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{{Short description|1998 mass shooting in Jonesboro, Arkansas, US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = 1998 Westside Middle School shooting
| image =
| caption =
| location = [[Craighead County, Arkansas|Craighead County]] ([[Jonesboro, Arkansas|Jonesboro]] street address), Arkansas, U.S.
| coordinates = {{Coord|35.8569|-90.8058|region:US_type:edu|display=inline,title}}
| date = {{start date and age|March 24, 1998}}
| time = {{circa|12:40 p.m.}}
| timezone = [[Central Time Zone|Central Time]]
| target = Students and staff at Westside Middle School
| type = [[School shooting]], [[mass shooting]], [[mass murder]], [[crime of passion]]
| fatalities = 5
| injuries = 10
| weapons = Several rifles, revolvers, and pistols
| perps = *Mitchell Scott Johnson
* Andrew Douglas Golden (later Drew Douglas Grant)
| dfen = Shannon Dawn Wright
| motive = [[Revenge]], [[anger]]
| verdict = [[Guilty on all counts]]
| convictions = *[[Murder in Arkansas law|Capital murder]] (5 counts)
* [[Attempted murder]] (10 counts)
* [[Criminal possession of a weapon|Illegal firearm possession]] (7 counts){{Infobox event
| title =
| child = yes
| sentence = Imprisonment until the age of 21
* Johnson released after 7 years and 4 months in prison
* Golden released after 9 years and 2 months in prison
| litigation = Families of victims awarded $150 million in [[wrongful death]] lawsuit against Johnson and Golden
}}
}}

The '''Westside Middle School shooting''' was a [[mass shooting]] that occurred on March 24, 1998, at [[Westside Consolidated School District|Westside Middle School]] in [[unincorporated area|unincorporated]] [[Craighead County, Arkansas]], near the city of [[Jonesboro, Arkansas|Jonesboro]].<ref>[http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/MapItDrawServlet?geo_id=16000US0535710&_bucket_id=50&tree_id=420&context=saff&_lang=en&_sse=on Census] {{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Thirteen-year-old Mitchell Johnson and eleven-year-old Andrew Golden opened fire on the school, shooting and killing five people{{efn|Four students and a teacher.}} and wounding ten others. Both were arrested when they attempted to flee the scene. On August 11, 1998, Golden and Johnson were convicted of five murders and ten assaults, and were imprisoned until each turned twenty-one years of age. After the [[1992 Lindhurst High School shooting]] that killed four people in [[Olivehurst, California]], the massacre was the deadliest non-college school shooting<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/march-lives-falls-20th-anniversary-deadly-jonesboro-school/story?id=53873395 |title=March for Our Lives falls on 20th anniversary of deadly Jonesboro school shooting |publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |author=Meghan Keneally |date=March 22, 2018 |access-date=April 22, 2019}}</ref> in contemporary U.S. history until the April 1999 [[Columbine High School massacre]]. As of {{CURRENTYEAR}}, the incident is the [[List of school shootings in the United States by death toll|deadliest mass shooting at a middle school in U.S. history]].

== Shooting ==
On the night before the shooting, Golden assisted Johnson in loading his mother's [[Dodge Caravan]] with camping supplies, snack foods, nine weapons ([[Remington Model 742|Remington 742]] .30-06 rifle, [[M1 carbine|Universal .30 M1 carbine]] replica, [[Ruger Model 44|Ruger .44 Magnum]] rifle, [[.38 Special|Smith & Wesson .38 Special revolver]], Double Deuce Buddie [[.22 caliber]] two-shot [[derringer]], FIE [[.380 ACP|.380 pistol]], Star .380 pistol, [[Ruger Security-Six|Ruger Security Six .357 revolver]], [[Davis Industries]] .38 two-shot derringer and a [[Charter Arms]] .38 Special revolver),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vpc.org/studies/wgun980324.htm|title=VPC - Where'd They Get Their Guns? - Westside Middle School, Jonesboro, Arkansas|website=Vpc.org}}</ref> all of which had been stolen from Golden's grandfather's house, and 2,000 rounds of ammunition.

