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Michael Carneal

Also known as: Heath High School shooting

Active
1997–1997
Region
West Paducah, Kentucky, USA
State
KY
Kind
Mass
Status
Pleaded guilty
Victims
3

On the morning of December 1, 1997, Michael Carneal, a 14-year-old freshman, opened fire on a student prayer group at Heath High School in West Paducah, Kentucky, killing three girls and wounding five other students. He put the gun down and surrendered to the principal. In October 1998 he pleaded guilty but mentally ill to three counts of murder, attempted murder and burglary, and he was sentenced to life without parole for 25 years, the maximum for a juvenile. In 2022 the Kentucky Parole Board denied him parole and ordered him to serve out his life sentence.

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Victims

We remember the people whose lives were taken.

Timeline of locations

  1. December 1, 1997
    Heath High School, West Paducah (Crime scene)

    Carneal fired ten rounds at a student prayer group gathered before classes, killing three students and wounding five.

  2. December 1, 1997
    Surrender at the school (Arrest, approximate area)

    Carneal put down the pistol and surrendered to principal Bill Bond.

  3. October 5, 1998
    McCracken Circuit Court, Paducah (Court / trial, approximate area)

    Carneal pleaded guilty but mentally ill on October 5, 1998. Judge Jeff Hines sentenced him on December 16, 1998, to life in prison without parole for 25 years.

  4. 2001
    Kentucky State Reformatory, La Grange (Prison)

    Carneal was moved to the Kentucky State Reformatory when he turned 18. The parole board denied him parole in September 2022 and ordered him to serve out his sentence.

Active at the same time, nearby

A coincidence of time and place, not a connection. All overlaps

Sources

Each location also lists its own sources in the data file.