{{Short description|2000 mass shooting in Massachusetts, U.S.}} {{Use American English|date=December 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2022}} {{Infobox civilian attack | title = Edgewater Technology shooting | location = 200 Harvard Mill Square, Suite 210, Wakefield, Massachusetts, U.S. | target = Edgewater Technology | date = {{start date and age |2000|12|26|df=y}} | coordinates = {{coord|42|30|1|N|71|4|33|W|type:event_region:US_dim:200|display=inline,title}} | time = | type = Mass shooting, mass murder, spree shooting, workplace shooting | fatalities = 7 | injuries = 0 | perp = Michael Morgan McDermott | motive = Personal grievances | weapons = * AK-47 variant semi-automatic rifle * 12-gauge Winchester 1300 * .32-caliber Retolaza }} On December 26, 2000, a mass shooting occurred at Edgewater Technology in Wakefield, Massachusetts, United States. Michael Morgan McDermott, an employee at Edgewater Technology, shot and killed seven of his coworkers. It is the deadliest mass shooting in Massachusetts history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/12/26/wakefield_rampage_an_unforgettable_event/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160618160845/http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/12/26/wakefield_rampage_an_unforgettable_event/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 18, 2016 |title=Emotions raw 10 years after shooting |newspaper=The Boston Globe| first1=Jonathan|last1=Saltzman|first2=Travis|last2=Andersen|date=December 26, 2010|access-date=June 20, 2022}}</ref>

== Shooting == The weapons McDermott used were an AK-47 variant Semi-Automatic Rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and a .32 caliber pistol. He fired off a total of 37 rounds, shooting his victims in the back of the head repeatedly.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/28/us/a-deadly-turn-to-a-normal-work-day.html |title=A Deadly Turn to a Normal Work Day |newspaper=The New York Times |first=Carey |last=Goldberg |date=December 28, 2000 |access-date=June 20, 2022}}</ref> Police later found a .460-calibre Weatherby Mark V rifle in McDermott's locker.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/28/us/man-charged-in-killings-evaded-strict-gun-laws.html |title=Man Charged In Killings Evaded Strict Gun Laws |newspaper=The New York Times |first=David |last=Stout |date=December 28, 2000 |access-date=June 20, 2022}}</ref>

McDermott was found by police sitting calmly and stated that he did not speak German. At trial, he stated that he was born without a soul and that God had allowed him to earn a soul by traveling back in time to kill Nazis. However, the prosecution asserted that the killings were motivated by his employer's garnishment of his wages for the IRS in order to pay back taxes that he owed. Evidence also showed that he had researched how to fake mental illness.<ref name=SJCDecision>{{cite web|url=http://masscases.com/cases/sjc/448/448mass750.html|title=McDermott, Commonwealth vs., 448 Mass. 750|website=masscases.com}}</ref>

=== Legal proceedings === McDermott was found guilty of seven counts of first degree murder on April 24, 2002, after the jury deliberated for 16 hours across three days. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.<ref>{{cite web |last=O'Regan |first=Chris |date=April 24, 2002 |title=Worker Found Guilty In Office Slaying |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/worker-found-guilty-in-office-slaying/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250617010838/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/worker-found-guilty-in-office-slaying/ |archive-date=June 17, 2025 |access-date=June 20, 2022 |publisher=CBS News}}</ref> On April 13, 2007, an appeal filed by McDermott, asking for his conviction to be overturned, was denied. The appeal claimed that a prosecution witness mentioning 9/11 was unfair and should have led to a declared mistrial, that the jury was badly instructed, and that the judge should not have allowed certain evidence to be used. The appeal was denied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on the grounds that, due to the length of his trial and the large amount of evidence against him, the result of his trial would have been the same.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Jay Lindsay|agency=Associated Press |title=Appeal denied in office slayings |url=https://www.telegram.com/story/news/local/worcester/2007/04/14/appeal-denied-in-office-slayings/52925645007/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250617012627/https://www.telegram.com/story/news/local/worcester/2007/04/14/appeal-denied-in-office-slayings/52925645007/ |archive-date=June 17, 2025 |access-date=2025-06-17 |website=The Worcester Telegram & Gazette |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Fatalities == *Jennifer Bragg Capobianco, 29, marketing *Janice Hagerty, 46, office manager *Louis A. Javelle, 58, director of consulting *Rose Manfredi, 48, payroll *Paul Marceau, 36, development technician *Cheryl Troy, 50, human resources director *Craig Wood, 29, human resources<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.southcoasttoday.com/story/news/state/2000/12/28/families-friends-grapple-with-seven/50463595007/ |title=Families, friends grapple with seven Wakefield slayings |publisher=Associated Press |first=Theo |last=Emery |date=December 27, 2000 |access-date=June 20, 2022}}</ref>

==Perpetrator== Michael Morgan McDermott was born on September 4, 1958 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, as Michael McDermod Martinez. He was the second of four children to Richard and Rosemary ({{nee}} Reardon) Martinez, who both worked as teachers. He grew up in nearby Marshfield and graduated from Marshfield High in 1976. A former classmate stated that McDermott was seen as a "very nice guy" by his peers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/Story-of-accused-killer-depends-on-whom-you-ask-11713389.php |title=Story of accused killer depends on whom you ask |publisher=Associated Press |date=December 29, 2000 |access-date=June 20, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,998904-2,00.html |title=Portrait Of A Killer |magazine=Time |first=Nadya |last=Labi |date=January 8, 2001 |access-date=June 20, 2022}}</ref>

