The Johnson Space Center shooting was an incident of

hostage taking A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or refra ...

that occurred on April 20, 2007 in Building 44, the Communication and Tracking Development Laboratory, at the

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late U ...

(JSC) in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The gunman, William Phillips, an employee for

Jacobs Engineering Jacobs Solutions Inc. is an American international technical professional services firm. The company provides engineering, technical, professional and construction services, as well as scientific and specialty consulting for a broad range of cli ...

who worked at Building 44, shot and killed one person and took a hostage for over three hours before committing

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. Police said Phillips was under review for poor job performance and he feared being dismissed.

Timeline of events

The situation began at 1:00 p.m. ( UTC-5) when gunman William Phillips entered a conference room, pointed a

.38 .38 caliber is a frequently used name for the caliber of firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). Th ...

.357 .357 may refer to: *.357 Magnum, a firearm cartridge (revolver) *.357 SIG, a firearm cartridge (pistol) *.357 Maximum, a wildcat firearm cartridge (revolver) * .357/44 Bain & Davis, a wildcat firearm cartridge (pistol) * .357 Peterbilt, a wildcat f ...

-caliber snub-nosed

revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

at one person, and ordered everyone else to leave. He immediately confronted David Beverly about his job review, saying "You're the one who's going to get me fired." The two talked for several minutes. Then, at approximately 1:40 p.m., three gunshots were heard. Police said Beverly was initially shot twice, but he was still alive. Phillips left and then returned seconds later to shoot Beverly twice more.Nasa killer 'had bad job review'
BBC News Phillips then took Fran Crenshaw, who happened to be in the area, hostage and bound her to a chair with

duct tape Duct tape (also called duck tape, from the cotton duck cloth it was originally made of) is cloth- or scrim-backed pressure-sensitive tape, often coated with polyethylene. There are a variety of constructions using different backings and adhesi ...

. Phillips barricaded himself and Crenshaw inside the second floor of Building 44 for the next three hours. During this, Crenshaw attempted to calm Phillips, with whom she was reported to have had a positive relationship. Later, Crenshaw was able to get herself out of the tape and alert authorities about what was happening. Meanwhile,

SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

teams surrounded the building. Building 44 as well as four other nearby buildings were evacuated and

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

employees in other buildings were ordered to remain inside their buildings, but were later told they were free to go at the end of the workday. A nearby school, Space Center Intermediate School, was temporarily placed on lockdown. The incident ended at 5:00 p.m. as the SWAT teams attempted to communicate with Phillips when the gunman committed

with a single shot to the head. Crenshaw was taken to St. John Hospital by ambulance and then released for questioning by the

Houston Police Department The Houston Police Department (HPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving the City of Houston, Texas, United States and some surrounding areas. With approximately 5,300 officers and 1,200 civilian support personnel it is the fifth-largest ...

. She was physically unharmed and walked out of the hospital on her own.

Victims

A person identified as David Beverly was shot four times to the chest and killed. He was a 62-year-old electrical parts specialist employed by NASA. Fran Crenshaw, a contract worker with MRI Technologies, was held hostage by Phillips. During the incident she attempted to calm Phillips, and eventually escaped her bonds.

The perpetrator

The gunman was identified as 60-year-old William A. Phillips, who was known to be unmarried and lived by himself. He was an employee of

, and had worked as a NASA contractor for 12 to 13 years.

Michael Coats Michael Lloyd Coats (born January 16, 1946) is a former NASA astronaut (three spaceflights), raised in Riverside, California. From December 2005 to December 2012, he served as Director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Early life a ...

, director of the JSC, said Phillips was "until recently, a good employee." Phillips knew the two victims, David Beverly and Fran Crenshaw. Police said there was "some kind of dispute" between Beverly and Phillips, possibly related to a pending review of job performance.

References

External links

JSC shooter lived in fear of losing jobPrivate memorial held for slain NASA worker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson Space Center Shooting 2007 murders in the United States History of Houston Hostage taking in the United States Deaths by firearm in Texas Murder–suicides in Texas Murder in Texas 2007 in Texas Crimes in Houston Attacks in the United States in 2007 April 2007 events in the United States