Kipland Philip Kinkel (born August 30, 1982) perpetrated a school shooting at a Springfield, Oregon secondary school, killing two people and wounding twenty-five.

On May 20, 1998, after Kinkel was expelled for bringing a gun to school, Kinkel shot his father, Bill Kinkel, and later his mother, Faith Kinkel (née Zuranski). He continuously played a soundtrack from the 1996 movie Romeo and Juliet. His sister, Kirsten, was attending school at a university at the time.

When dawn on May 21, 1998 came, Kinkel drove to Thurston High School in his mother's Ford Explorer. He possessed a Ruger semi-automatic rifle, a .22 caliber Ruger automatic pistol, his father's 9mm GLOCK pistol, and a hunting knife, which was strapped to his leg. In the school's hallway he shot student Ben Walker in the head. He also shot and injured another student, Ryan Atteberry. He then entered the cafeteria and opened fire, injuring many children. He shot Mikael Nickolauson, who had already received a bullet in his thigh, in the head. Other students then beat Kinkel into submission. Nickolauson died at the scene, and Walker died after being transported to the hospital.

Kinkel was arrested. When brought to the police station, he lunged at Al Warthen , a police officer, with his knife. The officer sprayed Kinkel with pepper spray, thwarting his attack. Kinkel later said that he wanted to trick the officer into shooting him. When interviewed by Warthen, Kinkel repeated at least seven times that he had "no other choice" but to kill his parents, and at one point exclaimed "God damn it...these voices inside my head." (Interview transcript.)

At his trial the defense presented a number of experts in an effort to prove that Kinkel was mentally ill. On September 24, 1999, three days before jury selection was set to begin, Kip pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder, foregoing the possibility of being acquitted by reason of insanity. In November 1999 Kinkel was sentenced to more than 111 years in prison, without the possibility of parole.

External link

• The Killer at Thurston High (PBS Frontline documentary about Kinkel)