2006 Goleta postal facility shooting

Mass shooting in California, U.S. December 2025 February 2025 2006 Goleta postal facility shooting Santa Barbara County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Goleta Highlighted.svg Location of Goleta in California Santa Barbara and Goleta, California, U.S. Goleta postal facility 34.4252 -119.8660 type:event_region:US-CA inline,title 2006 01 30 7:15 c. 9:00 p.m. PST; UTC−08:00 Mass shooting mass murder spree shooting murder–suicide workplace shooting 8 (7 at the mail sorting facility, including the perpetrator, and 1 in Santa Barbara) Jennifer San Marco 9mm S&W Model 915 semi-automatic pistol Unknown On January 30, 2006, a mass shooting took place at a United States Postal Service facility in Goleta, California. Six people were killed before the perpetrator, former employee Jennifer San Marco, committed suicide. Prior to the Goleta shooting, San Marco shot and killed her former neighbor in Santa Barbara. Shootings On the morning of January 30, 2006, Jennifer San Marco arrived in Los Angeles after boarding a flight from New Mexico. She made a two-hour drive to Santa Barbara,Katsavdakis Kostas A. Meloy J. Reid White Stephen G. May 2011 A Female Mass Murder https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1556-4029.2010.01692.x Journal of Forensic Sciences en 56 3 813–818 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2010.01692.x subscription where San Marco gained entry into her former residence at an apartment complex and broke into the condominium of Beverly Graham, a former neighbor who frequently argued with San Marco over loud noise. After scaling a fence and entering Graham's condominium through an unlocked sliding glass door, San Marco killed Graham with two gunshots to the head. 2006-02-02 Condo slaying prelude to postal center spree https://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20060202/condo-slaying-prelude-to-postal-center-spree/ Los Angeles Daily News en-US Neighbors placed the killing between 7:15 p.m. and 8:15 p.m.Chawkins Steve Leovy Jill 2006-02-02 Killer's Behavior Had Grown More Bizarre, Authorities Say https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-feb-02-me-postal2-story.html 2024-10-19 Los Angeles Times en-US Via U.S. Route 101, San Marco traveled five miles to the Goleta Processing and Distribution Center. San Marco entered the sprawling plant's lot by tailgating another car as it passed through the gate. She took an employee's identification badge at gunpoint in order to gain electronic access to the building through the secure staff entrance. She then told the employee to leave; the worker was physically unharmed. At 9:00 p.m., in the building's parking lot, San Marco shot and killed Maleka Pineda and Ze Fairchild. Both were killed with single gunshots to the head. Outside the facility entrance, she killed Nicola Grant with two gunshots to the head and chest. The gunshots were likely not heard due to most employees wearing ear protection and further muted by the interior sound of heavy machinery. Around eighty employees were inside the facility at the time of the shooting.2006-02-01 Did Postal Shooter Kill Ex-Neighbor? https://www.cbsnews.com/news/did-postal-shooter-kill-ex-neighbor/ CBS News en-US San Marco entered the building and shot supervisor Charlotte Colton in the head,2006-02-04 Postal Killer Believed She Was Target of a Plot https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna11167920 2024-10-19 NBC News The Associated Press en-US who was then dragged into a room by a co-worker. Colton would die two days later in Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4665790.stm US Ex-Postal Employee Kills Six 31 January 2006 BBC News en-UK In the annex, San Marco approached two employees and aimed her gun at them at point-blank range, but did not fire.Stewart Ethan 2006-02-09 Take The Long Way Home https://www.independent.com/2006/02/09/take-long-way-home/ The Santa Barbara Independent en-US She then headed to her former work station and encountered Guadalupe Swartz, who saw her coming and tried to flee. San Marco, however, rapidly fired four shots into Swartz, killing her. Dexter Shannon, a Vietnam War veteran with grandchildren, heard nothing of the gunshots as he was working with headphones on; he was fatally shot at point-blank range. San Marco then killed herself by shooting herself in the head.https://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/31/postal.shooting/ Seven Dead in California Postal Shooting Jan 31, 2006 CNN 2022-06-11 The shooting lasted less than two minutes. Over one hundred officers of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department, California Highway Patrol and Santa Barbara Police Department evacuated the remaining employees from the building, holding most at a nearby fire station while a SWAT unit searched the building.Baylis Mark 2006-02-01 Six die in shooting spree https://santamariatimes.com/news/local/six-die-in-shooting-spree/article_bdfd0b80-15e5-51bc-beaa-7f3b508439d3.html Santa Maria Times enHatfield Michelle 2006-01-31 Ex-postal worker kills three https://santamariatimes.com/news/local/ex-postal-worker-kills-three/article_91b5977c-3a16-58de-9369-1f40b811f742.html