1994 ~ Anti-Abortion Activist goes on a murder spree


John C. Salvi, 3rd (R) speaks with his lawyer J. W. Carney during the Brookline District Court hearing where Salvi pleaded innocent to murder charges, in Brookline, Mass.AFP/Getty Images

John Salvi III walks into two separate abortion clinics in Brookline, Massachusetts, and shoots workers with a rifle, killing two receptionists and wounding five other employees. He was captured the next day after firing 23 shots at a Norfolk, Virginia, medical clinic.

Salvi, who worked in a beauty salon in New Hampshire before his murderous rampage, was described by acquaintances as a “very odd” man. Despite his increasingly erratic behavior, Salvi’s parents resisted getting professional treatment for him. As his mental state deteriorated, he became a zealous anti-abortion activist.

In March 1996, Salvi’s trial jury rejected his insanity defense and convicted him of murder. After receiving two life sentences, he killed himself in prison in November 1996.

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