Shooting At the Holocaust Museum

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Motives
Chronology of events
Fatality
Reactions to the shooting
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

In 2009, a shooting occurred at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. involving a guard. Stephen Tyrone Johns was shot and died while undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital. The suspect, James Wenneker von Brunn was convicted on two accounts: first-degree murder and severe violations of firearm laws (Brown par3). The suspect was later accused of seven crimes, four of which were punishable by death penalty.

The age of the suspect, 88, prompted the judge to authorize the prosecution bench to conduct a competency evaluation on the victim to decide whether he could stand trial. However, he died in 2010 while awaiting trial. According to the incident report, von Brunn entered the museum and shot the guard. He had been convicted earlier in 1981 for carrying weapons into a federal building.

Motives

The actual motive of the shooting was not very clear. However, speculations linked the incident to President Obama’s visit to Germany. The shooter could have made the attack because Obama visited the Buchenwald concentration camp where he made a speech. Brunn claimed that during his 1981 conviction, a jury of African Americans convicted him, and the judge who awarded the sentence was a Jew (Royce par2).

The shooting was described as a revenge attack against Jews and African Americans. The incident was described as a way of promoting hate and intolerance. Individuals who were promoting antisemitism had targeted the museum earlier. Brunn’s actions were efforts to promote antisemitism in America (Espo par3).

According to police reports, Brunn believed in several conspiracy theories that involved Jews and other minority groups such as African Americans. His hatred for Jews and blacks emanated from his conviction in 1993 because the jury comprised Jewish and African American members (Royce par2).

In 1981, Brunn walked into a federal building carrying weapons that included a revolver rifle, a hunting knife, and a shotgun (Brown par4). His motive was to hold the board members who were in the building hostage for the economic difficulties that the country was experiencing at the time.

Chronology of events

The incident started at about 12.49 p.m., when Brunn drove into the museum’s compound. The officer at the entrance door opened the gate but instead of driving in, Brunn withdrew his 22-caliber rifle and shot him. After the shooting, two other officers stationed at the entrance together with Johns returned fire and wounded him.

Police reports indicated that another person sustained minor injuries that were inflicted by broken glass. However, the victim declined to be taken to hospital for treatment. The private guards at the museum responded promptly and averted further shooting (Stout par5). At the time of the shooting, the museum was awash with schoolchildren.

After the gunman was wounded and disarmed, the Federal Bureau of Investigations and D.C. Metropolitan police secured the area. Some streets around the museum were closed for many hours. Police officers retrieved a notebook that belonged to Brunn. He had listed several cities that the police suspected were some of his targets (Royce par4). They responded by sending bomb specialists to those locations to ensure that they were secure.

Fatality

The shooting incident had only one fatality. Brunn shot special officer Stephen Tyrone Johns who was working at the museum’s entrance. After he was shot, Johns was rushed to hospital with serious injuries. However, he did not survive and he succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment at the George Washington University Hospital. The shooter died in prison while awaiting trial (Royce par7). Possible causes of the death included chronic heart failure and sepsis (Espo par2). Brunn had a history of failing health.

Reactions to the shooting

The shooting elicited various reactions from leaders and governments. President Obama said that the incident was a reminder that America needed to stay alert and prevent any form of prejudice and antisemitism (Espo par5). The FBI claimed that they had been monitoring Brunn’s online activities.

However, the bureau was unable to apprehend and charge him because his postings were within the provisions of free speech (Brown par6). Prayer meetings were held in honor of the killed officer by the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington. The prayer meetings were aimed at honoring the victim as well as creating time to reflect about the real cause and motivation of the shooting (Stout par6). The events attracted participants from embassies of different countries.

Conclusion

The shooting at the Holocaust Museum was motivated by hatred and intolerance. The perpetrator, James Wenneker von Brunn was a white supremacist who believed in several conspiracy theories against Jews and other minority groups. He shot and seriously wounded Stephen Tyrone Johns, a guard at the museum.

The victim died while undergoing treatment at the George Washington University Hospital. Brunn’s hatred for Jews and African Americans stemmed from a conviction in 1981 that involved a jury that was made up of Jewish and African American members. The incident had one fatality. However, another person received minor injuries. The prompt action of private guards at the museum was lauded for preventing further attacks.

Works Cited

Brown, Robert. Holocaust Museum Shooting Suspect has History of Anger, Racism. 2009. Web.

Espo, David. Holocaust Museum Shooting in Washington D.C. 2009. Web.

Royce, Lindy. Guard Killed During Shooting at Holocaust Museum. N.d. Web.

Stout, David. Museum Gunman a Longtime Foe of the Government. 2009. Web.

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