1985 Springfield Mall shooting

Mass shooting in Springfield, Pennsylvania, U.S. December 2025 June 2022 Springfield Mall, Springfield, Pennsylvania, U.S. 1985 10 30 Springfield Mall PA south entrance.jpg Springfield Mall in 2018 yes 3:45 pm 39.915 -75.352 inline,title EST Mall visitors Mass shooting .22 LR Ruger 10/22 semi-automatic rifle 3 7 Sylvia Seegrist John W. Laufer III 12 On October 30, 1985, a mass shooting took place at the Springfield Mall, a shopping mall in Springfield Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Three people, including a toddler, were killed and seven others injured. The perpetrator, 25-year-old Sylvia Seegrist, was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences.Schogol Marc A killer still driven by her demons http://articles.philly.com/2002-03-24/news/25341560_1_mental-hospital-sylvia-seegrist-mental-illness The Philadelphia Inquirer March 24, 2002 bot: unknown https://web.archive.org/web/20151103182917/http://articles.philly.com/2002-03-24/news/25341560_1_mental-hospital-sylvia-seegrist-mental-illness November 3, 2015 Due to Seegrist’s history of mental illness and earlier diagnosis of schizophrenia, the shooting stimulated discussion about the state's authority to commit at-risk people into mental care facilities against their will. Shootings thumb|left| Two Ruger 10/22 with rotary magazines, similar to the weapon used in the shooting On October 30, 1985, Sylvia Seegrist entered the Springfield Mall twice. The first time, she shopped for Halloween items at a party store, then worked out at a fitness club. Returning to the parking lot, Seegrist went to her vehicle, a Datsun B-210, dressed in green military fatigues and retrieved a hunting rifle she had bought a few days earlier. She fired at a man approximately 30 yard from where she stood, and missed. The man saw the vehicle she arrived in, and flattened one of the Datsun's tires to prevent her escape. Seegrist fired at a woman using a nearby ATM, but missed. Seegrist shot at an outdoor The Magic Pan restaurant, killing two-year-old Recife Cosmen, who was waiting in line with his parents, and injuring two other children.Franscell Ron Crime Buff's Guide to Outlaw Pennsylvania Valentine Karen October 2013 978-1493004454 136-137 Once inside, Seegrist fired into some stores and ignored others. She shot 67-year-old (Ernest) Earl Trout, a gynecologist, in front of a store; Trout fell into a coma and died a month later.December 1, 1985 A Delaware County physician who was critically wounded last month dies https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/12/01/A-Delaware-County-physician-who-was-critically-wounded-last/8639502261200/ UPI en 64-year-old Augusto Ferrara was shot and killed as he walked out of a shoe store. Both Trout and Ferrara were found by their wives, who had been shopping separately. Several witnesses initially believed the shooting was an elaborate Halloween prank.June 19, 1986 Two women testified Thursday they thought they were victims of a Halloween prank https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/06/19/Two-women-testified-Thursday-they-thought-they-were-victims/4882519537600/ UPI en 24-year-old John W. Laufer III, a local graduate student and volunteer fire fighter, disarmed Seegrist as she approached him and tried to raise her gun to shoot him.Haas Laura Springfield Mall's 1985 Shooter: Where is She Now? http://patch.com/pennsylvania/media/springfield-malls-1985-shooter-where-is-she-now December 17, 2016 Patch Media July 24, 2012October 31, 1985 Hero thought shooting Halloween prank https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/10/31/Hero-thought-shooting-Halloween-prank/5780499582800/ UPI en Laufer, under the belief that Seegrist was firing blank ammunition as a prank, forced her into a store while he waited for mall security.Hero Who Ended Mall Shootings Finds Life Changed https://apnews.com/50bc9e8d06c43a52ca5e9429766a6915 December 18, 2016 www.apnewsarchive.com The Associated Press November 7, 1985 SPRINGFIELD, PA. https://web.archive.org/web/20180503112301/https://apnews.com/50bc9e8d06c43a52ca5e9429766a6915 3 May 2018 dead When asked by the first arriving guard why she had committed the shooting, Seegrist replied, "My family makes me nervous".http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/mass/sylvia_seegrist/index.html Sylvia Seegrist, guilty of mass murders but insane April 11, 2011 Ramsland Katherine Crime Library https://web.archive.org/web/20080528162334/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/mass/sylvia_seegrist/index.html 28 