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Olean High School Mass Shooting

Anthony F. Barbaro was an Honor student at Olean High School in Olean, New York. He liked guns and was on the school rifle team, so when he left home with a rifle on Monday, December 30th, 1974, no one was suspicious. It was winter break, and he told his brother he was going target shooting, but that was a lie.

Instead, he went to his school and entered the building via a side door at around 2:50 pm. He went to the third floor, set off a smoke bomb, then shot the lock of a door, and entered the student council room.

There was a bunch of men working in the basement, and when they heard a fire alarm, the superintendent sent Earl Metcalf to see what was going on.

As Metcalf was headed to the third floor, he encountered custodian Joe Kosidlo. Kosidlo said he thought he heard gunshots and suggested Metcalf vacate. But Metcalf didn’t listen, and he was Barbaro’s first victim.

Barbaro then started shooting out the window. By 5:20 pm more than 50 police officers had the building surrounded, and a National Guard armored vehicle was on scene to remove the injured victims.

Two police officers and four National Guardsmen went inside the building and threw tear gas grenades into the student council room. Barbaro had a gas mask, but it was defective, and he passed out. Barbaro was taken to the Olean County jail.

During his rampage, he fired 31 shots that left 4 dead and 11 injured. He killed 62-year-old Earl Metcalf inside the building. 58-year-old Neal Pilon was killed while crossing the street outside the school. 25-year-old Carmen Wright Drayton was shot in the head as she drove past the school. She and her unborn twins died.

Of the 11 injured, seven had been shot while four were injured by flying glass. Eight of the wounded were Olean City Firefighters.

Aftermath

After the shocking mass shooting, his home was searched. Authorities found homemade propane bombs, bomb recipes, and a journal in which he planned the shooting.

Hunting for answers, investigators looked at Barbaro’s background. He lived with his parents, two brothers, and a sister.

He seemed smart and had looked like he had a bright future. He was at the top of his class in academic scores, was in the National Honor Society, and had a scholarship to New York University. He had no disciplinary issues, although he was considered quiet, and the school’s principal later described him as a loner.

Outside of school, he worked with his mother in the fast food industry.

Legal Proceedings

He was charged with three counts of second-degree murder, six counts of first-degree assault, and five counts of first-degree reckless endangerment.

In April 1975, he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. He was examined by two court-appointed psychiatrists, and they both ruled him competent. At an October 1975 preliminary hearing, Barbaro’s attorney continued to blame his client’s actions on mental illness.

Motive

At some point during his first few months in jail, he wrote a letter trying to explain his actions, saying:

“I guess I just wanted to kill the person I hate most — myself, I just didn’t have the courage. I wanted to die, but I couldn’t do it, so I had to get someone to do it for me. It didn’t work out.”

Suicide

Barbaro was found hanging in his cell at the Cattaraugus County Jail on November 1st, 1975. He left behind three notes. One was addressed to his family, the second to a woman he had been communicating with while he was locked up, and the third “to whom it may concern.”

The third note said:

“People are not afraid to die, it’s just how they die. I don’t fear death, but rather the pain. But no more. I regret the foods I’ll never taste, the music I’ll never hear, the sites I’ll never see, the accomplishments I’ll never accomplish, in other words, I regret my life. Some will always ask, ‘Why?’ I don’t know — no one will. What has been, can’t be changed. I’m sorry. It ends like it began; in the middle of the night, someone might think it selfish or cowardly to take one’s own life. Maybe so, but it’s the only free choice I have. The way I figure, I lose either way. If I’m found not guilty, I won’t survive the pain I’ve caused — my guilt. If I’m convicted, I won’t survive the mental and physical punishment of my life in prison.”