In this era when senseless mass shootings dominate the headlines, it is easy to assume that this is a new problem. Unfortunately, in the past it was probably more common than we would like to think. In the times before the internet, these stories only became common knowledge through the national news outlets otherwise, they were lost to yesterday’s news. Long forgotten by most is this mass shooting from 33 years ago tomorrow that fell upon the staff and customers of GMAC in their Jacksonville, Florida offices.
On the morning of June 17, 1990, at approximately 10:45am, 42 year old James Edward Pough, a borrower who had, in January of that year, had his 1988 Pontiac repossessed, casually walked into the suburban Jacksonville, Florida offices of General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) at 7870 Baymeadows Way, where about 85 people were going about their day to day business unaware of what was about to unfold.
Without saying a word, Pough, immediately began firing rounds from an M1 semiautomatic rifle, firing rapidly, then pausing and firing some more. Customers who had come to make car payments waiting in the lobby were the first victims as he calmly and methodically moved into the office. At times, he deliberately aimed at workers who had taken cover. Final police reports state that he fired 28 rounds in total.
One employee, Richard Langille, said: ”And then we realized the guy was pointing his gun underneath people’s desks and killing them one by one. I just saw the bottom of the carpet and just prayed.”
Another employee, Audrey Hennessey, said: ”It wasn’t random, and it wasn’t continuous. It wasn’t pandemonium, and at the end we didn’t know it was over, because there were silences all through the shooting.”
The scene was chaotic as the dead and wounded littered the office and survivors scrambled out of the office to the streets outside. When Pough found no one else to shoot, he turned the gun on himself.
While Pough had already been on a killing rampage in the day before, killing a pimp, a prostitute and wounding two teenagers, his anger at GMAC was apparently triggered by their efforts to collect a repossession deficiency balance on his auto loan account for $6,394.
The victims of this shooting;
- Louis Carl Bacon, 39, shot on June 17
- Doretta Drake, 30, shot on June 17
- Jewell Belote, 50
- Julia White Burgess, 42
- Janice David, 40
- Sharon Louise Hall, 45
- Denise Sapp Highfill, 36
- Barbara Duckwall Holland, 45
- Cynthia L. Perry, 30
- Lee Simonton, 33
- Drew Woods, 38
Please let this horror remind us to stay aware of our surroundings as we conduct our daily business and that no amount of money is worth a life. Develop a workplace security plan and remember these workplace active shooter survival tips;
Run – To safety, if possible
Hide – If you can not escape
Fight – If cornered, but only as a last resort
GMAC Mass Murder – The Darkest Day in Collections History – Repossession –Repossess – Repossession – Repossession Violence – Repossession History – Credit Union Collections
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