Biography

On January 29, 1979, sixteen year old Brenda Spencer pointed her .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle that she had received as a Christmas present from her father out her bedroom window to San Diego's Grover Cleveland Elementary School across the street. She waited for the school to open, then at 8.30 am, began firing on the students who were arriving at the school. For twenty minutes, Spencer fired 36 shots, killing the school principal and the school's caretaker, as well as wounding eight students, aged 6 to 12 and a San Diego police officer. During the next six and a half hours, Brenda talked to the police and press, before finally surrendering. Explaining why she had done what she did, she said: "I just started shooting, that's it. I just did it for the fun of it. I just don't like Mondays.... I just did it because it's a way to cheer the day up. Nobody likes Mondays." She was tried as an adult, and pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder, eight counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and one count of assault on a peace officer and is serving two 25-to-life sentences.

Her explanation for her infamous shooting spree inspired the song "I Don't Like Mondays" by The Boomtown Rats.

Incarcerated at the California Institution for Women in Chino, California. Spencer became eligible for parole in 1993, but was denied parole four times and will not be eligible again until 2019.

[when asked why she committed her school shooting] i don't like Mondays.