Perpetrator and Motives
The perpetrator of the shooting was 17-year-old Anthony F. Barbaro, a lifelong Olean resident. He had attended Olean High School, where he was an honor student and a star marksman on his school's rifle team. He ranked eighth highest academic score in his senior class, and was inducted into the National Honor Society in February 1974. He had also won a Regents Scholarship to New York University that December. Those who knew Barbaro remember him as being quiet, and his school principal described him as a "loner". Louis Nicol, former principal of Olean High School, said that Barbaro excelled scholastically and caused no disciplinary problems at school. Barbaro lived in Olean, New York, with his parents and his three younger siblings – sister Cecile, brothers Steven and Chris. His father was an executive of a successful manufacturing firm, while Anthony worked with his mother at a local fast-food restaurant. Barbaro had also shown an interest in engineering, and had hoped to become a scientist.
Police have found no apparent motives as to why Barbaro committed his crimes. A teammate of Barbaro on the school's rifle team recalls Barbaro having spoken of wanting to "hold up" the Olean Armory and engage in a police-standoff. Barbaro had just tried out for the bowling team but did not qualify.
In a note explaining his motives Barbaro wrote:
"I guess I just wanted to kill the person I hate most -- myself, I just didn't have the courage. I wanted to die, but I couldn't do it, so I had to get someone to do it for me. It didn't work out."
Read more about this topic: Olean High School Shooting
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