September 9, 2001
Sacramento, California
Joseph Ferguson, allegedly upset about being suspended from his security job, kills 5 people before shooting himself

Ferguson (20) and his co-worker, Nina Susu (20) had recently stopped dating. In anger, he reportedly vandalized Susu’s car which led to his suspension.

On September 9, Ferguson used an AK-47, a shotgun, and a 9mm handgun to go on a shooting spree. The murders began with Susu and another co-worker, 32-year-old single mother of three Martha Jackson. He then shot 48-year-old George Bernardino and a new hire 19-year-old John Glimstad, both of whom were also Ferguson’s co-workers. Ferguson fled the scene in the car of another female co-worker whose life he spared. Investigators theorized he spared her life because she was “just a nice person.”

In a suicide video, Ferguson said “I’ve taken four victims, this should be good enough to last about a week on the news. It’s time to feed the news media.” He also added he put on “a hell of a show,” and “I giveth and I taketh away, that’s how it goes in fucking life.” This video was recorded shortly before he shot and killed a supervisor for his former job.

Police spotted him in his supervisor’s stolen vehicle and began a 40-minute high-speed chase. Ferguson shot approximately 200 bullets at police before crashing the vehicle into a telephone pole. Shortly after, he took his own life by shooting himself in the head.