| Cleveland Elementary School shooting | |
|---|---|
| Location | San Diego, California, US |
| Coordinates | 32°47′47″N 117°00′44″W / 32.7964°N 117.0123°W |
| Date | January 29, 1979 |
| Target | Students and faculty at Grover Cleveland Elementary School |
Attack type | Mass shooting, school shooting, double-murder, attempted pedicide |
| Weapons | Ruger 10/22 semi-automatic .22 caliber rifle |
| Deaths | 2 |
| Injured | 9 |
| Perpetrator | Brenda Spencer |
| Verdict | Pleaded guilty |
| Convictions | First-degree murder (2 counts), assault with a deadly weapon |
| Sentence | Life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 25 years |
The Cleveland Elementary School shooting was a school shooting that took place on January 29, 1979, at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego, California, United States. The principal and a custodian were killed; eight children and police officer Robert Robb were injured. A 16-year-old girl, Brenda Spencer, who lived in a house across the street from the school, was convicted of the shootings. Charged as an adult, she pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and assault with a deadly weapon, resulting in her being sentenced to life in prison with a chance of parole after 25 years. As of 2024, she is still in prison.
A reporter reached Spencer by phone while she was still in the house after the shooting, and asked her why she committed the crime. She reportedly answered: "I don't like Mondays. This livens up the day,"[1][2] which inspired Bob Geldof and Johnnie Fingers to write the Boomtown Rats song "I Don't Like Mondays."[3]
good housekeeping was invoked but never defined (see the help page).