{{Short description|1986 mass shooting in Oklahoma, U.S.}} {{Use American English|date=December 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}} {{Infobox civilian attack | title = Edmond post office shooting | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = Patrick Sherrill, {{circa|1986}} | map = | map_size = | map_alt = | map_caption = | location = Edmond, Oklahoma, U.S. | target = Postal workers | coordinates = {{coord| 35.657971|-97.480137 |type:event_region:US-VA|display=inline,title}} | date = {{start date and age|1986|8|20}} | time-begin = {{circa}} 7:00 | time-end = 7:15 a.m. | timezone = UTC−05:00 | type = Mass shooting, mass murder, murder-suicide, workplace shooting | fatalities = 15 (including the perpetrator) | injuries = 6 | perpetrator = Patrick Henry Sherrill | weapons = * Two M1911 .45 caliber semi-automatic pistols * Ruger MK II .22-caliber pistol<ref name=201115MinBook>{{cite book|last=Justus|first=Dale|title=Fifteen Minutes of Terror: Massacre at the Edmond Oklahoma Post Office|date=8 August 2011|publisher=iUniverse, Incorporated|isbn=978-1462041985|page=34|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vtC8pSiNVV4C&q=Paul+Michael+%22Mike%22+Rockne&pg=PA34}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ellis |first1=Randy |title=Authorities Piece Together Tragedy Gunman at Edmond Post Office Knew Where to Shoot People |url=https://eu.oklahoman.com/story/news/1986/08/22/authorities-piece-together-tragedy-gunman-at-edmond-post-office-knew-where-to-shoot-people/62717287007/ |website=The Oklahoman |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251010174524/https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1986/08/22/authorities-piece-together-tragedy-gunman-at-edmond-post-office-knew-where-to-shoot-people/62717287007/ |archive-date=10 October 2025 |access-date=10 October 2025 |date=22 August 1986}}</ref> | numparts = <!-- or | numpart = --> | dfens = <!-- or | dfen = --> | motive = Revenge due to previous reprimands, Disgruntled }}
The '''Edmond post office shooting''' was a mass shooting that occurred in Edmond, Oklahoma, on August 20, 1986. In less than fifteen minutes, 44-year-old postal worker Patrick Sherrill pursued and shot several coworkers, killing 14 and injuring another 6, before committing suicide. It is currently the deadliest workplace shooting in U.S. history, as well as the deadliest shooting by a lone gunman in the state of Oklahoma.
The attack, among other similar incidents of violence perpetrated by postal workers, inspired the American phrase "going postal".<ref name=Postal>{{cite news|last=Staff|title=Shootings Seal Post Office Rep|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4246053.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140629090030/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4246053.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 29, 2014|access-date=22 May 2014|newspaper=Chicago Sun Times |date=September 4, 1994}}</ref>
==Background== Sherrill was a relief carrier, meaning he was often required to work alternate routes on different days, a position dictated by his rank on the seniority list. His lack of a permanently assigned route meant that he lacked the same job stability as other USPS workers. Opinions vary concerning his job performance. Some reports portray him as an erratic, irritable worker; others claim he performed well and was being badgered by management. On the afternoon of August 19, 1986, supervisors Esser and Bland reprimanded Sherrill for his behavior.<ref name=JournalEmpAsst>{{cite journal|last=Staff|title=On August 20, 1986, a part-time letter carrier named Patrick H. Sherrill, facing possible dismissal after a clear troubled work history|journal=The Journal of Employee Assistance |date=May 1, 2005|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-131974297.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140629090037/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-131974297.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 29, 2014|access-date=22 May 2014}}</ref> Sherrill had threatened revenge twice out of anger at being disciplined.<ref name="OklahomaHistory">{{cite web |title=Edmond Post Office Massacre |url=https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=ED003 |website=okhistory.org |publisher=Oklahoma Historical Society |access-date=16 August 2023}}</ref>
