John Zawahri

Case details

John Zawahri carried out a killing spree in Santa Monica, California, on 7 June 2013 that began with a domestic dispute and a subsequent fire at a home, followed by shootings near and on the campus of Santa Monica College.

Zawahri, aged 23, was killed by police officers after exchanging gunfire with them at the Santa Monica College library.

Timeline

• 7 June 2013 — A killing spree by a lone gunman occurred in Santa Monica, California.
• 7 June 2013 — Police received a phone call of shots fired at 11:52 a.m. PDT.
• 7 June 2013 — Police and fire responders arrived at 2036 Yorkshire Avenue after discovering a house on fire.
• 7 June 2013 — After setting fire to the house, Zawahri stopped a woman driving a Mazda hatchback, holding her at gunpoint.
• 7 June 2013 — Zawahri shot at a city bus, injuring three people.
• 7 June 2013 — Zawahri shot into a Ford Explorer, killing the driver and critically wounding the driver’s daughter, who died two days later.
• 7 June 2013 — Zawahri entered the Santa Monica College library and opened fire on students.
• 7 June 2013 — Police exchanged gunfire with Zawahri; he was fatally shot by police inside the library and then brought outside where he died.
• 12 June 2013 — The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office released the causes of death.

Background

The rampage allegedly started over an undetermined family dispute.

Public records showed that Zawahri’s parents were married in 1985 and moved into the house they purchased on Yorkshire Avenue in 1996. The mother left the home and moved to an apartment with the two boys in 1998. She sought a restraining order against the father a short time later, but the case was dismissed when the mother failed to appear in court.

The elder son lived with the father at the Yorkshire Avenue residence while Zawahri lived in an apartment in Mar Vista, Los Angeles with his mother. Though there was no record that the couple divorced, by 2013 they had been living separately for years.

Zawahri’s mother was out of the country visiting relatives at the time of the shooting, but returned during the following weekend and assisted authorities in the investigation.

Zawahri prepared a three-page handwritten note found on his body. In it, he expressed remorse for killing his father and brother but did not give a motive. He said goodbye to friends and expressed hope that his mother would be taken care of and receive recompense from his father’s estate. Investigators believed mental illness played a role in the killings, but no details were given.

Investigators searched his home and found replica weapons and illegal zip guns.

It was learned that the California Department of Justice advised Zawahri in an October 2011 letter that he was ineligible to purchase a firearm.

The incident occurred the day before Zawahri’s 24th birthday.

The offence

Fire at the family home and initial murders

After police received a phone call of shots fired at 11:52 a.m. PDT, police called the fire department upon seeing a house on fire at 2036 Yorkshire Avenue. After the fire was under control, the bodies of two men were found in the house. One had died from gunshots. Authorities believed the fire was intentionally set.

The father and brother were found in a back bedroom that was uninvolved in the blaze.

Abduction and shootings while driving

After setting fire to the house, Zawahri, armed with an AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle, stopped a woman driving a Mazda hatchback, holding her at gunpoint. A passing female driver tried to intervene and was shot and wounded.

Zawahri ordered the driver of the first car, a 41-year-old woman, to drive him to the Santa Monica College campus. Along the way, Zawahri shot at a city bus, injuring three people, and also at a police cruiser.

Ford Explorer shooting

Upon arriving on the college campus, Zawahri shot into a Ford Explorer, killing the 68-year-old male driver and critically wounding the passenger. The driver’s 26-year-old daughter died two days later.

Library shooting

Zawahri continued on foot toward the college library, fatally shooting another woman immediately outside.

Entering the library, Zawahri opened fire on students inside. Witnesses stated they heard gunshots and screams, but were able to hide or escape unharmed.

While on the campus, Zawahri fired at least 70 rounds and dropped a duffel bag loaded with ammunition magazines, boxes of bullets, and a .44 revolver.

Police exchanged gunfire with Zawahri when they arrived at the college. He was fatally shot by police inside the library, and then brought outside where he died.