Santa Maria Times en Victims thumb|356x356px|The six postal workers killed in Goleta Initially, it was reported that there were three dead and one wounded. Two victims were recovered alive, but one died the same day2006-01-31 7 Dead In Postal Shooting https://www.cbsnews.com/news/7-dead-in-postal-shooting/ CBS News en-US while the other died two days later at a hospital. Including the shooting in Santa Barbara, six women and one man were killed. With the exception of Graham, who was white, 2006-02-02 Workplace rampage toll up to 8 https://www.heraldnet.com/2006/02/01/workplace-rampage-toll-up-to-8/ HeraldNet en all six of the dead in Goleta had a minority background: Grant, Pineda, and Shannon were Black, Swartz was Hispanic, Colton was Filipino, and Fairchild was Hmong Laotian. 2006-05-04 Ze Fairchild 1968-2006 https://www.independent.com/2006/05/04/ze-fairchild-1968-2006/ The Santa Barbara Independent en-US Of them, three were residents of Santa Barbara, two were from Lompoc, and one was from Oxnard.Brantingham Barney 2013-01-31 The Goleta Postal Murders https://www.independent.com/2013/01/31/goleta-postal-murders/ 2023-06-19 The Santa Barbara Independent en-US The six workers were employed for the US Postal Service for between 36 and 10 years.Welsh Nick 2006-02-03 Good Night, Maleka https://www.independent.com/2006/02/02/good-night-maleka/ The Santa Barbara Independent en-US Santa Barbara Beverly Ann Graham, 54 Goleta Charlotte Colton, 44, Ze Vang Fairchild, 37 Nicola Grant, 42 Maleka Brinley-Higgins Pineda, 28 Dexter Shannon, 57 Guadalupe Swartz, 52 Perpetrator thumb|Jennifer San Marco Immediately after the shooting, police stated the perpetrator was a female ex-employee of the postal facility, but did not release any other information. The day after the shooting, police publicly identified the perpetrator as 44-year-old Jennifer San Marco, a resident of Grants, New Mexico, though initially misspelling the last name as "Sanmarco".2006-02-01 Ex-postal worker who killed five and herself identified as New Mexico resident https://www.wistv.com/story/4438072/ex-postal-worker-who-killed-five-and-herself-identified-as-new-mexico-resident WISTV en San Marco was employed at the postal facility between 1997 and 2003. San Marco was recognised on site by other employees, albeit with a noticeably shorter "crew-cut" hairstyle.Hatfield Michelle 2006-01-31 Ex-postal worker kills three https://santamariatimes.com/news/local/ex-postal-worker-kills-three/article_91b5977c-3a16-58de-9369-1f40b811f742.html Santa Maria Times en She had purchased the murder weapon, a second-hand Smith & Wesson Model 915 at a pawn shop in Grants in August 2005, buying 15 rounds of ammunition separately at another pawn shop in Gallup. Personal background San Marco was born on December 6, 1961 in Brooklyn, New York. She went to Edward R. Murrow High School and later attended Brooklyn College and Rutgers University for two years, studying natural resources management at the latter, but without graduating. Between 1990 and 1993, San Marco was employed as a correctional officer at California Rehabilitation Center in Norco. She quit her job and worked as a hotel clerk in Eatontown, New Jersey between April and October 1994 before returning to California, taking a job as a residential counselor at a group home in Santa Barbara. San Marco again became a correctional officer and worked at Chuckawalla Valley State Prison in Blythe,February 4, 2006 Officials: Ex-Postal Who Worker Went on Rampage Believed She Was Threatened by Conspiracy Associated Press resigning after two years citing a "change of career goals" In 1994,Stewart Ethan 2006-02-03 Bloody Monday https://www.independent.com/2006/02/02/bloody-monday/ The Santa Barbara Independent en-US San Marco was hired by the Santa Barbara Police Department as a dispatcher, for which she underwent a background check and psychological evaluation. She left the job after several months.https://www.cbsnews.com/news/postal-shooters-bizarre-behavior/ CBS News Postal Shooter's Bizarre Behavior The Associated Press February 2, 2006 2006-02-03 Killer’s psychosis got worse in 2004 https://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20060203/killers-psychosis-got-worse-in-2004/ Los Angeles Daily News en-US San Marco became employed for the US Postal Service as a part-time night shift clerk in August 1997, buying a condominium in Santa Barbara the same year. Between 1998 and 2000, she also worked as a food service assistant for the Santa Barbara Unified School District. Mental health and work dismissal According to co-workers, San Marco's behavior became "increasingly more bizarre" and she was prone to making racist remarks and acting hostile towards Asian people, though she never issued any direct threats.2006-02-01 Postal killer acted irrational years before attack https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna11128315 NBC News en Since her employment at the postal facility, she had kept records on her co-workers, detailing perceived slights and offenses, specifically mentioning Ze Fairchild and Dexter Shannon, writing that the former was "making [her] very uncomfortable". On February 5, 2001, San Marco was removed from the postal facility by police after her supervisor reported that she voiced suicidal thoughts while displaying "erratic and aberrant behavior" and placed on a 72 hour involuntary mental health hold at Vista Del Mar Hospital in Ventura. On March 12, the US Postal Service ordered San Marco to undergo a psychological evaluation and placed her on unpaid leave for 21 days. Throughout 2002, San Marco wrote several letters to government officials, including Assistant Director in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Los Angeles Field Office Ronald L. Iden and California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, accusing the US Postal Service, various municipal and law enforcement agencies, and the federal government of harassment and discrimination against her. Among other complaints, she alleged that her workplace at the postal facility subjected her to a "hierarchical racist/sexist form of discriminatory mandate" and that the postal service was stalking and verbally assaulting her outside of work, in coordination with the city of Santa Barbara, claiming its "German and/or Dutch" culture was targeting her as an Italian-American. In June 2003, San Marco was escorted out of the postal facility by police in handcuffs due to concerns of potential self-harm after an incident in which San Marco ended up under a mail-sorting machine. San Marco was initially returned to work after some months, but again forcibly removed by security due to complaints over her erratic behavior and racist comments. She was placed on medical leave and given early retirement on grounds of mental disability.https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-01-31-postal-shooting_x.htm Woman Kills 5, Self at Postal Plant USA Today Martin Kasindorf February 1, 2006 May 6, 2010 2006-02-01 Death toll at 8 in rampage by former postal worker https://www.denverpost.com/2006/02/01/death-toll-at-8-in-rampage-by-former-postal-worker/ The Denver Post en-US In 2004, San Marco attempted to drive across the United States in order to move in with relatives on the East Coast, but her car broke down in Milan, New Mexico, settling down in nearby Grants. San Marco earned a reputation for strange behavior, such as talking to an imaginary friend or ordering food at restaurants only to run out before eating.Frosch Dan Woman in California Postal Shootings Had History of Bizarre Behavior https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/03/us/woman-in-california-postal-shootings-had-history-of-bizarre-behavior.html 8 February 2017 The New York Times 3 February 2006 San Marco was known to frequently harass members of the local municipal office after she was denied a license to start a cat food business. She most often targeted one employee, Sonya Salazar, coming into the office only to stare at Salazar, to the point where other employees told her to hide upon San Marco's arrival. San Marco would usually leave abruptly, talking to herself and gesticulating before entering her car and driving back and forth in front of the office. In one instance, San Marco once accused Salazar of sleeping with someone; authorities were called and she ceased her visits. She also came into contact with authorities in Grants after she appeared naked at a gas station. She was clothed when the officers arrived and they ultimately let her off with a warning.2006-02-03 Postal shooter had history of odd behavior https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2006/02/03/postal-shooter-had-history-of-odd-behavior/ https://web.archive.org/web/20250718225518/https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2006/02/03/postal-shooter-had-history-of-odd-behavior/ 2025-07-18 East Bay Times en-US2006-01-31 Police look for motive in deadly postal shooting https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna11107022 NBC News en In November 2005, mental health clinic manager Darlene Hayes reported seeing San Marco alone in a post office parking lot, kneeling at her car and talking to herself, telling Hayes she was praying with her brother and sister. According to Hayes, she called police to request an immediate mental health checkup for San Marco, but the department responsible stated that they did not have a call by Hayes on record. San Marco was never arrested or treated for mental health issues during her residence in New Mexico. The Racist Press In July 2004, San Marco applied for a business license to begin publishing a periodical known as The Racist Press. She had already composed five volumes and according to San Marco, "the purpose of The Racist Press is to offer information to you on how and why government sanctioned murders have occurred in America, in their colleges and in their offices, and still continue to this day". Analysts described the writings as "bizarre, persecutory, and paranoid beliefs about government murder conspiracies, [which] linked the government to the Ku Klux Klan, and merged memories of her early childhood (e.g., Rocky Horror Picture Show) with paranoid beliefs about the United States", also containing a recollection of alleged