John Parish

Case overview

John Parish (July 4, 1933 – August 9, 1982) was an American mass murderer. He shot dead six people and wounded three others at two warehouses in Grand Prairie, Texas, United States on August 9, 1982. After killing his supervisors at the Western Transportation Company and Western Transfer offices, he stole a truck and led police on a high-speed chase through Grand Prairie downtown. The chase ended when he broke through a police barricade, injuring an officer, and crashed into a building. He was subsequently killed by police during a shootout.

Timeline

• July 4, 1933 — John Felton Parish was born in Dallas County, Texas.
• September 1980 — Parish joined the Western Transportation Company.
• August 9, 1982 (about 8:00 a.m.) — Parish entered the Western Transportation Company building and began shooting.
• August 9, 1982 (8:27 a.m.) — Parish was killed by police after he entered a building through a hole in a wall during the aftermath of the barricade crash.
• August 9, 1982 — Parish died.

Background

Parish was born in Dallas County, Texas on July 4, 1933. He was married and had two children, but he was estranged from his wife and had lost a child custody-battle against her shortly before the shooting. That same year, his brother needed his second kidney implant and his older sister died from cancer.

Parish had no police-record and was described by his supervisors as an easy-going person. He had been a trucker for 20 years. He worked for Jewel T warehouse for eight months before joining the Western Transportation Company in September 1980.

Parish worked at Western Transportation Company, which contracted with Jewel-T. Jewel-T officials had complained to Western Transfer about him, calling him a troublemaker. Jewel T supervisor Rick Svoboda demanded that Parish be taken off a contract job Western Transportation had with Jewel T, after which Parish was banned from making deliveries for Western Transportation’s contract with Jewel T.

In the two weeks prior to the shooting, Parish had a pay dispute with Western Transportation. He complained to supervisor Eddie Ulrich that he was owed $1,600 of outstanding pay. Ulrich rejected the claim, explaining that Parish had earned less because he had worked less. Parish felt he was mistreated and was tired of it, based on what his brother and his friends said, though Parish also stated that they could work it out if they talked to him like a man and did not treat him like a fool.

Police Chief David Kunkle later said:

"This was not a random shooting." "The man obviously had an agenda. He had a mission to accomplish."

The offence

Western Transportation Company and Western Transfer office shootings

At approximately 8:00 a.m. on August 9, Parish, armed with a shortened M1 carbine, a .25-caliber semi-automatic pistol, and a .38-caliber revolver, entered the Western Transportation Company building in the central business district of Grand Prairie. He entered to discuss for a last time with his supervisor Eddie Ulrich about a payment dispute.

When the discussion did not go to his liking, Parish killed Eddie Ulrich and also killed truck driver Martin Moran and operations manager Moody Smith. He then stole a bobtail truck and drove to the Western Transportation Company office half a block down the street.

There, he killed executive secretary Wyvonne Kohler and wounded receptionist Ruth James with shots in her shoulder and neck. He also shot operations manager Burnett Hart in the head.

Parish took office worker Vicki Smallwood hostage for a while to find an executive named Mike, threatening: "If he's not in, you're dead." After his search proved to be of no avail, Parish decided to let his hostage go when he realized that she was the wife of an acquainted mechanic.

Jewel T warehouse shootings

Afterwards, Parish drove to Jewel T warehouse about four miles away and arrived a few minutes later. At the warehouse, he killed district sales manager Dave Bahl. He then went to the shipping office where warehouse supervisor Rick Svoboda confronted him. Parish put his revolver to Svoboda’s jaw and killed him, then shot him again in the face when Svoboda was lying on the floor.

Parish wounded shipping supervisor Robert Sarabia after chasing him.

Hijacking and pursuit

Eventually Parish left the building and approached a 18-wheeler tractor-trailer loaded with cookies. Its driver, Carl Lorentz, jumped out of the truck at the sight of the gunman and broke his foot. Parish then commandeered the 18-wheeler and left the compound. Chased by police, he raced at 70 mph through downtown Grand Prairie.