The following morning, the perpetrators rode in the van to Westside Middle School, arriving late after deliberately missing their bus. Golden then pulled the fire alarm just after 12:30 p.m., during the beginning of fifth period,<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Bailey |first=Holly |date=December 19, 2017 |title=The Ones That Got Away: Jonesboro's Survivors - And The Shooters - Recall A Moment Of Horror |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-ones-that-got-away-jonesboros-survivors-and-the-shooters-recall-a-moment-of-horror_us_5a39780ce4b06d1621b01f37 |access-date=September 18, 2018 |work=Huffington Post}}</ref> while Johnson took the weapons to the woods outside of the school. Golden then ran back to the woods where Johnson had taken the weapons. When children and teachers fled out of the school, the two perpetrators opened fire,<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|date=February 17, 2016|title=The Only 2 Living US Mass School Shooters Not in Prison|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/living-us-mass-school-shooters-incarcerated/story?id=36986507|access-date=September 18, 2018|website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]}}</ref> with officials stating that the shooting began at 12:41{{nbsp}}pm.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|date=March 18, 2018|title='THAT MOMENT OF CHAOS': 20 years ago, sad day at Westside|work=Arkansas Online|url=https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/mar/18/20-years-ago-sad-day-westside/?f=news-arkansas|access-date=September 18, 2018}}</ref> During the incident, many became confused initially with reports of shouting of "It's all fake", as friends of wounded students tried to evacuate their friends and teacher Shannon Wright used her body to protect a wounded student.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Goodwyn |first=Wade |date=March 23, 2018 |title=20 Years Later, Jonesboro Shooting Survivors Conflicted Over Parkland |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/03/23/596103091/20-years-later-jonesboro-shooting-survivors-conflicted-over-parkland |access-date=September 18, 2018 |work=NPR.org}}</ref> Another teacher had been checking off students on her class list when she heard pops, "like firecrackers", and thought it was an ill-advised attempt to frighten the children, to potentially make them take the drill seriously.<ref name=":1" /> A student reported that the sounds were at first dismissed by some, as construction workers had been working on the new fifth-grade building nearby.<ref name=":2" />

Students who had initially evacuated for the drill were brought back into the school's gymnasium, where students could hear the bullets ricocheting off the outside bricks and walls.<ref name=":3" /> Some victims were brought back inside by uninjured students and teachers after a teacher opened the doors from the inside, as they had automatically locked because of the fire alarm. A student who had sought shelter in the school told a teacher with them that they believed the shooter was Mitchell Johnson, as they had been told by him not to come to school that day.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Roberts |first=Jeannie |date=March 18, 2018 |title=The Ghosts Of Jonesboro: Fifteen Years After A School Shooting, A Small Town Is Still Recovering |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/djpeisner/the-ghosts-of-jonesboro-fifteen-years-after-a-notorious-scho |access-date=September 18, 2018 |work=BuzzFeed}}</ref>

The perpetrators killed four students and one teacher and wounded nine students and one teacher.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/westside-school-shooting-3717/|title=Encyclopedia of Arkansas|website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas}}</ref> The five murdered were: Shannon Wright, 32 (teacher); Stephanie Johnson, 12 (no relation to Mitchell Johnson); Natalie Brooks, 11; Paige Ann Herring, 12; and Brittney Varner, 11. All ten of those injured survived their injuries; among the wounded students was Tristan McGowan, a cousin of Golden's.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=March 28, 1998 |title=Last of Jonesboro victims laid to rest |url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9803/28/funerals.wrap/ |access-date=September 18, 2018 |website=Cnn.com}}</ref> After firing a combined total of 22 bullets, Golden and Johnson attempted to run back to the van and escape, but they were later caught by the police.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news |title=From wild talk and friendship to 5 deaths in a school yard. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/29/us/from-wild-talk-and-friendship-to-five-deaths-in-a-schoolyard.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Comtesse |date=2015-11-14 |title=Morbid Fact Du Jour for November 14, 2015 – Morbid Fact Du Jour! |url=https://www.decidedlygrim.net/?p=6114 |access-date=2024-11-08 |language=en-US}}</ref> They were apprehended about 10 minutes after the shooting began, according to a lieutenant with the Jonesboro Police Department.<ref name=":4" /> The perpetrators evidently planned to run away, as they had food, sleeping bags and survival gear in the van.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/20-years-later-survivors-of-jonesboro-school-shooting-live-with-painful-memories/91-531400698|title=20 years later, survivors of Jonesboro school shooting live with painful memories|website=thv11.com|date=March 23, 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=March 18, 2018|title='THAT MOMENT OF CHAOS': 20 years ago, sad day at Westside|url=https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/mar/18/moment-chaos-20-years-ago-sad-day-westside/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|last1=Labi|first1=Nadya|date=June 24, 2001|title=The Hunter and the Choirboy|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,138881,00.html|magazine=Time}}</ref>

