Westernville New Year's Day shooting

Last updated
Westernville New Year's Day shooting
Location Westernville, New York, United States
DateJanuary 1-2, 1969
Attack type
 Mass murder, mass shooting
Deaths5 (including the perpetrator)
Injured5
PerpetratorRalph MacLachlan

The Westernville New Year's Day shooting was a mass murder that occurred at a family gathering in Westernville, New York, United States on New Year's Day in 1969. Ralph Edwin MacLachlan, 37, [1] [2] [3] a meat cutter and church elder, armed with a semi-automatic .22-caliber rifle, killed four people, including his wife, and injured five others. The next morning, MacLachlan committed suicide by shooting himself following an exchange of gunfire with police. [4] [5] [6] Following the shooting, MacLachlan's brother stated that he had "no indication he was acting abnormally" during a phone conversation around an hour before the shooting. At the time, according to his brother, MacLachlan was watching a New Year's Day bowl game on the television. [7]

Victims

Four people were shot and killed, and a further five were injured. The fatalities include:

Additionally, the shooter injured his father-in-law, mother-in-law, 10-year-old niece, brother-in-law, and another neighbor. [4] MacLachlan and Anita's two-year-old and nine-month-old sons were unharmed after Anita hid them in a bedroom closet. [10]

References

  1. ↑ "Ralph Edwin Mac Lachlan - Ancestry®". www.ancestry.com. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
  2. ↑ Pelkey, Herbert G. (3 January 1969). "Slayer of Four Kills Self In Shoot-Out with Police". Democrat and Chronicle. Archived from the original on 8 January 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  3. ↑ "Mass Slayer Kills Himself, Ending Rampage of Gunfire" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. 3 January 1969. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 November 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  4. 1 2 Twellman, Chip (29 November 2020). "Horrific 1969 crime scene: Four murdered, five wounded in deadly domestic dispute". Daily Sentinel. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  5. ↑ "Marital Problems: Motive For Killings?". Advance news. (Ogdensburg, N.Y.) 1967-current, January 05, 1969, Image 20. Advance News. 5 January 1969. p. 20. Archived from the original on 2023-06-30. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  6. ↑ "Gunman Kills Four Persons; Takes Own Life". da.tj.news. The Daily Gleaner. January 2, 1969. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Man Kills Self After Slaying 4". The Tampa Tribune . 3 January 1969. p. 22. Archived from the original on 8 January 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  8. ↑ "Anita R. Turke - Ancestry®". www.ancestry.com. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
  9. 1 2 Pelkey, Herbert G. (2 January 1969). "Gunman Kills 4 Persons, Wounds Eight Others in Adirondack Community". Ogdensburg Journal. Archived from the original on 8 January 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  10. ↑ "Future Of Two Orphaned Children Remains The Unanswered Question". Advance News. 5 January 1969. p. 8. Archived from the original on 8 January 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
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