About 30 minutes after it all started, during a running gun battle with police, Parish rammed the truck through a police barricade. Officer Alan T. Patton, standing outside his car, was seriously injured.

Wayne Standifer, who owns Wayne's Custom Automotive across the street from the barricade, said:

"The truck hit the squad car and the officer went flying across the pavement." "It sent the car about 75 feet backward."

Parish’s truck knocked down a utility pole and crashed with another car into a building owned by the E.L. Murphy Trucking Company. The truck overturned upon hitting the wall. Parish crawled out of his vehicle, shot at the officers, and made his way into the building through a hole in a wall. He was killed by police with seven or eight shots at 8:27 a.m.

During the shooting, Parish used all of his weapons, mostly the M1 carbine, which was fired about 28 times, and his revolver. Only one shot was fired with his pistol.

Investigation and policing

Police said the violence began about 8 a.m. when John F. Parish walked into the Western Transfer Co. building in the central business district of Grand Prairie, armed with an M1 carbine, a .25-caliber automatic pistol, and a .38-caliber revolver. Witnesses said Parish spoke to no one as he calmly shot and killed three of his supervisors: Eddie Eugene Ulrich, Martin Douglas Moran, and Moody Charles Smith.

Police said Parish then left his company vehicle, stole a truck, and drove a half block to another Western Transfer office, where he fatally wounded executive secretary Wyvonne Kohler. Police said he also wounded 19-year-old receptionist Ruth James and Burnett Hart, an operations manager. After entering the Jewel-T warehouse, police said Parish shot and killed Dave Bahl and Rick Svoboda, while wounding Robert Sarabia.

Police chief David Kunkle said Parish worked for Western Transfer, which contracted with Jewel-T, and that Jewel-T officials had complained to Western Transfer about the trucker as a troublemaker. He also said Parish had had a pay dispute with Western Transfer for the last two weeks.

Police Chief David Kunkle’s quoted assessment of the attack appears in the narrative:

After Parish died, officers recovered an M-1 carbine, a .25-caliber semi-automatic pistol and a .38-caliber pistol.

Victims and injured people

Killed

• Dave Bahl, 28 — district sales manager at Jewel T warehouse.
• Wyvonne Kohler, 45 — executive secretary at Western Transportation Company.
• Martin Douglas Moran, 30 — truck driver for Western Transportation Company.
• Moody Charles Smith, 58 — operations manager at Western Transportation Company.
• Rick Svoboda, 37 — warehouse supervisor at Jewel T warehouse.
• Eddie Eugene Ulrich, 40 — supervisor at Western Transportation Company.

Wounded or injured

• Ruth James, 19 — receptionist; wounded in the shoulder and neck.
• Burnett Hart, 42 — operations manager; wounded with a shot to the head.
• Robert Sarabia, 30 — shipping supervisor at the Jewel-T warehouse; wounded.
• Officer Alan T. Patton, 32 — standing outside his car at the barricade; suffered multiple fractures and a punctured lung.
• Carl Lorentz, 57 — truck driver; injured in a scuffle with Parish and treated at Grand Prairie Community Hospital; he broke his foot when he jumped out of the truck.
• Wayne Standifer — no injury stated; he witnessed the crash.
• Jim Hodge — truck driver from Cullman, Ala.; he was inside the Murphy building (no injury stated).
• Bob Fischer, 25 — Murphy terminal manager; saw the truck come sliding through the wall (no injury stated).

Aftermath

Parish died at the scene after being shot by police during the shootout at the building owned by the E.L. Murphy Trucking Company. It was described as the worst shooting rampage in Dallas-Fort Worth history at that time.

Other details

Parish used a shortened M1 carbine, a .25-caliber semi-automatic pistol, and a .38-caliber revolver during the shooting spree. The narrative described his weapons usage as firing mostly the M1 carbine about 28 times, with his revolver and only one shot from his pistol.