On January 10, 2001, a

shooting spree A spree killer is someone who commits a criminal act that involves two or more murders or homicides in a short time, in multiple locations. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a spree killing as "killings at two or more locations w ...

took place in

Nevada County, California Nevada County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the Sierra Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 102,241. The county seat is Nevada City. Nevada County comprises the Truckee-Grass Valley, CA Micropolitan ...

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

semi-automatic pistol A semi-automatic pistol is a type of repeating single-chamber handgun ( pistol) that automatically cycles its action to insert the subsequent cartridge into the chamber (self-loading), but requires manual actuation of the trigger to actuall ...

, 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 The law of California consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, and regulatory law, as well as case law. The California Codes form the general statutory law, and most state agency regulations are available in the California ...

that allows for court-ordered

assisted outpatient treatment Outpatient commitment—also called assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) or community treatment orders (CTO)—refers to a civil court procedure wherein a legal process orders an individual diagnosed with a severe mental disorder to adhere to an o ...

. The law was named after Laura Wilcox, one of the victims of the shooting spree.

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism. Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...

's 2002 documentary film ''

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

'' was dedicated to Wilcox's memory.

Shootings

Just before 11:30 a.m. on January 10, 2001, 40-year-old Scott Harlan Thorpe walked into the Nevada County Department of Behavioral Health in

Nevada City, California Nevada City (originally, ''Ustumah'', a Nisenan village; later, Nevada, Deer Creek Dry Diggins, and Caldwell's Upper Store) is the county seat of Nevada County, California, United States, northeast of Sacramento, southwest of Reno and northeas ...

. 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 or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concer ...

and

agoraphobia Agoraphobia is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no easy way to escape. These situations can in ...

. 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 and injured 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 A grass valley (also vega and valle) is a meadow located within a forested and relatively small drainage basin such as a headwater. Grass valleys are common in North America, where they are created and maintained principally by the work of b ...

. 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. 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. He was initially sent to

Atascadero State Hospital Atascadero State Hospital, formally known as California Department of State Hospitals- Atascadero (DSHA), is located on the Central Coast of California, in San Luis Obispo County, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. DSHA is an all-male, ...

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 hospitals. Napa State Hospital holds civil and for ...

for the mentally ill where he currently resides.

Laura's Law

As a result of the shooting,

was implemented. It is a

that allows for court-ordered

. 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 in California 2001 murders in the United States Attacks in the United States in 2001 Crimes in California Deaths by firearm in California History of Nevada County, California January 2001 events in the United States Murder in California Nevada County, California Spree shootings in the United States

Shootings

Aftermath

Laura's Law

See also

References