James Edward Swann, Jr. The Shotgun Stalker (born 1964), is an American

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

whose random drive-by shotgun shootings in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in 1993 earned him his nickname in the press. Swann was living in the Iselin section of

Woodbridge Township, New Jersey Woodbridge Township is a township in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is both a regional hub for Central New Jersey and a major bedroom suburb of New York City in the New York metropolitan area located within the ...

before the attacks. He has been confined to St. Elizabeths Hospital since 1994 as a forensic patient since he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. His request for a furlough in 2011 was denied.

Murders

Swann drove to Washington to carry out the attacks, which took place in the Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights neighborhoods. Each of the attacks followed a standard format: Swann would slow his car down next to a pedestrian and fire a 20-gauge shotgun at the target before driving away. Swann killed four people and injured five in 14 attacks before he was apprehended by the Metropolitan Police on April 19, 1993.

In custody

Swann was found not guilty by reason of insanity and confined to Saint Elizabeths Hospital. He claimed to have been driven to the killings by voices in his head, including that of the ghost of

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of Is ...

, who told him to kill people in Northwest Washington—the "

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

side of town"—because they had been responsible for the civil rights leader's assassination in 1965. In 2011, Swann applied for a 12-hour furlough from the psychiatric hospital where he has been committed in order to visit his father. Such a visit was to be under his father's supervision. Witnesses for Swann noted that he had earned an associate degree in Computer Science while incarcerated. A psychologist testifying on his behalf said that he had reviewed Swann's records, which showed that Swann "had not had a violent episode at the hospital since 2003, and his aggression with his

psychosis Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior ...

was gone." This psychologist felt that Swann has a "low risk" of violence. But Swann was still suffering from

hallucination A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinatio ...

s as recently as 2008. According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Kennedy, who opposed the furlough, Swann's father had given him a t-shirt with the phrase "Thrill to Kill" emblazoned on it, which Swann enjoyed wearing. The request for a furlough was denied.

References

1964 births African-American people American serial killers Living people Male serial killers People acquitted by reason of insanity People convicted of murder by District of Columbia People from Woodbridge Township, New Jersey People with schizophrenia {{crime-bio-stub

Murders

In custody

See also

References