== Aftermath ==
The incident was the third fatal mass shooting at an American school since October 1997, following the [[1997 Pearl High School shooting|Pearl High]] and the [[1997 Heath High School shooting|Heath High School shootings]]. Then-President [[Bill Clinton]] ordered Attorney General [[Janet Reno]] to organize experts on school violence to analyze the recent incidents, determine what they may have had in common, and what steps could be taken to reduce the chance of a similar incident.<ref name=":5" />

=== Memorials ===
White ribbons were tied on tree trunks and other objects were left in memory of the victims. The school installed a memorial bench outside the school that is carved with the date of the massacre. A [[sundial]] memorial, installed in a park area behind the school, is engraved with the names of the victims.<ref name=":1" /> The park area was designed as a memorial park based around the number five to commemorate the five dead victims, with five trees, five picnic tables, and five stepping-stones, along with the sundial.<ref name=":4" />

=== Trial ===
During the trial, Johnson hung his head and read a letter of apology he had written to victims' families. He said he had not been targeting anyone.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

While in detention awaiting trial, Johnson wrote a letter that stated, "Hi. My name is Mitchell. My [[thoughts and prayers]] are with those people who were killed, or shot, and their families. I am really sad inside about everything. My thoughts and prayers are with those kids that I go to school with. I really want people to know the real Mitchell someday. Sincerely, Mitchell Johnson."<ref name="shootingsuspect" />

Due to their ages, they were tried as juveniles, and were found guilty of five counts of murder. Following their convictions, Johnson and Golden were taken by National Guard helicopter to [[Alexander, Arkansas]], so they could be placed at the Arkansas Juvenile Assessment & Treatment Center (AJATC), the [[Arkansas Department of Human Services]] Youth Services Division's juvenile facility and the state's most secure juvenile facility.<ref>Carol Morello, [https://web.archive.org/web/19991113121633/http://www.usatoday.com/news/special/shoot/shoot029.htm "Shooting suspect claims he was molested"], ''USA Today'', August 12, 1998.</ref>

=== Imprisonment ===
The two youths were [[List of youngest killers|among the youngest people ever charged with murder in the United States]]. The Jonesboro prosecutor later stated that, were it not for their ages, he would have sought [[Capital punishment in Arkansas|death sentences]]. At the time, the minimum age for capital punishment was 16 due to ''[[Thompson v. Oklahoma]]''. All death sentences for defendants under 18 were invalidated in 2005 by ''[[Roper v. Simmons]]''.