=={{anchor|The attack}}Shooting== On August 20, 1986, Sherrill arrived at his workplace, having armed himself with three semi-automatic pistols along with extra ammunition, which he had concealed in a mail bag.<ref name=EveningTimesGlobe>{{cite news |title=Shootings Follow Threat Of Firing |url=https://da.tj.news/viewer?opub=Evening_Times_Globe&date=19860821&page=1&filename=EveningTimesGlobe_19860821_ETG_19860821_0001 |access-date=16 August 2023 |via=da.tj.news |work= Evening Times Globe |date=August 21, 1986}}</ref><ref name= "OklahomaHistory"/> After entering the building, he locked the doors behind him.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Greco |first=Jonathan |date=2024-08-20 |title= 38 years since Edmond post office massacre |url= https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-edmond-post-office-massacre-archives/61927527 |website= KOCO.com |language=en |access-date=2024-10-21}}</ref> Shortly after 7:00 a.m., he shot and killed Richard Esser Jr., one of two supervisors who had verbally disciplined him the previous day. Sherrill then sought out Bill Bland, another supervisor who had reprimanded him. However, Bland had overslept that morning and arrived an hour late to work, by which time the shootings were already over. Not finding Bland, Sherrill then killed co-worker Paul Michael Rockne<ref name=201115MinBook/> (grandson of football coach Knute Rockne) and sought more co-workers to kill.<ref name="OklahomaHistory"/>
At the time of the attack, around 100 workers occupied the facility.<ref name=201115MinBook/> In total, Sherrill killed 14 people and wounded 6 others.<ref name="OklahomaHistory"/> The shooting ended after Sherrill committed suicide by shooting himself in the forehead as police entered the facility.<ref name=201115MinBook/><ref name=EveningTimesGlobe/>
==Victims== Fourteen people were killed in the shooting, while six others were injured. Those killed were Patricia Ann Chambers, 41; Judy Stephens Denney, 41; Richard C. Esser Jr., 38; Patricia A. Gabbard, 47; Jonna Ruth Gragert, 30; Patty Jean Husband, 48; Betty Ann Jarred, 34; William F. Miller, 30; Kenneth W. Morey, 49; Leroy Orrin Phillips, 42; Jerry Ralph Pyle, 51; Paul Michael Rockne, 33; Thomas Wade Shader Jr., 31; and Patti Lou Welch, 27.<ref name="201115MinBook" />
===Memorial=== thumb|Memorial to the 1986 post office incident in Edmond, Oklahoma
The Yellow Ribbon Memorial is a commemorative outdoor structure dedicated to the victims of the Edmond, Oklahoma post office shooting. Dedicated on May 29, 1989, it is located outside the post office's main entry to the south. The memorial contains the bronze statue of a man and a woman standing atop the fountain's center base and holding the ribbon whose bow is attached to the base. To represent the fourteen victims killed in the shooting, the fountain contains fourteen water jets and a plaque on the front of the base listing their names.<ref name=Smithsonian>{{cite web |title=The Yellow Ribbon, (sculpture) |url=http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=12599754VXQ23.9406&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!331293~!4&ri=2 |website=Art Inventories Catalog |publisher=Smithsonian American Art Museum |access-date=November 24, 2016 }} IAS OK000160.</ref>
The memorial was built by the Edmond community and the United States Postal Service;<ref name=encyclopedia2009>{{cite encyclopedia |year=2009 |first=Dianna |last=Everett |title=Edmond Post Office Massacre |url=http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=ED003 |publisher=Oklahoma Historical Society |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture |access-date=November 24, 2016 }}</ref> the statue was created by sculptor Richard Muno (1939–2015).<ref name=encyclopedia2009/><ref>[http://matthewsfuneralhome.com/richard-carl-muno/ Funeral of Richard Carl Muno (July 2, 1939 – July 28, 2015)]. ''Matthews Funeral Home and Cremation Service''. Retrieved November 24, 2016.</ref> Community members have gathered at the memorial to commemorate the victims, especially on the 25th (2011)<ref>{{cite news |title=Saturday Marks 25th Anniversary Of Edmond Post Office Massacre |url=http://www.news9.com/story/15301820/saturday-marks-25th-anniversary-of-edmond-post-office-massacre |website=News9.com |date=August 20, 2011 |access-date=November 25, 2016 }}</ref> and 30th (2016)<ref name=30th>{{cite news |first=Grant |last=Hermes |date=August 20, 2016 |title=Residents Gather For 30th Anniversary Of Edmond Post Office Massacre |url=http://www.news9.com/story/32804013/residents-gather-for-30th-anniversary-of-edmond-post-office-massacre |website=News9.com |access-date=November 25, 2016 }}</ref> anniversaries.
