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Where'd They Get Their Guns?

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

Date: June 18, 1990

Location: General Motors Acceptance Corporation Office, Jacksonville, Florida

Alleged Shooter: James Edward Pough

People Killed: 10 (shooter committed suicide)

People Injured: Four

Firearm(s): Universal .30 M1 rifle and a .38 revolver


Circumstances

Pough's 1988 Pontiac Grand Am was repossessed by the General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) in January 1990. This apparently led Pough to enter the GMAC office on June 18, armed with an M1 rifle and a handgun, and open fire, killing nine and wounding four before killing himself.


How Firearm(s) Acquired

Pough's guns were acquired legally. In 1971 Pough pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in the death of David Lee Pender. Adjudication was withheld, so when Pough successfully completed his five years of probation, his record was cleared.

 
  1. Ron Word, "Family Members, Co-Workers Mourn Victims of Finance Office Massacre," Associated Press, 23 June 1990.
  2. "Florida Loan Office Death Toll Reaches 10," Los Angeles Times, 28 June 1990, sec. A, p. 26.
  3. Chris Lavin, "Gunman Kills 8, Himself in Jacksonville Auto Loan Office," St. Petersburg Times, 19 June 1990, sec. A, p. 1.
  4. "Debate: Better Gun Control Will Save More Lives," USA Today, 21 June 1990, sec. A, p. 8.
  5. Jacob Sullum, "Tactical Tragedies: The Lone Gunman Theory of Firearm Regulation," Reason, March 1994, p. 41.
  6. "Other Shootings at U.S. Workplaces," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 27 December 2000, sec. A, p. 15.


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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.