encounters with serial killer David Berkowitz and president Richard Nixon, whom she accused of colluding with the KKK. Other allegations included that she was "physically assaulted by police, mentally tortured and mandated to comply over a period of 2 years" and that "the Rocky Horror Picture Show can be unraveled as a white supremacist movement intentionally written for government murder". San Marco claimed to have gained knowledge of the KKK conspiracy while working for the federal government at the postal facility while simultaneously using racist language to refer to Black people and Jews. With reference to her workplace, San Marco also claimed that various ethnicities, including "Eastern Indian, Philippine Islander, Thailand, Mexican and Korean" were really "'klan' neo-nazi Germans".Nicholson Danielle Allely Clare S. 2021-11-29 Exploring female involvement in acts of terrorism and mass shootings: a systematic review https://doi.org/10.1108/JCP-05-2021-0017 Journal of Criminal Psychology 11 4 335–356 10.1108/JCP-05-2021-0017 2009-3829 subscription The publishing license was ultimately turned down. 2006-02-02 Toll rises to 8 in ex-postal worker's rampage https://www.deseret.com/2006/2/2/19935959/toll-rises-to-8-in-ex-postal-worker-s-rampage/ Deseret News en In November 2005, San Marco contacted the Los Angeles Times for a classified ad, offering to send the publication via mail for $4, including a draft for the advertisement reading "Been a member of a Cult? Did that fad go out in the '70s-'80s? Any unexplained suicides? Please read The Racist Press", but no plans were made for publication since she did not follow a request to provide an example copy of the paper. One issue of The Racist Press, which lacked the eponymous racial themes and instead "expounded on the dangers of mental telepathy", was published and later obtained by the Santa Barbara News-Press.Chawkins Steve 2006-02-03 Jobs Resume After Postal Carnage https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-feb-03-me-postal3-story.html Los Angeles Times en-US Investigation On February 3, 2006,2006-02-04 Detectives Search New Mexico Home In Connection With California Postal Killing https://www.koat.com/article/detectives-search-new-mexico-home-in-connection-with-california-postal-killing/5021992 KOAT en San Marco's home was searched. Three boxes with "items of interest" were recovered. Relevant material included writings indicating that San Marco believed herself to be the target of a conspiracy centered at the Goleta postal facility and a cancelled check with the word "will" written on the envelope. A spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office conjectured that San Marco's paranoia and history of mental illness may have motivated her to commit the murders. Racism was also a possible influence in the shooting, as all six of the victims killed at the postal facilities were minorities.February 1, 2006 Postal Rampage Toll Climbs To Eight https://www.cbsnews.com/news/postal-rampage-toll-climbs-to-eight/ CBS News She may have also murdered Graham for personal reasons, as the two had previously quarreled. According to Graham's boyfriend, San Marco would often go outside and start singing loudly. Graham also complained to her brother that San Marco would come out and "rant and rave" in front of her building. According to San Marco's brother, he had warned police of his sister, stating that she was "fixated" on her former workplace in Goleta, which she described as "evil". Psychologists Kostas A. Katsavdakis, J. Reid Meloy, and Stephen G. White wrote that San Marco likely had schizophrenia and that she "believed that she had to kill off her oppressors whom she held responsible for a failed life". Aftermath The shootings were reportedly the first mass murder in Goleta's history and the first shooting homicide at a US Postal Service workplace since 1998. Graham's body in Santa Barbara was discovered by her boyfriend Edward Blomfield one day after the shooting on the night of January 31 and immediately linked to the shooting in Goleta. Funeral services for the killed postal workers were held between February 3−10 in the counties of Santa Barbara and San Diego.Abramson Mark 2006-02-11 Community remembers postal shooting victim https://santamariatimes.com/news/local/community-remembers-postal-shooting-victim/article_317254cc-be97-5788-9255-2774dcfc3601.html Santa Maria Times en 2006-02-04 First service of Goleta victims held Friday https://santamariatimes.com/news/local/first-service-of-goleta-victims-held-friday/article_3d8021b2-e3f9-5649-bd53-9fc6561d5d76.html Santa Maria Times en The funeral of Charlotte Colton at Cavalry Cemetery was attended by over 1,200 mourners while that of Maleka Pineda was attended by 500. Goleta's mayor, Jonny Wallis, held a news conference in which she praised the police response, condemned the shooting, and offered her condolences to its victims.Chawkins Steve https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-feb-01-me-postal1-story.html Mass Killer Had Been Put on Leave by Postal Center Los Angeles Times February 1, 2006 The Goleta Processing and Distribution Center placed all 300 of its employees on paid leave for four days, resuming operations on February 3. During this time, an estimated 300,000 mail deliveries were delayed and newer mail was instead rerouted to the postal facility in Oxnard.Spencer Malia 2006-02-01 Deliveries delayed in aftermath https://santamariatimes.com/news/local/deliveries-delayed-in-aftermath/article_9a8fc540-08c6-5447-94ce-f8f234d5547e.html Santa Maria Times en Community West Bank in Goleta opened the Goleta Post Office Memorial Fund for donations to the victims' families. The American Postal Workers Union opened a donation fund for its five killed members. 