Westside Middle School massacre
| Mitchell Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 11, 1984 Grand Meadow, Minnesota |
| Criminal charge | 1998: 5 counts of murder, 10 counts aggravated assault 2007: drug possession, unlawful firearm possession 2008: theft, financial identity fraud, drug possession |
| Criminal penalty | 1998: Incarceration until age 18 and to 21 on federal charges 2008: 4-year federal sentence + 18-year state sentence |
| Criminal status | Released |
| Parent(s) | Scott Johnson Gretchen Woodward |
| Andrew Golden | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 25, 1986 Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States |
| Other names | Drew Douglas Grant |
| Criminal charge | Murder, attempted murder, unlawful firearm possession |
| Criminal penalty | Incarceration until age 18 and to 21 on federal charges |
| Criminal status | Released |
| Parent(s) | Jacqueline and Dennis Golden |
Mitchell Scott Johnson (born August 11, 1984) and Andrew Douglas Golden (born May 25, 1986) are former middle school students and the perpetrators of the March 24, 1998 massacre at Westside Middle School in unincorporated Craighead County, Arkansas near the city of Jonesboro, the deadliest massacre at an American middle school. Johnson and Golden fatally shot four students and a teacher with multiple weapons, and both were arrested when they attempted to flee the scene. Ten others were wounded in the shooting. Both Golden and Johnson were charged with the five murders and 10 injuries that were caused by the shooting, and were imprisoned until each turned 21 years of age. Both individuals have had gun-related legal altercations since release.
Mitchell Scott Johnson was born in Grand Meadow, Minnesota to Gretchen and Scott Johnson. 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 a guard. 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, in Jonesboro.
Following the shooting, Johnson's attorney claimed that he had been sexually abused when he was 6 and 7 years by a "family member of the day care where he was placed." One year prior to the shooting, 12-year-old Mitchell 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.
Andrew Douglas Golden was born and raised in Jonesboro to Jacqueline and Dennis Golden. By all accounts, he came from a stable household, having a good relationship with both his parents, and he regularly visited his grandparents and great-grandmother. Both of his parents worked as postal workers, and his paternal grandfather, Douglas Golden, was a wildlife conservation officer in Jonesboro. He was raised to be familiar with firearms and their use at an early age; he was given his first firearm by his father when he was six years old.
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