In August 1998, both perpetrators were sentenced to confinement until they reached the age of 21, which was the maximum sentence available under Arkansas law for minors under the age of 14.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-08-12 |title=Age Boundaries in Juvenile Justice Systems |url=https://www.nga.org/publications/age-boundaries-in-juvenile-justice-systems/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=National Governors Association}}</ref> They would have served until age 18 had federal authorities not added additional confinement for weapons charges. Judge Ralph Wilson commented that "The punishment will not fit the crime."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bragg |first1=Rick |title=Judge Punishes Arkansas Boys Who Killed 5 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/12/us/judge-punishes-arkansas-boys-who-killed-5.html |access-date=25 May 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=August 12, 1998}}</ref> The case led to wide public outcry for tougher sentencing laws pertaining to juvenile offenders. Johnson was released from the [[Federal Correctional Institution, Memphis]], on his 21st birthday, August 11, 2005, having spent seven years in prison.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 11, 2005 |title=Arkansas School Shooter To Go Free |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/arkansas-school-shooter-to-go-free/ |access-date=June 4, 2019 |website=[[CBS News]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Block |first=Melissa |date=August 11, 2005 |title=Former Student Gunman Released |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4796451 |newspaper=NPR.org}}</ref> Golden was released from the Federal Correctional Institution, Memphis, on May 25, 2007, also on his 21st birthday, after spending nine years in prison.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 24, 2007 |title=Andrew Golden's Release |url=https://www.kait8.com/story/6565862/andrew-goldens-release |website=www.kait8.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=May 25, 2007 |title=Westside school shooter released |url=http://www2.arkansasonline.com/news/2007/may/25/1998-schoolyard-killer-now-21-due-release-brief/ |access-date=June 10, 2013 |website=2.arkansasonline.com}}</ref>

=== Lawsuit ===
In 2017, the victims' families were awarded $150 million after filing a lawsuit against Johnson and Golden seeking damages and to prevent the two from profiting from the shooting.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Silverstein |first=Jason |date=July 29, 2019 |title=Man who committed school shooting when he was 11 dies in car crash |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/andrew-golden-drew-grant-jonesboro-arkansas-school-shooting-when-he-was-11-dies-in-car-crash/ |access-date=March 29, 2020 |website=www.cbsnews.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=August 16, 2017|title=$150M awarded in 1998 Arkansas school shooting lawsuit|url=https://wreg.com/news/150m-awarded-in-1998-arkansas-school-shooting-lawsuit/|access-date=March 29, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|title=School Shooter Dies in Car Crash, 21 Years After Opening Fire at Arkansas Middle School|url=https://time.com/5637645/andrew-golden-car-crash-school-shooting/|access-date=March 29, 2020|magazine=Time}}</ref>

== Perpetrators ==

Johnson and Golden were both students at Westside Middle School. The pair rode the bus together, but were not close friends.<ref name="nytimes">{{Cite web |date=March 29, 1998 |title=From wild talk and friendship, to five deaths in schoolyard |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/29/us/from-wild-talk-and-friendship-to-five-deaths-in-a-schoolyard.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Together, they were known to [[bullying|bully]] other students, and people recalled Johnson talking of wanting to belong to the [[Bloods]] and to smoke [[Cannabis (drug)|marijuana]].<ref name="nytimes" /> The [[Texaco]] truck stop was a popular hang-out for youths in Jonesboro,<ref name="nytimes" /> and adolescents there remember Johnson claiming to belong to street gangs. He also spoke of "having a lot of killing to do"<ref name="nytimes" /> and his classmates also commented that he had a fascination with firearms. He had particularly threatened to kill sixth-grader Candace Porter, his former girlfriend who ended their relationship.

Golden was a sixth-grader at the school, where schoolmates said he displayed troublesome behavior. He would often engage other students in fistfights and use profane language. A classmate accused him of killing her cat with a [[BB gun]].

Three months before the incident, a student reported to a school counselor that Golden had stated he intended to shoot some people at the school. When Golden was called to the counselor, he stated that he had a nightmare in which he followed through and then was killed, scaring him off the plan.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Usborne |first=David |date=March 27, 1998 |title=Jonesboro massacre: Two macho boys with 'a lot of killing to do' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/jonesboro-massacre-two-macho-boys-with-a-lot-of-killing-to-do-1152649.html |access-date=September 18, 2018 |work=The Independent}}</ref> The day before the massacre, Johnson told friends he had "a lot of killing to do" and suggested to them that they would know the next day whether they were destined to live or die.<ref name=":0" />

=== Mitchell Johnson ===
'''Mitchell Scott Johnson''' was born August 11, 1984, in [[Rochester, Minnesota]], to Gretchen and Scott Johnson.<ref name="shootingsuspect" /> When Mitchell was seven, his parents divorced, and he and his brother moved with their mother to [[Jonesboro, Arkansas]]. His mother soon remarried to Terry Woodward, an inmate at the prison where she was employed as a Correctional Officer. Johnson had a good relationship with his stepfather and brother, and adults who remembered him described him as being quiet and respectful. He was a former member of the Central Baptist Church youth choir, later joining the youth group at the Revival Tabernacle Church, Jonesboro.

