Arkansas school shooter Andrew Golden dies in car crash 21 years after deadly attack which killed four students, teacher
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS: A man, who, along with his friend, opened fire in a middle school in Arkansas, killing five people, when he was 11-years-old in 1998, reportedly died in a car crash over the weekend.
The 33-year-old man, Drew Grant, who had legally changed his name from Andrew Golden, reportedly died on July 27 when his Honda CRV collided with Chevrolet Tahoe on Highway 167, nearly 100 miles north of Little Rock, Arkansas, according to KAIT.
The second vehicle's driver, 59-year-old Daniel Petty, was also killed in the collision. Three other people were also injured in the crash, including two adults and a child, and were rushed to hospitals, according to the police. No details are yet available on who was responsible for the crash or how badly the victims were injured.
Arkansas State Police spokesperson Bill Sadler, in a statement, said law enforcement was working on the premise that Grant and Golden were the same person. Golden, on March 24, 1998, and his then 13-year-old friend Mitchell Johnson set off a fire alarm at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, and opened fire on people as they were attempting to evacuate.
The victims of the tragedy included two 12-year-olds, Paige Herring and Stephanie Johnson; 11-year-olds Brittney Varner and Natalie Brooks; and teacher Shannon Wright.
The shooters, at the time, were tried as juveniles and were expected to stay in custody until they turned 21. Their court records were also sealed. Golden was released from prison in 2007 and eventually moved to Jackson, Missouri. A Craighead County Courthouse judge awarded the victims' families $150 million in damages in 2017.
The slain teacher's relatives, Mitch and Zane Wright, said they felt conflicted about Goldens' death: "The news of Andrew Golden’s death today fills our family with mixed emotions as I’m sure it does with the other families and students of the Westside shooting. Mostly sadness. To his family, we are so sorry for your loss.”