James Edward Pough - GMAC Massacre

GMAC Massacre

On the morning of June 18 he visited his mother's grave a last time and then called his supervisor that he wouldn't come to work, because he had something else to do.

At about 10:44 a.m. Pough parked his car at the General Motors Acceptance Corporation office located at 7870 Baymeadows Way in Jacksonville. He entered the building through the front door, armed with his M1 carbine, a .38-caliber revolver, several loaded magazines and his pockets packed with ammunition, and, without saying a word, immediately began shooting with the M1 carbine at two customers at the front counter. Julia Burgess was killed and 25-year-old David Hendrix was wounded by four shots. Walking through the open office he then systematically, though discontinuously moved from desk to desk and shot at the GMAC workers, often deliberately aiming at people hiding under their tables.

Drew Woods was the first to be shot at his desk, followed by Cynthia Perry and Barbara Holland nearby, as well as 42-year-old Phyllis Griggs, who was injured. When the GMAC employees realized what was going on, many of them escaped through a back door of the building, while Pough started picking off those ducking for cover, and shot, one after the other, Janice David, Sharon Hall, Jewell Belote, Lee Simonton, Denise Highfill, Ron Echevarria and Nancy Dill. He then put the .38-caliber revolver to his head and committed suicide. In just about two minutes Pough had fired at least 28 rounds from his rifle, hitting 11 of the 85 workers at the office, as well as the two customers. Six of his victims and the gunman himself died at the scene, while another three died at hospital, the last being Jewell Belote, who succumbed to his wounds nine days after the shooting.

When searching Pough's car police recovered a loaded 9-mm pistol, two magazines and ammunition, as well as twelve pieces of nylon rope, each having a length of 24 inches, which led police to the assumption that Pough initially might have intended to take hostages. When police arrived at Pough's home it had been ransacked already, though they found a calendar with two dates circled in red: May 8, the day he killed his friend Pender, and June 18.