May 2008 dead During her arrest, Seegrist loudly cursed and complained about her parents, stating, “You should have killed me on the spot.” October 31, 1985 A woman charged with spraying a shopping mall with gunfire https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/10/31/A-woman-charged-with-spraying-a-shopping-mall-with/9277499582800/ UPI enWhile in custody, she asked detectives how many people she killed, and voiced frustration that there were "only two dead", asking if "any of them [were] kids".June 19, 1986 Sylvia Seegrist, the fatigue-clad woman who shot 10 people https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/06/19/Sylvia-Seegrist-the-fatigue-clad-woman-who-shot-10-people/7829519537600/ UPI en Perpetrator thumb Sylvia Wynanda Seegrist2006 Seegrist v. Tolan https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-pamd-1_05-cv-01278/pdf/USCOURTS-pamd-1_05-cv-01278-1.pdf United States District Court en was born on July 3, 1960, in Alameda County, California."Sylvia W Seegrist in the California Birth Index, 1905–1995" (Document). California Birth Index. At Seegrist's trial, her mother Ruth testified that her daughter's paternal grandfather fondled and exposed himself in front of Sylvia when she was 8 years old, and that Ruth had not learned about the sexual abuse until Sylvia was 13. When the two discussed the abuse, Seegrist reportedly told her mother that she didn't know "how intimate our relationship was."Clute Kathleen June 21, 1986 Seegrist was sexually abused, her mother says http://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/06/21/Seegrist-was-sexually-abused-her-mother-says/3460519710400/ December 17, 2016 UPI United Press International, Inc. Media, PA Seegrist was first hospitalized at the age of sixteen, and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Between 1976 and 1985, she was hospitalized 15 times and, upon each discharge, psychiatrists diagnosed that she no longer posed a risk to herself or others.Goodstein Laurie Glaberson, William April 10, 2000 The Well-Marked Roads to Homicidal Rage https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/10/us/the-well-marked-roads-to-homicidal-rage.html June 26, 2009 The New York Times 4 In summer 1981, while hospitalized at an outpatient clinic, Seegrist injured a female counsellor by stabbing her in the back with a paring knife. She was not criminally charged and instead sent to a rehabilitation program. In another incident, Seegrist non-fatally strangled her mother Ruth. While on outpatient release, Seegrist's mother once found a gun in her daughter's room and when confronted, Seegrist stated that she had planned to use it to kill both her parents and herself. Ruth Seegrist stated that her daughter regularly made suicide threats and once explicitly stated "Someday before I kill myself, I'll bring some people down with me". In 1984, Seegrist enlisted in the U.S. Army.June 21, 1986 Shooting suspect said to be abusive https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/06/21/Shooting-suspect-said-to-be-abusive/4779519710400/ UPI en During training, she faced harassment from her drill sergeant and other members of her platoon. She was discharged from the Army after two months in 1985. At the time of the shooting, she was a resident of Crum Lynne, Pennsylvania. 1986-06-28 AROUND THE NATION; Pennsylvania Woman Guilty in Mall Shootings https://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/28/us/around-the-nation-pennsylvania-woman-guilty-in-mall-shootings.html The New York Times en-US 0362-4331 Seegrist spent a good deal of time at the Springfield Mall, harassing customers and making statements about how "good" other spree killings were, such as the 1984 San Ysidro McDonald's massacre.Ramsland Katherine Sylvia Seegrist, guilty of murders but insane http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/mass/sylvia_seegrist/index.html June 26, 2009 Crime Library https://web.archive.org/web/20080528162334/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/mass/sylvia_seegrist/index.html 28 May 2008 dead Seegrist was known to loiter around the mall wearing combat fatigues in imitation of James Huberty, the perpetrator in the San Ysidro shooting, for which merchants nicknamed her "Ms. Rambo", which she disliked. A pharmacist recalled that she regularly came in to fill her prescription and acted aggressively when the store refused to take an outdated order.Mall Suspect Called "Ms. Rambo" Woman Held In Slayings Frequented Stores http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1985-11-01/news/8502180108_1_sylvia-seegrist-springfield-mall-shopping-mall