The memorial was surveyed in May 1996 as "well maintained", categorized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum.<ref name=Smithsonian/> Over the years, the memorial slowly deteriorated with apparent "cracks in the concrete".<ref name=dry>{{cite news |first=Karl |last=Torp |date=August 13, 2012 |title=Memorial Fountain For Edmond Post Office Shooting Victims Runs Dry |url=http://www.news9.com/story/19267398/memorial-fountain-for-edmond-post-office-shooting-victims-runs-dry |website=News9.com |access-date=November 25, 2016 }}</ref><ref name=safe>{{cite news |first=Grant |last=Hermes |date=September 21, 2016 |url=http://www.news9.com/story/33149642/going-postal-how-safe-are-we-at-work |title=Going Postal: How Safe Are We At Work? |website=News9.com |access-date=November 25, 2016 }}</ref> Throughout the early 2010s, operations of the fountain were halted for, according to USPS, "a damaged water supply line".<ref name=dry/> As of 2016, the fountain still operates seasonally.<ref name=30th/><ref name=safe/>
==Perpetrator== '''Patrick Henry Sherrill''' (November 13, 1941 – August 20, 1986) was born in Watonga, Oklahoma, and had served in the United States Marine Corps. Sherrill was described as a loner by those who knew him.<ref name=2006TulsaWorld>{{cite news|last=Morgan|first=Rhett|title=Postal massacre remembered: It was 20 years ago today that 15 people were killed in Edmond.|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-149738234.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140629114927/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-149738234.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 29, 2014|access-date=25 May 2014|newspaper=Tulsa World |date=August 20, 2006}}</ref> He was considered an expert marksman,<ref name=201115MinBook/> gaining experience in small-arms through being in the Oklahoma Air National Guard,<ref name="OklahomaHistory"/> where he was a member of a pistol team.<ref name=201115MinBook/>
==Subsequent postal shooting incidents== <!--see Talk page before editing or deleting--> {{Main|List of postal killings}} The 1986 Edmond incident was the first of several highly publicized postal shootings. * 1991, Ridgewood, New Jersey<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/11/nyregion/4-slain-in-2-new-jersey-attacks-and-former-postal-clerk-is-held.html | work=The New York Times | first=Robert | last=Hanley | title=4 Slain in 2 New Jersey Attacks And Former Postal Clerk Is Held | date=October 11, 1991}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/a-former-postal-worker-commits-mass-murder| title=A former postal worker commits mass murder.| access-date=2010-11-11 | work=The History Channel website | year=2010}}</ref> * 1991, Royal Oak, Michigan<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9D0CE3D6163BF936A25752C1A967958260 | title= Ex-Postal Worker Kills 3 and Wounds 6 in Michigan | access-date=2008-02-26 | work=The New York Times | first=Doron P. | last=Levin | date=November 15, 1991}}</ref> * 1993, Dana Point, California<ref>Gregory K. Moffatt, Blind-Sided: Homicide Where It Is Least Expected, at 37 (2000).</ref> * 1995, Montclair, New Jersey<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/23/nyregion/death-post-office-overview-former-montclair-postal-worker-charged-with-killings.html|title=Death in the Post Office: The Overview; Former Montclair Postal Worker Charged With Killings in Robbery|work=The New York Times|date=March 23, 1995}}</ref> * 2006, Goleta, California<ref>{{Cite news | url= https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/01/us/health/exemployee-kills-5-others-and-herself-at-california-postal-plant.html | title=Ex-Employee Kills 6 Others and Herself at California Postal Plant | date=2006-02-01 | work=The New York Times | first1=John | last1=Holusha | first2=Randal C. | last2=Archibold | access-date=January 11, 2023}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|1980s}} * Virginia Beach shooting (2019) — a similar shooting that targeted a workplace * Mass shootings in the United States * Gun violence in the United States * List of rampage killers (workplace killings) * Workplace violence ** Organizational conflict ** Workplace aggression
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070607203604/http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/mass/work_homicide/4.html "Going postal"] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080531015850/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,144859,00.html "Crazy Pat's" Revenge], ''Time'' (June 24, 2001) * [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9A0DE4DD1430F931A1575BC0A960948260 "The loner: From shy football player to 'Crazy Pat{{'"}}], ''The New York Times'' (August 22, 1986) * [http://www.enidnews.com/opinion/local_story_232005852.html?keyword=topstory "Aug. 20, 1986: Just an ordinary day"], ''EnidNews.com'' (August 20, 2006) * [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1901&dat=19860821&id=OlQgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UtIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4170,3247502 "15 die in post office rage"], ''The News-Journal'' (August 21, 1986) * [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19860821&id=7-IzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nTIHAAAAIBAJ&pg=5293,6399457 "Former marine kills 14, self"], ''Lodi News-Sentinel'' (August 21, 1986)
{{Mass shootings in the United States by deaths}} {{Mass shootings in the United States in the 1980s and before}}
Category:1986 in Oklahoma Category:1986 mass shootings in the United States Category:1986 murders in the United States Category:1986 suicides Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in 1986 Category:August 1986 in the United States Category:Deaths by firearm in Oklahoma Category:Edmond, Oklahoma Category:1986 mass murders Category:Mass murders in Oklahoma Category:1980s mass murders in the United States Category:Mass shootings in Oklahoma Category:Mass shootings involving semi-automatic pistols Category:Attacks on government buildings and structures in the United States Category:Murder–suicides in Oklahoma Category:Postal history of the United States Category:Suicides by firearm in Oklahoma Category:Attacks on post office buildings Category:Workplace shootings in the United States Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in Oklahoma Category:Violence and postal systems