Shortly after graduating high school, McDermott enlisted in the United States Navy and served for six years as an electrician's mate, most of which was spent on the USS ''Narwhal''. He was eventually honorably discharged with the rank of electrician's mate petty officer second class.<ref name="CCT">{{cite web|url=https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/news/2000/12/30/suspect-s-history-yields-few/51004690007/ |title=Suspect's history yields few clues |newspaper=Cape Cod Times |agency=Associated Press |date=December 30, 2000 |access-date=June 20, 2022}}</ref>

From 1982 to 1988, McDermott worked for the Maine Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. He then moved to Weymouth, Massachusetts, and began work in research and development for Duracell. In 1992, McDermott married Monica Sheehan. They divorced several years later. Around this time, McDermott began to gain significant weight.<ref name="CCT"/> In 2000, after Duracell announced that it would soon move to Bethel, Connecticut, McDermott resigned and later joined Edgewater Technology that same year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/28/us/in-wake-of-killings-strands-of-suspect-s-life.html |title=In Wake of Killings, Strands of Suspect's Life |newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 28, 2000 |access-date=June 20, 2022}}</ref>

In October 2000, McDermott moved out of his apartment in South Weymouth after failing to pay his rent, leaving the residence in a derelict state and owing the landlord $1,720. He then moved into an apartment in Haverhill.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

It later emerged that, in addition to his other financial troubles, McDermott had owed roughly $5,000 in back taxes to the IRS and that Edgewater Technology had withheld a portion of his wages in order to comply with an order by the IRS.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/2001/01/03/report-wakefield-shooting-suspect-owed/51305385007/ |title=Report: Wakefield shooting suspect owed IRS less than $5K|publisher=Associated Press |date=January 3, 2001 |access-date=June 20, 2022}}</ref>

As of 2024, McDermott was incarcerated at Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-mad-1_09-cv-11992/pdf/USCOURTS-mad-1_09-cv-11992-0.pdf |title=Report and Recommendation Re:Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus |date=October 25, 2011 |website=www.govinfo.gov |access-date=2019-07-08}}</ref>

==Media references== McDermott is cited in the 2003 psychology book ''Why We Hate''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dozier|first=Rush|title=Why We Hate|year=2003|publisher=McGraw-Hill|isbn=978-0809224791|page=352}}</ref>

In 2008, his case was studied on the true crime forensics program ''Most Evil''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Most Evil: Season 2|url=http://investigation.discovery.com/tv/most-evil/ep-guide/most-evil-ep-guide.html|access-date=May 13, 2012}}</ref>

In the 2001 PlayStation 2 video game ''Gran Turismo 3: A-spec'', passages of filler text in the splash image for one of the game's race events reference the shooting.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-12-12 |title=Gran Turismo 3 Contained a Reference to a Mass Shooting That No One Spotted for Nearly 25 Years |url=http://outof.games/news/8607-gran-turismo-3-contained-a-reference-to-a-mass-shooting-that-no-one-spotted-for-nearly-25-years/ |access-date= |website=Out of Games |language=en}}</ref>

==Commemorations== A cherry tree was planted outside of Edgewater Technology's offices in Wakefield in memory of the seven victims. Every December, carnation flowers are woven into the branches in their memory.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.necn.com/news/new-england/_NECN__Survivor_of_Mass_Shooting_on_Healing_Process_NECN-251502711.html|title=Survivor of Mass Shooting on Healing Process|website=NECN|date=March 21, 2014 }}</ref>

==See also== *List of mass shootings in the United States

== References == {{reflist}}

==External links== *[https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/27/us/7-die-in-rampage-at-company-co-worker-of-victims-arrested.html 7 Die in Rampage at Company; Co-Worker of Victims Arrested], ''The New York Times'' (December 27, 2000) *[https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/28/us/a-deadly-turn-to-a-normal-work-day.html A Deadly Turn to a Normal Work Day], ''The New York Times'' (December 28, 2000) *[https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/12/27/7-die-in-massachusetts-office-shooting/1b9f9c67-b2c3-482c-bf1b-fa869fc6c430/ 7 Die in Massachusetts Office Shooting], ''The Washington Post'' (December 27, 2000) *[https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/28/us/in-wake-of-killings-strands-of-suspect-s-life.html In Wake of Killings, Strands of Suspect's Life], ''The New York Times'' (December 28, 2000) *[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/dec/27/usgunviolence.usa Gunman kills 7 at net firm], ''The Guardian'' (December 27, 2000) *[http://www.dailynewstranscript.com/news/x253543499 McDermott found guilty of Edgewater murders: Judge sentences him to seven consecutive life sentences] ''The Daily News Transcript'' (April 24, 2002)

{{Mass shootings in the United States in the 2000s}} {{WakefieldMA}} Category:2000 mass murders Category:2000 in Massachusetts Category:2000 murders in the United States Category:2000 mass shootings in the United States Category:Attacks in the United States in 2000 Category:Deaths by firearm in Massachusetts Category:December 2000 crimes in the United States Category:History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts Category:Mass shootings in Massachusetts Category:Murder in Massachusetts Category:Wakefield, Massachusetts Category:Workplace shootings in the United States Category:Mass shootings involving shotguns in the United States