Review "This book with its case histories of cold-blooded murders demonstrates the depths of depravity to which some people will sink. It is an eye-opening treatise on what went wrong! I'll give this book a 5 star rating based on the analysis and thought the author has put into it. Gruesome and scary reading!" ~ Dr. James F. Coyle "Spree Killers by R.J. Parker starts by defining what a spree killer is, then assiduously compiles a dossier on the most notorious killers, and the rampage that follows is like a video game.Talk about mental and going postal. A well designed book. I really like how the author gives his books for free to all Law Enforcement, Firefighters and Military! Bravo"~ Glenn Langohr Read more From the Author INSIDE THE BOOK Excerpt from Columbine School Shooting At 11:10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 20th, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold arrived at Columbine High School in separate cars. Harris parked in the junior student parking lot, Klebold in the senior student parking lot, neither at spaces assigned to them. From these spots, both of them had excellent views of the cafeteria's side entrance, and each shooter was covering a main exit of the school. Shortly before arriving, Harris and Klebold set up a small firebomb in a field about half a mile away from the school. The bomb was set to explode at 11:14 a.m., and is thought to have been placed there as a diversion for emergency personnel. The bomb did partially detonate, causing a small fire that was extinguished by the fire department. The pair met near Harris' car. Armed with two twenty-pound propane bombs in duffel bags, the pair entered the cafeteria a few minutes before lunch and placed the bags carrying the bombs inside. Each bomb was set to explode at approximately 11:17 a.m. Coincidentally, a custodian removed the security camera video tape, rewound it, and placed a new tape in the slot around the same time they entered the cafeteria. The shooters returned to their cars to wait until the bombs exploded, intending to open fire on students fleeing the school through the main entrances after the cafeteria bombs detonated. As they returned to their cars, Harris encountered Brooks Brown, a classmate with whom he had recently patched up longstanding disagreements. Brown was surprised to see Harris as Harris had been absent from class that morning. Brown told Harris that he had missed a test, but Harris seemed unconcerned. Harris then warned him, "Brooks, I like you now. Get out of here. Go home." Brown, feeling uneasy, walked away. Several minutes later, students departing Columbine for lunch noticed Brooks Brown heading down South Pierce Street, away from the school. Meanwhile, Harris and Klebold armed themselves by their cars and waited for the bombs to explode. When the cafeteria bombs failed, Harris and Klebold armed themselves with their weapons, met, and walked toward the building. They went to the top of the West Entrance steps, the highest point on campus. From this vantage point, the cafeteria's side entrance was at the bottom of the staircase, the school's main West Entrance was to their left, and the athletic fields were to their right. At 11:19 a.m., a witness heard Eric Harris yell, "Go! Go!" At that moment, the gunmen pulled their guns and Harris began shooting at Rachel Scott and Richard Castaldo with his 9mm semi-automatic carbine rifle., who were sitting on a grassy knoll to their left, eating lunch. Scott was hit four times and killed instantly. Castaldo, hit eight times, was critically wounded. It is unclear who shot first and who killed Scott. Subsequently, many rumors have swirled regarding the causes of the rampage, suggesting the possible targeting of Christians. One such rumor included the shooters asking Scott if she believed in God, and then killing her after she answered that she did. The FBI later concluded that this conversation did not take place. Harris removed his trench coat and took out his 9mm rifle again, aiming it down the West Staircase. Daniel Rohrbough and two friends, Sean Graves and Lance Kirklin, were walking up the staircase directly below the shooters. Kirklin reported seeing them at the top when suddenly they began shooting at him. All three fell, wounded.  Harris and Klebold then turned and began shooting south, away from the school, at students sitting on the grassy knoll adjacent to the steps, opposite the West Entrance of the school. Michael Johnson was hit, but kept running and escaped. Mark Taylor fell to the ground, crippled, and played dead. The other three escaped uninjured. As the shooting continued, Sean Graves stood up and limped down the staircase to the cafeteria's side entrance, where he collapsed in front of the door. Klebold walked down the steps, heading toward the cafeteria. As he descended, he shot Lance Kirklin once more in the face, critically wounding him. As Daniel Rohrbough struggled down the steps towards the bottom of the staircase, Klebold walked up to him and shot him in the back at close range, killing him. He then continued down the staircase and entered the cafeteria, walking over the injured Sean Graves, who lay at the cafeteria entrance. It is speculated that Klebold did this because he was checking to see why the propane bombs had failed to explode. As Klebold stepped into the cafeteria, Harris began to shoot down the steps at several students who'd been sitting near the cafeteria's entrance, wounding Anne-Marie Hochhalter as she attempted to flee. After a few seconds, Klebold returned up the staircase to meet with Harris at the top. The two then shot toward students standing near the soccer field a few yards away, but did not hit anyone. They threw pipe bombs as they made their way towards the West Entrance, none of which detonated. Inside the campus, teacher Patti Nielson, seeing the commotion, walked towards the West Entrance with student Brian Anderson. She wanted to walk outside and tell the two students to "Knock it off," as she thought they were shooting a video or pulling