VPC

Where'd They Get Their Guns?

An Analysis of the Firearms Used in High-Profile Shootings, 1963 to 2001

Date: July 18, 1984

Location: McDonald's Restaurant, San Ysidro, California

Alleged Shooter: James Oliver Huberty

People Killed: 22 (shooter killed by police)

People Injured: 19

Firearm(s): Browning P-35 Hi-Power 9mm pistol, Winchester 1200 pump-action 12-gauge shotgun, and an Israeli Military Industries 9mm Model A Carbine (Uzi)

Circumstances

Huberty, a self-professed hater of "children, Mexicans and the United States," told his wife, "I'm going hunting humans," then walked into a suburban McDonald's and opened fire. He shot 40 people, killing 21, before he was killed by a police sharpshooter.

How Firearm(s) Acquired

All three weapons were acquired legally, however, law enforcement officers offered no further information on the weapons' sales history.

John Mintz, "Guns Like Those In McDonald's Case Legal Most Places," The Washington Post, 21 July 1984, sec. A, p. 5.
"The Gun Collector," The New York Times, 22 July 1984, sec. 4, p. 20.
Frank J. Prial, "Weapons Used by Killer Said to be Easy to Obtain," The New York Times, 20 July 1984, sec. B, p. 5.
Alan Adler, "McDonald's Massacre," Associated Press, 20 July 1984.
Martin P. Houseman, "Expert Says Good Guards Don't Need Guns," United Press International, 3 August 1984.
Kelly Thornton, "Police Put Huberty's Guns to Work in Crime Lab," The San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 July 1994, sec. A, p. 5.

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All contents � 2001 Violence Policy Center

The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit educational foundation that conducts research on violence in America and works to develop violence-reduction policies and proposals. The Center examines the role of firearms in America, conducts research on firearms violence, and explores new ways to decrease firearm-related death and injury.