The 1982 Wilkes-Barre shootings was a spree shooting which occurred in the United States on September 25, 1982, carried out by George Emil Banks, a former Camp Hill prison guard. Banks fatally shot 13 people in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and Jenkins Township. The victims included seven children – five being his own – their mothers, some of their relatives, and one bystander.
Banks' attorneys argued for the insanity defense, but, following a trial before jurors from Allegheny County and presided over by Luzerne County Common Pleas judge Patrick J. Toole Jr., Banks was convicted of 12 counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to death.
On November 29, 1990, the Pennsylvania State Legislature barred further use of the electric chair amid debate that electrocution was cruel and unusual punishment; it approved execution by lethal injection. Banks's case was appealed and, on December 2, 2004, he received a stay of execution following a determination that he was incompetent for execution. On May 12, 2010, Luzerne County Common Pleas judge Joseph Augello declared Banks incompetent to be executed, following a competency hearing held the previous month.
The shooting remains the deadliest in the history of Pennsylvania.
Shootings
On the night of September 24, 1982, Banks drank large quantities of straight gin and took prescription drugs at his home on Schoolhouse Lane in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The next morning on September 25, 1982, he used an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle to kill eight people in his house, including three women in their 20s (all girlfriends and mothers of his children) and five children, four of them his. Two of the women were sisters. Banks dressed in military fatigues and went outside, where he saw 22-year-old Jimmy Olsen and 24-year-old Ray Hall, Jr, leaving a house across the street. He shot them both, reportedly yelling that they "would not tell anyone about this" before firing. He hit both men, fatally wounding Hall; Olsen survived. Banks drove away.
Banks went to Heather Highlands mobile home park, where his former girlfriend Sharon Mazzillo and their son Kissamayu lived, of whom he had been trying to gain custody. Banks forced his way in and shot Mazzillo. He then shot and killed his sleeping son. Banks killed Sharon's mother, who was trying to call the police, and Sharon's 7-year-old nephew, who was also in the home. Sharon's brother, whom Banks did not see, hid in the closet. He was the only survivor and called the police, identifying Banks as the shooter.
When police examined the victims at the mobile home park, they connected it to Olsen and Hall's shooting, which had been discovered at Schoolhouse Lane. They next found Banks's victims in his house. Police began to search for Banks, who abandoned his car and carjacked another vehicle. After abandoning the stolen vehicle, Banks stopped in an isolated grassy area to rest and fell asleep.
After Banks awoke, he visited his mother's house (also in Wilkes-Barre.) He was said to confess his crimes to her. She drove him to the house of Jacob Whitt, a friend of Banks, where he sent her away and prepared for a standoff with police.
A standoff between Banks and police began. The police brought his mother to their base to talk with Banks. They tried various tactics to get the murderer to surrender, including having a false news report played over WILK radio saying that the children were alive and needed blood to survive. The police tried other tactics to draw Banks out of the house. Finally, Robert Brunson, a former co-worker of Banks, was able to talk him out after a 4-hour standoff. As of September 30, 1982, Banks was charged with eight counts of murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, grand theft auto, armed robbery, and felonious theft. Banks was held without bail.
Victims
Killed
At Schoolhouse Lane
Regina Clemens (29) - Girlfriend of George Banks. Montanzima Banks (6) - Daughter of Clemens and Banks. Susan Yuhas (23) - Girlfriend of Banks, sister of Regina Clemens. Boende Banks (4) - Son of Yuhas and Banks. Mauritania Banks (20 months) - Daughter of Yuhas and Banks. Dorothy Lyons (29) - Girlfriend of George Banks. Nancy Lyons (11) - Daughter of Dorothy Lyons. Foraroude Banks (1) - Son of Dorothy Lyons and George Banks. Raymond F. Hall, Jr. (24) - Bystander shot across from Banks' house on Schoolhouse Lane.
At Heather Highlands mobile home
Sharon Mazzillo (24) - Former girlfriend. Kissmayu Banks (5) - Son of Sharon Mazzillo and George Banks. Scott Mazzillo (7) - Nephew of Sharon Mazzillo. Alice Mazzillo (47) - Sharon Mazzillo's mother.
Wounded
James Olsen (22) - Bystander, shot on Schoolhouse Lane.