Crime scene assessment

Authorities investigated up to nine crime scenes believed to be tied to a thirteen-minute-long shooting spree.

Investigation and police actions

The investigation involved law enforcement, and authorities planned to work with federal agencies to understand Zawahri’s psychological makeup and motivation.

Campus police intercepted Zawahri on the edge of campus and exchanged gunfire. As the incident unfolded, officers confronted Zawahri, wounded him, and he died outside after police carried him out.

Multiple media accounts reported that federal authorities were quickly made aware of the situation, and the FBI joined local authorities seeking to determine a motive.

Arrest / custody

Zawahri was not arrested. He was killed by police officers on the Santa Monica College campus.

Trial

No trial information was provided in the case material.

Sentencing

No sentencing information was provided in the case material.

Appeals

No appeals information was provided in the case material.

Outcome

Zawahri died from gunshot wounds inflicted by police officers inside the library and was brought outside where he died.

Aftermath

Santa Monica College was placed on lockdown and issued a statement on its Facebook page for students to stay away from the campus. The lockdown was lifted later that day, but the campus grounds remained closed until the following Monday morning, when students were scheduled to take final exams.

All schools in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District were placed on lockdown as well.

President Barack Obama was in Santa Monica at the time for a fundraiser approximately ten minutes from the campus. His motorcade was rerouted and he left safely on Air Force One.

On August 7, 2013, the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees adopted a resolution banning firearms on its nine area campuses. The resolution cited “repeated, serious occurrences of campus-based shootings.” It also stated: “the presence of firearms, even when nonoperational and in the instructional setting, lends itself to the potential for panic and fear.” The policy allowed weapons on campus only if carried by a sworn law enforcement officer or for use in a theatrical performance, and it effectively ended the conduct of non-credit gun safety classes previously offered on LACCD campuses.

Victims

Six people were killed in the incident, including the suspect, and four people were injured.

Five people were killed on the day of the incident, including Zawahri. One shooting victim died from wounds in hospital two days later. Four others were injured.

The injured victims were treated at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, with conditions ranging from critical to good. At least one underwent surgery. Two of the fatalities and at least three of the wounded were women.

Victims killed at 2036 Yorkshire Avenue

Zawahri’s first victims were his father, 55-year-old Samir Zawahri, and older brother, 24-year-old Christopher Zawahri, both of whom lived in the home at 2036 Yorkshire Avenue in Santa Monica. They were believed to have been shot and killed after the house was set on fire.

The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office released causes of death on June 12. Samir Zawahri was shot multiple times. Christopher Zawahri was shot once in the chest.

Injured and wounded near Yorkshire Avenue carjacking attempt

One of the victims was a 50-year-old woman shot as she came upon the Yorkshire Avenue carjacking and attempted to intervene.

Three other women went to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center with minor injuries; one had shrapnel-type injuries and the other two had injuries not related to gunfire. All were treated and released.

Victims killed near the library / Ford Explorer occupants

On the day of the incident, two people were killed near the library at Santa Monica College. One was 68-year-old Margarita Gomez, collecting recyclable material, and the other was a 68-year-old groundskeeper for the school and driver of the Ford Explorer.

The groundskeeper died of gunshot wounds to the neck and face. His daughter, a student at the college, died of a gunshot wound to the head two days later.

Zawahri died of multiple gunshot wounds. The woman collecting cans outside the library died after being shot in the abdomen and chest.

Shooter details

Zawahri was identified as a 23-year-old John Zawahri on June 8 by officials.

He was heavily armed with an AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle, a .44 1858 Remington model cap-and-ball muzzleloading revolver, and an additional upper receiver for the rifle. He wore black tactical clothing and body armor.

Law enforcement sources said Zawahri had forty 30-round magazines in pouches in his clothing and in a bag he carried. Ammunition was strapped to his body as well as in pouches in his clothing and protective vest.