a prank. As Anderson opened the first set of double doors, Harris and Klebold shot out the windows. Anderson was injured by flying glass and Nielson was hit in the shoulder by shrapnel. Reacting in fear, she quickly stood up and ran down the hall into the library, where she alerted the students inside, demanding they duck beneath desks and remain silent. She then dialed 911 and concealed herself beneath the library's administrative counter. Brian Anderson remained behind, caught between the exterior and interior doors. Soon thereafter, at approximately 11:24 a.m., a Jefferson County deputy sheriff arrived at the scene and began shooting at Harris and Klebold, distracting them from the injured Brian Anderson. Anderson staggered out of the area and made it into the library where he ran into an open staff break room. He remained there until the ordeal ended. Harris fired ten shots at the officer, who then radioed in a Code 33 (officer in need of emergency assistance). When his gun ran out of ammunition, Harris ran inside the school with Klebold. The pair then proceeded down the main North Hallway, shooting at anyone they saw and throwing pipe bombs. While doing so, they shot student Stephanie Munson in the ankle. She was able to walk out of the school and made it to a house across the street. Moments earlier, Coach Dave Sanders had evacuated the cafeteria through a staircase leading up to the second floor. The staircase was around the corner from the Library Hallway in the main South Hallway. He and a student turned the corner and were walking down the Library Hallway when they saw the shooters coming around the corner from the North Hallway. The two quickly turned around and ran the other way. The shooters came around the corner and Harris shot at both of them, hitting Dave Sanders in the chest as he reached the South Hallway, but he missed the student. The student ran into a science classroom and alerted the teacher inside. Meanwhile, the shooters returned up the North Hallway. Coach Sanders struggled over to the science classroom where thirty students had been taking an exam, and the teacher took him in. A sign was placed in the exterior window that read, "I'm bleeding to death," in order to alert police of their location. Two students administered first aid, and attempted to control the bleeding with the shirts of the male students in the room. A teacher and several students remained in contact with police outside of the school using a phone in the classroom. Read more See all Editorial Reviews
V**H
Informative without getting bogged down with too many details!
Of all the serial killers and murderers I have read about, spree killers probably scare me more than any of them! In this book author RJ Parker tells us the stories of 14 different spree killers (13 different stories) that went on sudden rampages that shocked the world! Although most of these took place in the United States, you will read about shootings that took place in Germany, England and Canada. Some seemed planned, others seem to be spur of the moment! And there seemed to be no rhyme nor reason as to how they chose their targets! Well written without getting bogged down with too many details making it a quick and easy read!
J**N
Mr. Parker has done it again
I always enjoy reading R J Parker books because he seems very passionate about the true crime genre, this is no exception. He did leave out the James Huberty fueled McDonald's massacre of 1984 in San Ysidro, CA. Otherwise, it was an amazing read
M**�
A GARAGE SALE FIND !!
1/5 stars and only because of the cover. This book is filled with half truths and a bunch of nothing.
L**J
Spree Writer
At the rate this writer churns out books, it is clear his research is limited to researching the research of others. Having said that, this book is somewhat more readable than a previous read on "FBI" cases. The facts of the cases are what is interesting, however, not the writing: Of 13 Spree Killers profiled (not definitively accurate):All killings were via firearms: 168 dead, 176 wounded (the tally was not always consistent by the writer & some noted zero wounded).Seven killers had given advanced Warnings of there anger & intent to kill to friends, family or co-workers;Six had noted mental instability and /or had been referred for evaluation or received medication;At least six were armed with multiple firearms;In the majority of instances the subjects had no prior criminal history preventing their purchases of firearms;In some cases (including several in schools) the use of LOCKED or BARRICADED doors saved multiple lives. In a case in Germany, the use of a CODE over the school intercom provided teachers warning to lock the doors in advance of the shooter;When documented, the number of rounds shot ranged from 40 - 174.Clearly no law will prevent all Spree murders but those limitations should not stop more being done to save lives, including have all schools equipped with secure doors & locks - a superior solution to 'armed guards'.
D**N
Better than the rest
This book actually was ok. The saving grace were the writings on the Columbine shooting. I feel the author not only got the facts of that right for a change but also gave the story a little bit of heart rather than just having it feel cold and meaningless. A stark comparison to his previous works.
G**O
Interesting book-Poorly written
At times it was hard to follow due to the poor grammar and spelling errors that I encountered while reading. It would have been nice to have more information on each of the killers rather than the long list of victims that follows each profile. It was a good read for the price.
K**K
It was OK but not what I expected
It did list a good number of spree-killers but it was not comprehensive. Very little new information that not already found in other books. And it looks like Mr (or Ms) Parker is pumping out books with only Google-based research. I can do that for myself.
A**R
Parker never ceases to amaze!
Dr. Parker never ceases to amaze!
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