Following the shooting, Johnson's attorney claimed that he had been [[child sexual abuse|sexually abused]] when he was 6 and 7 years old by a "family member of the daycare where he was placed". One year before the shooting, Mitchell, then aged 12, was charged with molesting a 3-year-old girl while visiting southern Minnesota with his family. However, the record of the case was expunged because of Mitchell's age.<ref name="shootingsuspect">[https://web.archive.org/web/20110402195056/https://www.usatoday.com/news/special/shoot/shoot029.htm "Shooting suspect claims he was molested"], Associated Press (reprinted by ''USA Today'')</ref>

==== Johnson's later legal troubles ====
On January 1, 2007, Johnson was arrested by the ATF after a traffic stop in [[Fayetteville, Arkansas]], on misdemeanor charges of carrying a weapon, a loaded [[9×19mm Parabellum|9 mm]] [[pistol]], and possession of 21.2 g of marijuana. Though the van that Johnson was riding in was registered to him, the driver was 22-year-old Justin Trammell. Trammell and Johnson reportedly met at Alexander Youth Services Correctional Facility in [[Alexander, Arkansas]], where Trammell was incarcerated after pleading guilty to the 1999 crossbow murder of his father, a crime committed when Trammell was 15. The pair were roommates and provided officers with the same Fayetteville address. Trammell was cited for careless driving and released. Johnson was arrested for possession of marijuana and a loaded weapon and later released on a $1,000 [[Bail|bond]]. He appeared in court on January 26, 2007, at the [[Washington County, Arkansas]], courthouse.

Johnson was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 24, 2007, for possession of a firearm while either using or addicted to a controlled substance. The US Attorney's Office for the Western District of Arkansas reported that Johnson pleaded not guilty and was released on a $5,000 bond. Johnson's trial began on January 28, 2008. After two days of testimony from the prosecution and the defense witnesses, Johnson was found guilty on a charge of possessing a weapon while being a drug user.<ref>{{Cite news |author=Will Carter |date=January 30, 2008 |title=Mitchell Johnson Trial Wrap-Up |website=Archive.is |place=Jonesboro, Arkansas |url=http://www.kait8.com/Global/story.asp?S=7799368 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130127171845/http://www.kait8.com/Global/story.asp?S=7799368 |archive-date=January 27, 2013}}</ref> In February 2008, just days after his conviction, Johnson was arrested again for possession of marijuana at the convenience store at which he worked and on suspicion of using a stolen credit card.<ref>{{Cite news |author=Michelle Bradford |date=February 6, 2008 |title=Johnson suspected in theft of debit card |edition=Northwest Arkansas |newspaper=[[Arkansas Democrat-Gazette]] |url=http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/215935/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216192928/http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/215935/ |archive-date=February 16, 2008}}</ref>

In September 2008, US District Judge [[Jimm Larry Hendren]] sentenced Johnson to four years in prison on the weapon and drug charges. During his sentencing, the judge expressed dismay that Johnson had not taken advantage of the chance he had to reform. He told him, "No matter your sentence, you still have a life; those killed in 1998 do not." On October 7, 2008, Johnson pleaded guilty to a felony theft charge and misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Johnson admitted that he stole a debit card left by a disabled man at the Bentonville gas station where he worked and subsequently used it to purchase a meal at a local [[Burger King]]. He also admitted that at the time he was arrested, he was in possession of marijuana.<ref>http://www.katv.com/news/stories/1008/559725.html {{Dead link|date=August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=October 8, 2008 |title=Jonesboro shooter pleads guilty to theft |website=Usatoday.com |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-10-08-johnson-plea_N.htm?csp=34}}</ref> On November 14, 2008, Johnson, then 24 years old, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the theft charge and misdemeanor possession charges. Although Johnson could have faced up to 30 years,<ref name="Nov1408" /> the sentence of 12 years was given because Johnson technically had no criminal record from the Jonesboro shooting.<ref name="Nov1408">{{Cite news |author=Jon Gambrell |date=November 14, 2008 |title=Jonesboro shooter gets more prison time in Ark. |work=Fox News |agency=Associated Press |url=http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Nov14/0,4670,JonesboroShooter,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090608133314/http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Nov14/0,4670,JonesboroShooter,00.html |archive-date=June 8, 2009 }}</ref>