The attack was described by sources as premeditated, citing his extensive armament and preparation.

In 2006, when Zawahri was a student at Olympic High School in Santa Monica, a teacher saw him surfing the internet for information on assault weapons and instructions on making explosive devices. School staff also learned he had repeatedly made threats against students, teachers and campus security officers.

Within days, police were involved and bomb-making materials were found at his home. Zawahri was subsequently admitted to UCLA’s Neuropsychiatric Institute. Police declined to provide further details about the evaluation because Zawahri was a minor at the time.

Zawahri was a student of Santa Monica High School before enrolling in Santa Monica College in the winter of 2009. The college had no disciplinary issues with Zawahri, officials said. He left the school in the fall of 2010.

Firearm components and ammunition

Investigators found replica airsoft pellet guns, knives and gun magazines, and materials indicating he likely assembled the weapon. Police said Zawahri bought a lower receiver that was only 80 percent complete, and that because it was not complete and not considered a full weapon, a person was not required to go through a background check to get one and the part did not need to have a serial number.

Police said Zawahri fired about 100 rounds during the rampage, and that he was carrying 1,300 rounds of ammunition in magazines capable of holding 30 rounds each. Such high-capacity magazines were described as illegal to purchase, sell or transfer in California, while possession was described as not illegal.

Zawahri also had a spare upper receiver and the antique revolver with him in a duffel bag.

Officials said Zawahri built his own .223-caliber assault rifle, using it to shoot his father and brother before setting fire to their family home.

Seabrooks said the semi-automatic weapon appeared to have been built with component parts that were legal to obtain, but put together made the rifle illegal in California. She said he also modified an antique black-powder .44 revolver so it could hold .45-caliber ammunition; it was loaded during the shooting and he carried it with him in a duffel bag.

Police found replica weapons and illegal zip guns in his home.

Handwritten note and stated remorse

“I’m sorry for what I did”
expressed remorse for killing his father and brother and said goodbye to friends, with hope that his mother would be taken care of and receive recompense from his father’s estate.

Other details

Campus safety measures and lockdown response

Santa Monica College officials placed the campus on lockdown and later lifted it that day, though grounds remained closed until Monday morning for final exams.

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District schools were also placed on lockdown.

Policy resolution on firearms

The Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees adopted a resolution banning firearms on its nine area campuses on August 7, 2013. The policy allowed weapons only for sworn law enforcement or theatrical performance, and ended the conduct of non-credit gun safety classes previously offered on LACCD campuses.

Quoted statements

Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks said:

“We know his was a troubled life and that he experienced mental health challenges,”
“We believe that his mental health challenges likely played a role in his decisions to shoot and kill both his father and his brother, to set fire to the family home, and to go on a 13-minute shooting spree spanning roughly 1.5 miles and which left five innocent people dead and three people injured.”

Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks also said:

“Any time someone puts on a vest of some sort, comes out with a bag full of loaded magazines … has a handgun and has a semiautomatic rifle, carjacks folks, goes to a college, kills more people and has to be killed at the hands of police,”
“… that's premeditated.”

Retired police officer Cristina Coria said:

“She didn’t know the outcome of the evaluation.”

Statements by victims and witnesses

Laura Sisk, 41, recalled the gunman saying:

“You're going to drive me to Santa Monica College and let me out,”

Laura Sisk also recalled:

“No. You're driving,”

Marta Fagerstroem said:

“It happened so fast,”
“You don't expect this.”

Marta Fagerstroem also described what passengers did:

“Passengers dived to the floor for cover.”

Laura Sisk recalled the gunman shouting:

“ 'Go! Go! Go!' So I drove, drove, drove.”

Another witness statement included Jerry Cunningham-Rathner saying:

“He looked like a SWAT officer,”

Notes on suspected motive and investigation uncertainty

Investigators believed mental illness played a role in the killings, but no details were given about how it did so. Police still sought what may have triggered the rampage, including what caused the gunman to choose Santa Monica College.