On January 10, 2001, a

shooting spree A spree killer is someone who commits a criminal act that involves two or more murders in a short time, often in multiple locations. There are different opinions about what durations of time a killing spree may take place in. The United States ...

took place in

Nevada County, California Nevada County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California, in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 102,241. The county seat is Nevada City, Califor ...

, when 40-year-old Scott Harlan Thorpe opened fire with a

9mm This is a list of firearm cartridges that have bullets in the to caliber In guns, particularly firearms, but not #As a measurement of length, artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviate ...

Ruger Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc., better known by the shortened name Ruger, is an American firearm manufacturing company based in Southport, Connecticut, with production facilities also in Newport, New Hampshire; Mayodan, North Carolina; and ...

semi-automatic pistol A semi-automatic pistol (also called a self-loading pistol, autopistol, or autoloading pistol) is a repeating firearm, repeating handgun that automatically ejects and loads cartridge (firearms), cartridges in its chamber (firearms), chamber afte ...

killing three people and wounding three others in two separate shootings in the Nevada County area. The victims were 19-year-old Laura Wilcox, 68-year-old Pearlie Mae Feldman, and 24-year-old Mike Markle. The shooting spree led to the implementation of

Laura's Law Laura's Law is a California state law that allows for court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment. To qualify for the program, the person must have a serious mental illness plus a recent history of psychiatric hospitalizations, jailings or acts, ...

, a California state law that allows for court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment. The law was named after Laura Wilcox, one of the victims of the shooting spree.

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Moore's work frequently addresses various Social issue, social, political, and economic topics. He first became publicly known for his award-winning debut ...

's 2002 documentary film ''

Bowling for Columbine ''Bowling for Columbine'' is a 2002 documentary film written, produced, directed, and narrated by Michael Moore. The documentary film explores what Moore suggests are the primary causes for the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 and other a ...

'' was dedicated to Wilcox's memory.

Shootings

Just before 11:30 a.m. on January 10, 2001, 40-year-old Scott Harlan Thorpe (born April 1, 1960) of

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, walked into the Nevada County Department of Behavioral Health in

Nevada City, California Nevada City is the county seat of Nevada County, California, United States, northeast of Sacramento, California, Sacramento, southwest of Reno, Nevada, Reno and northeast of San Francisco. The population was 3,152 as of the 2020 United States ...

. Thorpe walked up to the first-floor reception counter armed with a

. Thorpe was a client of the outpatient mental health clinic and suffered from

paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of co ...

and

agoraphobia Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no way to escape. These situations can include public transit, shopping centers, crowds and q ...

. At the time, he was seeking treatment at the clinic for help with his illnesses and was undergoing monthly mental health counseling for his agoraphobia. Unhappy with the care he had been receiving, an enraged Thorpe fired through a glass panel with his gun and fatally shot the temporary receptionist, 19-year-old Laura Wilcox, a college student who was helping out at the Department of Behavioral Health during her winter break. He then shot at several other people around him, one of whom was 68-year-old Pearlie Mae Feldman, a mental health caregiver. She was fatally wounded by Thorpe. Another person was shot three times and injured in the head, lungs, esophagus, and right shoulder during the shooting, while a fourth person jumped from a window to escape the gunfire and suffered a broken pelvis and other injuries. Thorpe then fled the scene in a blue van and drove for three miles towards Lyon's Restaurant in nearby Grass Valley. Less than ten minutes later, Thorpe arrived at the restaurant and headed inside. He then fatally shot the manager, 24-year-old Mike Markle, who had begun work at the restaurant just days before. At the time of his death, Markle had a five-year-old daughter and a son who was nearly three years old. Thorpe also shot the restaurant's cook seven times, injuring him in the stomach and arms. He then fled the scene.

Aftermath

After the shootings, Thorpe returned to his home in Smartsville where he lived alone at the time of the shooting. Thorpe made a phone call to his brother, who was a Sacramento County sheriff's deputy, and confessed over the phone to him about what he had done. Thorpe's brother notified Nevada County authorities and helped them in apprehending his brother. Authorities arrested Thorpe at his home around 9 p.m. later that day, where he surrendered peacefully after a three-hour standoff. Thorpe carried out the shooting as he was unhappy with the care he was receiving at the clinic. He also said he carried out the shooting at the restaurant because he was convinced they had been poisoning him. Thorpe was found

incompetent to stand trial In United States and Canadian law, competence concerns the mental capacity of an individual to participate in legal proceedings or transactions, and the mental condition a person must have to be responsible for his or her decisions or acts. Comp ...

and was declared

not guilty by reason of insanity Not or NOT may also refer to: Language * Not, the general declarative form of "no", indicating a negation of a related statement that usually precedes * ... Not!, a grammatical construction used as a contradiction, popularized in the early 1990 ...

. He was initially sent to

Atascadero State Hospital Atascadero State Hospital, formally known as California Department of State Hospitals - Atascadero (DSHA), is an all-male maximum-security forensic institution that houses mentally ill convicts who have been committed to psychiatric facilities b ...

but was later transferred to California's

Napa State Hospital Napa State Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Napa, California, founded in 1875. It is located along California State Route 221, the Napa-Vallejo Highway, and is one of California's five state mental hospitals. Napa State Hospital holds civil ...

for the mentally ill where he currently resides.

Laura's Law

As a result of the shooting,

was implemented. It is a California state law that allows for court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment. To qualify for the program, the person must have a serious mental illness plus a recent history of psychiatric hospitalizations, jailings or acts, threats or attempts of serious violent behavior towards themself or others.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nevada County shootings, 2001 2001 in California 2001 murders in the United States 2001 mass shootings in the United States 2000s crimes in California Deaths by firearm in California History of Nevada County, California January 2001 crimes in the United States Mass murder in California Mass shootings in California Spree shootings in the United States Mass murder in 2001 Mass murder in the United States in the 2000s Attacks on government buildings and structures in the United States Attacks on buildings and structures in 2001 Attacks on restaurants in the United States 2001 in health Attacks on buildings and structures in California

Shootings

Aftermath

Laura's Law

See also

References