dead https://web.archive.org/web/20140407065258/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1985-11-01/news/8502180108_1_sylvia-seegrist-springfield-mall-shopping-mall April 7, 2014 tribunedigital-sunsentinel An instructor at the fitness club said "she hated everyone and would often talk about shooting and killing people".Mother gave warning before mall shooting, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (November 2, 1985) At other times, Seegrist ranted about the energy crisis, nuclear power, and famine. Seegrist's behavior was so disconcerting that clerks at the local K-Mart in neighboring Clifton Heights told her they had no rifles in stock when she tried to purchase one from them. She eventually purchased a Ruger 10/22 at another store. A few hours before the shooting, Seegrist's mother begged her daughter to voluntarily commit herself to psychiatric treatment, which Seegrist refused to do. 1986-06-28 Woman Guilty but Ruled Mentally Ill in Mall Shootings https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-06-28-mn-25510-story.html Los Angeles Times en-US Trial and incarceration Prior to the competency hearing Seegrist was transferred to Norristown State Hospital for evaluation. Ramsland Katherine Halloween Rampage Turner Entertainment Networks, Inc. http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/mass/sylvia_seegrist/6.html April 30, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20080921124721/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/mass/sylvia_seegrist/6.html 21 September 2008 dead On March 6, 1986, Seegrist was deemed competent to stand trial for the killings and charged with three counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder.Staff The woman described as 'Ms. Rambo' is competent to... http://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/03/06/The-woman-described-as-Ms-Rambo-is-competent-to/7481510469200/ December 17, 2016 UPI United Press International, Inc. March 6, 1986 The trial began on June 2, 1986. 1986-04-11 Trial Set in Killing Spree https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-04-11-mn-3923-story.html Los Angeles Times en-US On June 27, she was found guilty but mentally ill, she was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences and seven consecutive 10-year terms.June 27, 1981 Woman ruled guilty but mentally ill https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/06/27/Woman-ruled-guilty-but-mentally-ill/7889520228800/ 2025-07-19 UPI en The judge had said that Seegrist "should spend the rest of her life in some form of incarceration".Staff Curfew pays off for Detroit as Devil's Night fires decline The Atlanta Constitution A9 November 1, 1986 She was sent to the psychiatric specialty hospital Mayview State HospitalStaff A Flood of Sympathy for Seegrist's Family The Philadelphia Inquirer November 28, 1985 for evaluation and was eventually moved to the State Correctional Institution in Muncy, Pennsylvania. Sylvia Seegrist served her first 2 1 2 years of imprisonment at Norristown State Hospital, and then was transferred to Muncy State Prison for women. Ruth Seegrist and her ex-husband visited Sylvia regularly at Muncy, and she seemed to welcome the visits. But around 1997, Sylvia decided to end any contact with her family members. Visits and phone calls ended. The last letter Ruth Seegrist sent to her daughter was on November 30, 1997, and Sylvia never replied.Schogol Marc Boal Denise Donahue Frank Voves Ed Thirty years ago today Delaware County, PA – History Philadelphia Inquirer https://www.facebook.com/DelawareCountyPAHistory/posts/1052133051486820:0 December 18, 2016 facebook.com Seegrist's Muncy Prison counselor met with her at least every two weeks, noting Sylvia takes her medication, spends time at the library, exercises a lot and "takes steps to keep herself sharp".June 2022 In a 1999 letter to The New York Times, Seegrist wrote, "As I am safer in prison less threatening or perverted lesser crimes than my family."November 15, 1999 Sylvia Seegrist's letter http://partners.nytimes.com/library/national/041000rampage-letter.pdf December 18, 2016 The NY Times The New York Times Company Aftermath The shooting spurred the state government to form a legislative task force, in order to address better ways to care for the mentally ill in the community.Staff Faster Hospitalization Sought for the Mentally Ill The Philadelphia Inquirer October 31, 1987 Staff Re-Revising Mental Health Law The Philadelphia Inquirer April 3, 1988 Seegrist's mother also urged