On January 23, 2009, Johnson was sentenced to six additional years in prison for a further charge of theft by receiving and financial identity fraud for using the stolen card to purchase a meal from a local Burger King. Circuit Judge William Storey told Johnson, "You continue to run afoul of the law. I am hopeful this is the last time." That brought Johnson's combined state sentences to 18 years.<ref name="Jan2309">{{Cite news |date=January 23, 2009 |title=Ark. school shooter gets extra 6 years for theft |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna28816153|access-date=April 21, 2023|work=[[NBC News]]}}</ref> In February 2010, the [[Arkansas Supreme Court]] granted Johnson leave to appeal his sentence by saying that the trial judge should not have admitted evidence of the juvenile convictions during the sentencing phase of the theft and possession trial.<ref>{{Cite news |author=Jill Zeman Bleed |date=February 12, 2010 |title=Jonesboro Shooter Can Appeal Theft Plea |work=Fox News |agency=Associated Press |place=Little Rock, Arkansas |url=http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/local/021210-apx-jonesboro-shooter-can-appeal-theft-plea |url-status=dead |access-date=August 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728052647/http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/local/021210-apx-jonesboro-shooter-can-appeal-theft-plea |archive-date=July 28, 2011}}</ref> Johnson will have to complete his federal sentence of four years after serving his 18-year state sentence.<ref name="Jan2309" /> He could have remained incarcerated into his forties but was eligible for parole from his Arkansas sentence in 2011, after which he served the four-year federal sentence. In February 2016, ABC News reported online that Johnson was released in July 2015 into the custody of the United States Probation Office for the Southern District of Texas and placed in a drug rehabilitation program.<ref name=":6" />

=== Andrew Golden ===
'''Andrew Douglas Golden''' was born May 25, 1986, in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to Jacqueline and Dennis Golden; he died July 27, 2019, aged 33, near [[Cave City, Arkansas]], after being struck in a head-on traffic accident.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-07-29 |title=Arkansas school shooter who killed five in 1998 dies in head-on car crash |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/arkansas-school-shooter-who-killed-five-1998-dies-head-car-n1035606 |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> By all accounts, Golden came from a stable household, having a good relationship with both his parents, and he regularly visited his grandparents and great-grandmother.<ref name="nytimes" /> Both of his parents worked as postal workers, and his paternal grandfather, Douglas Golden, was a wildlife conservation officer in Jonesboro.

After he was released from prison on May 25, 2007, Golden's whereabouts were unknown until he applied for a [[Concealed carry in the United States|concealed weapon permit]] in Arkansas on October 7, 2008, under the name he used until his death, Drew Douglas Grant. His application was denied by the [[Arkansas State Police]], who noted that he had lied on the application about his previous residences and declared it was illegal for Golden to own or possess a firearm. The assumed name that Golden was using had been unknown until this point because of a [[gag order]], but police were able to tie Andrew Golden to Grant through fingerprint records during the background check for the permit.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Koon |first=David |date=December 11, 2008 |title=Westside killer seeks handgun permit |newspaper=[[Arkansas Times]] |url=http://www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=9656fb86-7479-4ec8-88f2-8c7596d09e2e |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203064621/http://www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=9656fb86-7479-4ec8-88f2-8c7596d09e2e |archive-date=February 3, 2009}}</ref> He was living in [[Cape Girardeau, Missouri]], at the time and attending [[University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville|Batesville Community College]].<ref>[https://www.semissourian.com/story/1485277.html Semis Sourian] {{dead link|date=December 2022}}</ref>

