Edwin Grace

Case record: Edwin Grace

Background

Edwin James Grace was a 33-year-old gunman from Brooklyn who worked as a Pinkerton guard. His family and friends described him as a quiet man and an avid reader.

Grace worked off and on for the Pinkerton agency since August, 1971, and William Linn, vice president of the Pinkerton agency, said he had not received a single demerit.

Grace had once applied for a job as a security guard at the Key Personnel Employment Agency in the Heritage House building at 383 Kings Highway. Anger with employment agency failure to get him a job was cited as the gunman’s motivation for the Jersey shootings.

Grace later died at Cherry Hill Medical Center from self-inflicted wounds.

The offence

Edwin James Grace walked into an office building in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, at the Heritage House building at 383 Kings Highway. He shot six men to death and wounded six more, then shot and wounded himself.

The attack occurred over seven minutes of terror for 40 office workers in the two-story building. The gunman walked from one office to the next, shooting and reloading his weapons as he went. He waved women workers out of the way and shot only men.

The personnel office was one of those shot up by the gunman.

More than 100 bullets were fired inside the building.

The police did not exchange any shots with the gunman. The shooting had ended by the time police entered the building, according to Wallace LaPeters, Cherry Hill’s Public Safety Director.

The police did not realize who Grace was until they found seven 20-bullet clips in his pocket.

Investigation

The police were alerted by a telephone call from one of the wounded men.

The police surrounded the building, fired tear-gas canisters inside, and entered a few minutes later.

Arrest

No arrest was made because Grace shot himself during the attack.

Trial

No trial occurred.

Sentencing

No sentencing occurred.

Appeals

No appeal occurred.

Outcome

Edwin James Grace died on July 8, 1972, at Cherry Hill Medical Center.

Grace had been partly paralyzed and unable to talk since he was admitted to the hospital with a bullet lodged at the base of his skull.

The police said he apparently shot himself behind the left ear with one of the two sawed-off .22-caliber rifles he wielded during the attack on office personnel at the Heritage House building at 383 Kings Highway.

Aftermath

The day after the shooting, Grace’s sister, Therese, disclosed that she had hired Frank Brenner, a lawyer, to represent her brother.

Four of the men Grace wounded were released.

The two who remained in hospital were Wayne Stroup, 22, and Val Reshko, 24, both of Cherry Hill. They were described as in satisfactory condition. Mr. Stroup was paralyzed but progressing, according to a hospital official, and Mr. Reshko was recovering from a partial amputation of his right leg.

The police were unable to find a motive for the shootings, but former Camden County Prosecutor A. Donald Bigley said that Grace had once applied for a job as a security guard at the Key Personnel Employment Agency in the Heritage House building.

A. Donald Bigley was succeeded as prosecutor the day after by Thomas Shusted, a former Republican Assemblyman, who would have been responsible for prosecuting the case.

Timeline

• August, 1971 — William Linn said Grace worked off and on for the Pinkerton agency.
• June 21, 1972 — Edwin James Grace walked into the office building at the Heritage Building, 383 Kings Highway, shot six men to death and wounded six more, then shot and wounded himself.
• June 22, 1972 — Grace was described as having directed his rage at an employment agency that failed to get him a job earlier this year.
• June 23, 1972 — The motivation was described as Grace seeking "a job in his line of work, security."
• July 8, 1972 — Edwin James Grace died at Cherry Hill Medical Center of self-inflicted wounds.
• July 9, 1972 — The hospital status of the remaining wounded men (Wayne Stroup and Val Reshko) was described.

Other details

Grace had filed an application with Key Personnel, Inc., one of the eight companies with offices in the Heritage Building, at 383 Kings Highway.

“a job in his line of work, security,”

This was stated by the Camden County Prosecutor, A. Donald Bigley.

William Linn, vice president of the Pinkerton agency, said:

“Grace had worked off and on for the agency since August, 1971, and had not received a single demerit.”

Wallace LaPeters, Cherry Hill’s Public Safety Director, said:

“The shooting had ended by then.”