School Violence 1981-1982

Violence in Our Schools

August 1, 1981 through July 31, 1982

School Violence Around the World Date Stats It's Not Always About the Gun School Violence Links Guest Book Email Me

To report a threat of school violence before the instigator has a chance to act on his/her intentions, please contact Speak Up at 1-866-SPEAKUP (that is 1-866-773-2587)

I would like to thank all of the Survivors and others who have contacted me with information about school violence. I really do appreciate the help, for without their help, several of these occurrences would not be here.

One other thing I would like to ask of those who read over this list of tragedies is this: If you can provide me with any more details of any of these incidents, I would greatly appreciate the information. Or, if you know of another violent act at a school that is not on this list, please forward that information to me as well. The link to my e-mail is above.

Valley High School, Las Vegas, Nevada

Friday, March 19, 1982

For twelve years, Patrick Lizotte was bullied, taunted, teased, picked on and physically and verbally tormented by his classmates, and even worse, some of his teachers. School was not the safe haven it was supposed to be for Patrick. An English teacher at Valley High cautioned her students that if they continue "to ride" Patrick he eventually was not going to take it any more and then he would do something that was going to make everyone sorry. In the early 1980's, teachers never received any training in conflict prevention, conflict management or conflict resolution like they do today. One of Patrick's upcoming assignments was a public speaking assignment in his second period government class taught by Gary Caudill. The assignment would count as 1/3 of each student's grade and need to be at least 30 minutes long. Very few of Mr. Caudill's students looked forward to their turn, which was at Mr. Caudill's discretion as he gave each student a one day notice. On Thursday, when Mr. Caudill told Patrick that he would be giving his presentation on Friday, Patrick was heard to have said under his breath, "We'll see about that." Patrick tried to talk Mr. Caudill to cancel the assignment, but Mr. Caudill stayed true to his lesson plan. This morning 17-year-old Patrick Lizotte had finally had enough. He walked into his psychology class room (room 241) and set his books on a table near the door. Two females were sitting at the table, which was Patrick's assigned seat, and LaTonya Hampton asked him if he wanted them to move. "No, I won't be needing it today," he replied. LaTonya and Melanie Bruce resumed their conversation while Patrick pulled out a .22-caliber Sturm/Ruger single six, long-barrel revolver from his green army jacket. He called his teacher's name, Mr. Clarence Piggot, to get his attention as he was at the lectern talking with another student. Mr. Piggot was a much loved teacher by all of the students at Valley High School. His classroom was always full of students before and after classes who tremendously enjoyed his ability to teach. Mr. Piggot, 55, turned to face Patrick. "No. No. Come on Pat, don't do it," Mr. Piggot said with a half smile and stretching out his palm to stop the young instigator. Patrick fired one shot into Mr. Piggot, who staggered two steps backward, slumped against the blackboard and collapsed to the floor. Patrick also wounded two other 17-year-old students (one being Jose Garcia) during his brief rampage. Patrick holstered his gun and left the room and continued on out of the building, where he brushed by fellow student Robin Brennan. "Well, that takes care of that," she heard him say. The school went into lockdown as police and paramedics arrived. Students who were in at least one classroom could see the paramedics put Mr. Piggot's body into the ambulance and drive off without the lights or sirens on. Patrick was arrested nearby and tried the following year for murdering Clarence Piggot. The next day, things were back to normal with no counselors made available for the students or teachers.

Source: A Survivor of Valley High School; a visitor to this web site; Teaching With an Ethic of Care - a paper written by a professor at Viterbo University

Garland County Community College, Hot Springs, Arkansas

Monday, April 5, 1982

Donald Schamp joined the Army in 1965 and became a helicopter pilot. He was shot down five times behind enemy lines in the Vietnam War. After he left the service, he enrolled at Garland County Community College to obtain a business administration major. William "Buddy" Putman dedicated his work day, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., to teaching business students. It was a job he truly loved. This morning around 11:15 these two men had their dreams shattered when 25-year-old Kelvin Love, a fulltime student at GCCC pulled out a .357 Magnum handgun and shot Donald in the head. He then shot Buddy in the head as well. Donald died in the computer programming classroom ten minutes after being shot. Kelvin then grabbed 19-year-old co-ed Carrie Loy and held her hostage as he made his way out of the school. He had one arm around the front of her shoulders and his other hand held the gun to her ribs. They went out to her 1976 silver Mercury Cougar and he drove them west on Highway 270, heading toward Mena. Paramedics arrived at GCCC and took Buddy to Ouachita Memorial Hospital where he died at 1:15 p.m. Sheriff deputies and state troopers began chasing Kelvin and Carrie, reaching speeds of 80 miles per hour. Authorities setup a road block at the intersection of Highways 71 and 88, near the town of Hatfield, about 20 miles south of Mena. Kelvin drove through the escape path of the road and struck one of the police cars. This collision shredded the Cougar's front tire on the passenger side. Police then opened fire on the car's radiator and brought the car to a smoking halt. Polk County Sheriff Al Hadaway used a speaker to negotiate with Kelvin on his options. There were only two: 1) release Carrie and surrender or 2) harm Carrie and be killed by the police. Kelvin spent the next 20 minutes verifying his safety before throwing the .357 Magnum out the window, followed by a knife. He was then arrested and taken back to Hot Springs. He was charged with two counts of capital felony murder and one count of kidnapping. On Friday, September 3, 1982, a jury found Kelvin guilty of capital murder and sentenced him to life in prison without parole. Garland County Community College is now known as National Park Community College.

THOSE WHO DIED:

William "Buddy" Putman, 39

Donald Schamp, 34

Source: The (Hot Springs) Sentinel-Record - Gunman Slays Two in Classroom; The (Hot Springs) Sentinel-Record - Deaths Seem Senseless; The (Hot Springs) Sentinel-Record - Love Sentenced to Life Without Parole

University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin

Friday, July 2, 1982

Taking the familiar route home from the restaurant where she worked, Donna Mraz, 23, encountered a stranger on the north side of Camp Randall Stadium. There was a struggle and she was stabbed repeatedly. Residents of several nearby apartments heard her screams and rushed to help. She was taken to University Hospital where she died two hours later. Her murderer has yet to be caught.

Never Forget Always Remember