2006-02-07 APWU Establishes Fund for Shooting Victims' Families https://apwu.org/news/apwu-establishes-fund-shooting-victims-families/ https://web.archive.org/web/20260415135149/https://apwu.org/news/apwu-establishes-fund-shooting-victims-families/ 2026-04-15 American Postal Workers Union en-US The Maleka Higgins Memorial Fund remained open as late as January 2007. 2007-02-01 A Year of Grief https://www.independent.com/2007/02/01/year-grief/ The Santa Barbara Independent en-US The families of the victims were all paid out in life insurance as well as one-year of salary under an accidental death clause. 2006-02-09 Widows and Orphans https://www.independent.com/2006/02/09/widows-and-orphans/ The Santa Barbara Independent en-US On February 12, the postal facility victims were posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a memorial ceremony by the US Postmaster General at the UC Santa Barbara Events Center. Incumbent Postmaster General John E. Potter was supposed to head the event, but because of grounded flights due to the North American blizzard of 2006, the medals were presented by Al Iniguez, the highest-ranking postal executive in California.Chawkins Steve 2006-02-13 Six Slain Postal Workers Honored https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-feb-13-me-memorial13-story.html Los Angeles Times en-US On the one-year anniversary, a marble commemorative plaque was installed at the entrance of the postal facility. In addition, six olive trees were planted in remembrance of the six killed workers. There were initially no plans to improve security by the US Postal Inspection Service, although by 2014, new measures had been put in place.Bolton Tom 2014-02-01 Bouquets Mark 8 Years Since Goleta Postal Shootings https://www.noozhawk.com/bouquets_mark_8_years_since_goleta_postal_shootings_20140201/ Noozhawk en-USSpencer Malia 2007-01-31 Memorial dedicated to victims https://santamariatimes.com/news/local/memorial-dedicated-to-victims/article_49207819-9a78-54c2-9f31-c0e497f9fe1a.html Santa Maria Times en In March 2006, Graham's family launched a civil lawsuit against Graham's boyfriend Edward Blomfield, who had provided a forged will claiming that Graham had left him her entire estate, worth between $600,000 and $750,000. 2008-06-19 Law and Disorder 6-19 https://www.independent.com/2008/06/19/law-and-disorder-6-19/ The Santa Barbara Independent en-US Blomfield was ordered to pay $340,000 to Graham's family in restitution. Blomfield was arrested in January 2007 2007-01-05 Boyfriend of Slain Woman Arrested for Forging Will https://www.independent.com/2007/01/04/boyfriend-slain-woman-arrested-forging-will/ The Santa Barbara Independent en-USGomez Luis Ernesto 2007-01-05 Three accused in the forging of woman/s will https://santamariatimes.com/news/local/three-accused-in-the-forging-of-woman-s-will/article_2b5ca679-4f4a-50c1-91c7-9fd21a7af0a9.html Santa Maria Times en and later pled guilty to two counts of perjury as well as single counts burglary, financial elder abuse, forgery, and conspiracy. In March 2009, Blomfield was sentenced to one year imprisonment, followed by five years of probation. Three accomplices, Blomfield's sister Jeanne Blomfield, as well as Lenae Stahr and Heidi Hodges, were also found guilty of forgery, conspiracy, and perjury for providing false signatures as witnesses in the fake will. 2009-03-20 Will Forger Gets One Year in Jail, Probation https://www.independent.com/2009/03/20/will-forger-gets-one-year-jail-probation/ The Santa Barbara Independent en-US See also List of postal killings Going postal List of shootings in California 2014 Isla Vista attacks, occurred seven minutes away from Goleta References Category:2006 in California Category:2006 mass shootings in the United States Category:2006 murders in the United States Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in 2006 Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in California Category:2000s crimes in California Shootings Category:History of Santa Barbara County, California Category:January 2006 crimes in the United States Category:2006 mass murders Category:Mass murders in California Category:2000s mass murders in the United States Category:Mass shootings in California Category:Attacks on post office buildings Category:Racially motivated violence in California Category:Murder–suicides in California Category:Spree shootings in the United States Category:Workplace shootings in the United States Category:Attacks on government buildings and structures in the United States Category:Postal history of the United States