incident titled 77 Minutes which premiered September 22, 2016. 6
Refer to the recently released book Soft Targets and Crowded Places (ST-CP) in the section Case Study – San Ysidro McDonald’s Mass Shooting – San Ysidro, San Diego, California – July 18, 1984 – Police Engagement for Active Shooters.
—Mental Health System Failures/Interventions Lacking – Incident Principals Attested to Mental Health System Failure for Perpetrator(s):
On July 15, 1984, the perpetrator commented to his wife that he suspected he had a mental problem. Two days later, on the morning of July 17, he called a San Diego mental health clinic, requesting an appointment. Leaving his contact details with the receptionist, the perpetrator was assured the clinic would return his call within hours. According to his wife, he sat quietly beside the telephone for several hours, awaiting the return call, before abruptly walking out of the family home and riding to an unknown destination on his motorcycle. Unbeknownst to the perpetrator, the receptionist had misspelled his name as “Shouberty”. The perpetrator’s comment “Society had its chance,” at least in part, likely referred to his attempt to get help from a mental health clinic. 7
Editor’s Note:
Considering the perpetrator freely admitted he had a mental problem and personally sought help, even to the extent of sitting by the telephone for several hours, it’s highly likely that had the mental health clinic done it’s job the mass shooting would have been prevented. This failure is deemed blatant and therefore the ranking points have been doubled. 8
—Vexatious Cascade of Events Beset Perpetrator – Worrisome Cascade of Events Beset Perpetrator:
As Illustrated.
Source(s):
1. None. Last Edited May 8, 2021.”San Ysidro McDonald Massacre”. Wikipedia. Retereived May 26, 2021 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Ysidro_McDonald_massacre.
2. None. Last Edited May 8, 2021.”San Ysidro McDonald Massacre”. Wikipedia. Retereived May 26, 2021 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Ysidro_McDonald_massacre.
3. None. None. James Oliver Huberty. Murderpedia. Retereived May 26, 2021, from https://murderpedia.org/male.H/h/huberty-james.htm.
4. Houseman, Martin P. August 2, 1984. “Mass Murderer James Huberty Tried to Get Help From …”. UPI. Retereived May 26, 2021, from https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/08/02/Mass-murderer-James-Huberty-tried-to-get-help-from/8825460267200/.
5. Zaragoza, Barbara. September 27, 2016. “77 Minutes Focuses on the Victims of the San Ysidro McDonalds Massacre”. San Diego Free Press. Retereived May 26, 2021, from https://sandiegofreepress.org/2016/09/san-ysidro-mcdonalds-massacre/#.YK6FqahKiUk.
6. Littlefield, Dana. September 21, 2016. “New documentary explores 1984 McDonald’s massacre in San Ysidro”. The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved June 9, 2021, from https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sd-me-mcdonalds-documentary-20160920-story.html.
7. None. Last Edited May 8, 2021.”San Ysidro McDonald Massacre”. Wikipedia. Retereived May 26, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Ysidro_McDonald_massacre.
8. None. Last Edited May 8, 2021.”San Ysidro McDonald Massacre”. Wikipedia. Retereived May 26, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Ysidro_McDonald_massacre.
Fluidity
- Criminal Case Pending?
- Civil Litigation Pending?
- Trending
- ⯀
Administrative Information
- Credible Source Inquires?
- 8
- Are Credible Source Inquires Inline Endnotes?
- Assessment Status?
- Complete
- Editorial Board Approval?
Record Information
- Last Updated
- Lexar
- Record ID
- 9
- Private ID
- 6FBYCR8
- Date Recorded
- 2021-05-24 21:45:25
- Date Updated
- 2023-10-25 02:14:52
- Last Accessed
- Type Designation