Golden completed his [[Civil law (common law)|civil case]] [[Deposition (law)|deposition]] on May 6, 2008.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Second WestSide Shooter Served |url=http://www.kait8.com/global/story.asp?s=8171798 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104214453/http://www.kait8.com/global/story.asp?s=8171798 |archive-date=November 4, 2013 |access-date=June 10, 2013 |website=Kait8.com}}</ref> As of 2017, Golden was said to be living outside of [[Cape Girardeau, Missouri]] while Johnson was said to be living in [[Houston, Texas]]. Their exact whereabouts were withheld by the government for legal reasons.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 16, 2017 |title=$150M awarded in 1998 Arkansas school shooting lawsuit |url=https://wreg.com/2017/08/16/150m-awarded-in-1998-arkansas-school-shooting-lawsuit/ |website=Wreg.com |publisher=[[WREG-TV]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bailey |first=Holly |date=December 19, 2017 |title=The Ones That Got Away: Jonesboro's Survivors — and the Shooters — Recall a Moment of Horror |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-ones-that-got-away-jonesboros-survivors-and-the-shooters-recall-a-moment-of-horror_n_5a39780ce4b06d1621b01f37}}</ref>

Golden died on July 27, 2019, after a 2013 [[Chevrolet Tahoe]] departed its lane, crashing head-on into Golden's 2017 [[Honda CRV]] on [[U.S. Route 167]] in [[Independence County, Arkansas]] near [[Cave City, Arkansas]], about {{convert|65|mi|km}} west of Jonesboro and {{convert|100|mi|km}} north of Little Rock. The Chevrolet driver, identified as Daniel Petty, 59, of [[Essex, Missouri]], was also killed in the crash, according to an [[Arkansas State Police]] preliminary summary of the wreck.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Arkansas State Police|url=https://dps.arkansas.gov/law-enforcement/arkansas-state-police/?do=view_reports&accident_number=243&year_rec=2019|access-date=March 29, 2020|website=asp.arkansas.gov}}</ref> Three other people, including Golden's wife, another adult, and Golden's daughter, were injured and taken to hospitals in [[Little Rock, Arkansas|Little Rock]] and [[Batesville, Arkansas|Batesville]]. At the time of his death Golden was said to be living in [[Jackson, Missouri]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Arkansas State Police confirms, Westside School shooter killed in crash|url=https://www.kait8.com/2019/07/28/westside-school-shooter-killed-crash-independence-county-asp-confirms/|access-date=28 July 2019|website=Kait8.com|publisher=[[KAIT]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Shooter in 1998 Ark. school shooting killed in crash, police confirms|url=https://www.wkyt.com/content/news/Arkansas-State-Police-confirms-Westside-School-shooter-killed-in-crash-513310491.html|access-date=March 29, 2020|website=www.wkyt.com|archive-date=July 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728235206/https://www.wkyt.com/content/news/Arkansas-State-Police-confirms-Westside-School-shooter-killed-in-crash-513310491.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Crime|Arkansas|Schools}}
* [[List of school shootings in the United States (before 2000)]]
* [[List of attacks related to secondary schools]]
* [[List of school massacres by death toll]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Notes ==
<references group="lower-alpha" />
{{Jonesboro, Arkansas}}
{{Mass shootings in the United States in the 1990s}}
{{School shootings in the United States}}
{{Presidency of Bill Clinton}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Westside Middle School shooting, 1998}}
[[Category:1998 in Arkansas]]
[[Category:1998 mass shootings in the United States]]
[[Category:1998 murders in the United States]]
[[Category:Attacks on schools in 1998]]
[[Category:Child murder in Arkansas]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in Arkansas]]
[[Category:March 1998 crimes in the United States]]
[[Category:Mass murderer duos]]
[[Category:Mass murder in the United States in the 1990s]]
[[Category:Mass shootings in Arkansas]]
[[Category:Massacres in 1998]]
[[Category:Middle school shootings in the United States]]
[[Category:Murder in Arkansas]]
[[Category:Presidency of Bill Clinton]]
[[Category:School massacres in the United States]]
[[Category:School shootings committed by pupils]]

1998 Westside Middle School shooting - Revision history

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