On July 18, 1984 a gunman shot and killed customers and employees of a McDonald’s in the San Ysidro neighborhood of San Diego county. The perpetrator was James Huberty, a 41 year old man who had called a mental health center a day before the shooting to get help for his known mental illness. He got no response and decided to go to McDonald’s with several guns and a bag of ammunition.
On that day, 21 people were killed and many others severely wounded including very young children. At that time, it was the deadliest mass shooting by a lone gunman in U.S. history. The trauma of this kind of an event can prevent those who survived from living any kind of a semblance of a normal life.
After all this time, however, some victims who lived through the event and who lost loved ones have spoken about their lives after the shooting:
Al Leos survived his injuries and had to undergo several surgeries in order to remove the many bullets from his body. He spent two years recovering from his injuries. At the time of the shooting, Al was only 17 years old. He had just started working at McDonald’s. Today he is a San Diego police captain. He can remember all of the details of what happened but he says it reminds him of how fragile life is and he has enjoyed giving back to his community because they helped him during the incident. He vowed that if he survived he would do something good with his life.
Wendy Flanagan was a new employee at the time and she had gone in the back to get ice. She heard the gunfire and survived the ordeal by hiding in a basement utility room at McDonald’s. She sought counseling and made much progress to get to the point where she lives a happy life today for the most part. She does avoid the area of the shooting and certain sounds and reminders can be daunting.
Joshua Coleman was 11 years old when he and his two friends rode their bikes to get ice cream at McDonald’s. The gunman shot the boys when they approached McDonald’s. Joshua Coleman played dead after having been shot a number of times. That’s how he survived. But his two friends died. He grew up and had his own family with three girls whom he became extremely protective of after having gone through such a tragedy.
The tragedy brought together people from the community who donated money and time to care for victims. The McDonald’s location was demolished. McDonald’s as well as Joan Kroc (wife of founder Roy Kroc) donated to the victims.
Post traumatic stress disorder:
There were many people who suffered after the shooting including police, firefighters, friends and family members. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (https://www.nimh.nih.gov/), post-traumatic stress disorder can develop after exposure to a potentially traumatic event that is beyond a typical stressor. This includes violence and human-caused disasters such as the event at McDonald’s. People who experience PTSD may have persistent, frightening thoughts and memories of the event(s), experience sleep problems, feel detached or numb, or may be easily startled. In severe forms, PTSD can significantly impair a person’s ability to function at work, at home, and socially.
For mental health resources, please visit: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/find-help