legislators to make changes to the state mental health laws.Staff Seegrist's Mother Urges Law Changes Philadelphia Daily News September 10, 1986 O'Neill Ann W. Mom: Help Might Have Prevented Sylvia's Rampage Philadelphia Daily News 12 September 11, 1986 The existence or nature of changes made by the task force is unknown.June 2009 In response to the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Seegrist's mother Ruth told the magazine Philadelphia:Fiorillo Victor Decades After Sylvia Seegrist, Mentally Ill People Are Still Murdering Innocents http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2012/12/17/sylvia-seegrist-mother-adam-lanza-sandy-hook-shooting/ Philadelphia Magazine Metro Corp. December 17, 2012 You know, it's ironic that people who are irrational are expected under the law to get help on their own. There needs to be something in the law that compels a troubled person to be diagnosed by a psychiatrist. In the 1950s, we were institutionalizing people who weren't mentally ill. You could institutionalize someone who was just unruly. We've gone from one extreme to the other. At the time of the shootings, gun buyers were required to sign a paper application declaring they had no record of being in a mental institution. Sylvia Seegrist lied on the application and purchased the .22 semi-automatic rifle used in the murders for $107.00. In 1998, the state of Pennsylvania enacted the Pennsylvania Instant Check System or PICS, enabling licensed gun dealers to conduct a background check using a phone.Sullivan Vince The Fight over Gun Control: Mental illness thrust into spotlight after massacres http://www.delcotimes.com/article/DC/20130626/NEWS/306269965 December 17, 2016 Daily Times News The Delaware County Daily Times June 26, 2013 John Laufer III, who stopped the perpetrator, was granted entry into police academy in late 1985, becoming a state trooper the following year. While Laufer had applied for training prior to the shooting, media attention encouraged officials into the hastened acceptance into the service for Laufer, who had already been graded 49th out of a list of 2,000 applicants.October 10, 1986 Mall rampage hero becomes state trooper https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/10/10/Mall-rampage-hero-becomes-state-trooper/9244529300800/ UPI en In 2013, Laufer became the police chief of Coatesville, Pennsylvania,Price Michael N. 2013-01-07 Middletown native, Springfield mall hero named as Coatesville police chief https://www.delcotimes.com/2013/01/07/middletown-native-springfield-mall-hero-named-as-coatesville-police-chief/ Delco Times en-USPrice Michael N. 2013-01-15 Laufer sworn in as Coatesville’s new police chief https://www.dailylocal.com/2013/01/15/laufer-sworn-in-as-coatesvilles-new-police-chief-2/ Daily Local en-US2013-01-04 Coatesville Will Again Try To Hire Maj. John Laufer As Police Chief https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/coatesville-will-again-try-to-hire-maj-john-laufer-as-their-police-chief/ CBS News en-US and in 2019, he won a Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award.Maye Fran 2019-03-03 Coatesville police chief named Officer of the Year https://www.delcotimes.com/2019/03/03/coatesville-police-chief-named-officer-of-the-year/ Delco Times en-US References Further reading Kanaley, Reid. "Her Demons Stilled, Seegrist Hopes for Freedom," The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 18, 1991. Kelleher, Michael D. Flash Point: The American Mass Murder. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 1997. Lane, Brian and Wilfred Gregg. The Encyclopedia of Mass Murder. New York: Carroll and Graf, 2004. Lee, Janis. "Confidentiality from the Stacks to the Witness Stand," American Libraries 19; June 1998. Young, Cathy. "When Delusions Beget Violence," Center Right, Issue 29, September 21, 1998. Walker, Julien. "Helping to Cope with Mental Illness at Friends Hospital," Northeast Times 2001. External links Investigation Discovery – Deadly Women | Twisted Minds; Sylvia Seegrist CBS – 60 Minutes | "Wouldn't Anybody Listen" Category:1985 murders in the United States Category:1985 mass shootings in the United States Category:October 1980 in the United States Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in 1985 Category:Crime in Pennsylvania Category:Child murder in Pennsylvania Category:Springfield Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania Category:Attacks on shopping malls in the United States Category:Mental health in the United States Category:Deaths by firearm in Pennsylvania Category:Copycat crimes