1993 Long Island Rail Road shooting

1993 Long Island Rail Road shooting
The Merillon Avenue station (pictured in 2011) where the shooting occurred
Location	Merillon Avenue, Garden City Park, New York, U.S.
Date	December 7, 1993; 30 years ago (1993-12-07) (EST)
Target	Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) commuters
Attack type	Mass shooting, mass murder
Weapons	Ruger P89 semi-automatic pistol
Deaths	6
Injured	19
Perpetrator	Colin Ferguson
Motive	Racism against white people
Verdict	Not guilty on 25 counts of aggravated harassment Guilty on remaining charges
Convictions	Second-degree murder (6 counts) Attempted second-degree murder (19 counts) Second-degree criminal possession of a weapon Third-degree criminal possession of a weapon
Sentence	Six consecutive life sentences without[a] the possibility of parole, plus 165+2⁄3 years

On December 7, 1993, a mass shooting occurred aboard a Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) train in Garden City Park, New York, United States. As the train arrived at the Merillon Avenue station, passenger Colin Ferguson began firing at other passengers with a semi-automatic pistol. Six of the victims were killed and nineteen others were wounded before Ferguson was tackled and held down by other passengers on the train.^[1]

Ferguson's trial was noted for a number of unusual developments, including him dismissing his defense counsel, insisting on representing himself and questioning his victims on the stand. He was convicted in February 1995 on six counts of murder and nineteen counts of attempted murder, and sentenced to life imprisonment. He is currently incarcerated at Mid-State Correctional Facility, with an earliest possible release date of August 6, 2309.^[2]

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