On Thursday, May 6, 1993, a disgruntled postal employee took several handguns into his place of employment and shot three coworkers. With the term “going postal” becoming more common after several such attacks, when this event was reported there were, no doubt, a bunch of people who saw it and said (or thought), “Another one? No big surprise.”
The attacker, identified as Lawrence Jasion, took three handguns into the facility, sneaking them in inside a donut box that he’d reinforced with heavier cardboard to hold the weight of the weapons, apparently to shoot a coworker who had gotten a promotion that he (Jasion) had competed for. The box also reportedly held a supply of ammunition that a police representative later described as “teflon coated... cop killers.” After shooting the three coworkers, Jasion turned the gun on himself and committed suicide. At the time, that was a common end to such attacks - although not always the case.
Jasion reportedly fired a total of 18 rounds, including the one that he used to kill himself. Since it’s reported that all of the shots he fired were from the .38 revolver he had (the other two guns were reported as .22lr in caliber but not identified as to type, manufacturer, etc.), that represents three 6-shot cylinder loads of ammunition.
During the post incident investigation it was discovered/revealed that one of the victims, Sandra Brandstatter, was the person who had gotten the promotion that Jasion had wanted. Further, some six weeks prior to the attack, Brandstatter had written a letter to postal officials, expressing her concerns about Jasion and her fear of him. Postal officials report that they had interviewed Jasion within two days of having received that letter from Brandstatter, but that nothing in the interview revealed any threat or indication of potential violence from Jasion. It was the determination of the postal officials - their “professional opinion” - that Jasion was lucid, rational and did not pose a threat.
Speaking on behalf of the post office at that time, Postmaster General Marvin Runyon said that Jasion had indicated no motivation to take any type of action against Brandstatter. Runyon went on to state that any threat perceived by Brandstatter and any potential for violence on Jasion’s part was not cause for action against Jasion. Runyon said that unless the postal employee commits a violent act or is deemed dangerous by a psychologist/psychiatrist, there was nothing the post office could do.
Jasion reportedly shot Brandstatter twice in the head and once in the back before killing postal mechanics Gary Montes and then shooting maintenance supervisor Bruce Plumb. Plumb was shot three times and listed in stable condition on the Friday after the incident.
Reports say that Jasion’s body was found six hours after the attack by a SWAT team. No other information is readily available about the police response, but it should be noted that if there were no shots being fired when police first arrived, the proper response was to set up a perimeter in anticipation of a hostage barricade situation. Police Chief (at that time) Ronald Deziel said that Jasion had no criminal history they were aware of and that he’d committed no prior acts that would have indicated the need for law enforcement intervention.
When police later searched Jasion’s residence they discovered that he was what has become known as a “hoarder.” Inside of Jasion’s residence there was “junk of almost every kind piled from floor to ceiling,” and several thousand rounds of ammunition along with other firearms. Chief Deziel pointed out that the attack could have been far worse had Jasion chosen to take other firearms and a larger supply of ammunition to the post office. Jasion reportedly lived alone and wasn’t married. His neighbors and coworkers described him as a loner and seemed to feel that Jasion’s life was relatively empty outside of work.
It should be noted that while Brandstatter did indicate her fear of violent action from Jasion, the post office’s representatives took action and deemed there to be no threat. As was said by the Postmaster General (at that time), barring some type of examination and diagnosis by a licensed mental health professional, there was no further action they could reasonably take. That doesn’t mean that Jasion presented no threat (as made obvious by his later actions). Even had Jasion been examined and deemed mentally imbalanced or some type of threat, without access to those mental health records, the post office still wouldn’t have been able to take any action. Until such time as privacy laws change regarding health records, this disconnect will exist and present an on-going challenge to the prevention of such attacks.
