Remembering University of Iowa shooting: Iowa City, Iowa 1991

Victims of the University of Iowa shooting

Date: November 1

Year: 1991

School: University of Iowa

Location: Iowa city

State: Iowa

Wounded: 1

Fatalities: 6

Shots Fired: Unknown

Time lapsed: 12 minutes

Police response time: 3 minutes

How ended: Suicide. Shooter was found dead from self inflicted gunshot wound. 

Civilians involved: None known, shooter committed suicide shortly after police arrived.

Perpetrator: Gang Lu

Age: 28

Family history: Unknown.

Red flags: Yes.

Mental illness history: Unknown.

Drug or medication use: Unknown.

Inspiration: Unknown. In a suicide statement, he discussed his favorite movies, which he said included:

"'No Way Out,' 'Die Hard,' 'Indiana Jones,' and Clint Eastwood’s movies where a single cowboy fights against a group of incorporated bad guys who pick on little guys at their will or cover up each other’s ass." 

Just a guess of course, but he seemed to seek out movies with a strong hero character, and then later placed himself in the role of the good guy in his revenge fantasy.

Possible motive: Targeted those he believed to be responsible for his failure to win a scholarship and thus find suitable employment. May have feared being sent back to China, while political tensions there were high. Appeared to see his victims as the bad guys and himself as the righteous avenger. He lists his reasoning why each victim was somehow responsible for his own failures in his suicide note. Those victims named were Christoph K. Goertz (a professor), Robert Alan Smith (an assistant professor), Shan Linhua (a fellow student, and former roommater, also winner of the dissertation prize), and Dwight R. Nicholson (chairman). He also mentions a complaint filed with several people, including T. Anne Cleary, associate vice president for Academic Affairs. All of these people he blames for his inability to graduate on time and win the prestigious D.C. Spriestersbach Dissertation Prize, and thus being unable to find suitable employment. University President Hunter Rawlings III was also listed, but he was out of town at the time of the shooting.

Politics: In his suicide statement, Lu explained his stance on politics thusly:

"My this life is surprisingly full of political incidents. When I was in the kindergarten, I was punished by the baby sitter for calling Mr. Lenin, the grand dad of Soviet Communism, “Bold Donkey” which is a popular insulting slung for bold people. In the last year of my junior high I was assigned to visit the memorial tomb of Chairman Mao. I showed some reluctance to the class supervisor because it was right the time for final exams. Then my public duties (vice head of the class, representative for English, Physics) were deprived. I was forced to make a self-criticism speech in from of the whole class, and all my school friends left me in the fear of political suppression. I hate politics, but I will certainly go ahead to use politics if it is my only choice to defend myself."

Weapons: Taurus .38-caliber revolver

Weapons obtained: Purchased after passing a background check. Picked up after waiting period. 

Training: Unknown. Assumed to be self-taught. Spent time target practicing after he purchased weapon. He did describe his views on weapons in detail in his suicide note.

"Historically, gun-rights make it possible for the spread of civil rights into the south. In those times, groups of civil rights workers from the north were assassinated/murdered by pro-slaver southerners, meanwhile the local/federal authorities were reluctant to do anything about it. So the civil rights workers have to be heavily armed before they ever dare to enter the south. Even today, privately-owned guns are the only practical way for individuals/minority to protect them against the oppression from the evil organizations/ majority who actually control the government and legal system. Private guns make every person equal, no matter what/who he/she is. They also make it possible for a individual to fight against a conspired/incorporated organization such as Mafia or Dirty University officials. Usually an ordinary individual is too weak, both politically and financially, to oppose a giant organization. "

Resulting actions: The University of Iowa Threat Assessment Program was established in 2008 in an effort to assure that those who may be in crisis are getting the help they need. It is a place to report those who may be a danger to themselves or others, and is staffed by those with expertise in law enforcement, mental health, student services, faculty/staff services, legal services and organizational effectiveness.

The Shooting: Lu was in a conference room for a meeting of the theoretical space plasma physics research group. He left for a moment and then returned. He shot Christoph K. Goertz first, and then Linhua Shan both in the head. Robert A. Smith was trying to crawl under the table when he is shot in the chest and hand. Lu then goes back downstairs to where Dwight R. Nicholson is working and shoots him twice in the head, then returns upstairs to make sure Smith was dead. He shoots Smith twice in the head, and then shoots Goertz twice more and Shan once more. He then wals 3 blocks to the office of T. Anne Cleary who had denied his scholarship appeal, and then he shot her student office assistant who survived but was paralyzed. 

Conspiracy Theories: None known.

Sources:

Nov. 1, 1991: The day a university shooting rampage shocked Iowa
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2016/10/28/nov-1-1991-day-university-shooting-rampage-shocked-iowa/92053548/

Murderpedia: Gang Lu
http://murderpedia.org/male.L/l/lu-gang.htm

25 years after UI mass shootings, team works to prevent violence on campus
https://www.press-citizen.com/story/news/education/university-of-iowa/2016/10/28/25-years-after-gang-lu-what-place-prevent-such-violence-campus/92776702/

Two of the letters left behind by shooter Gang Lu. One for his sister, and one statement for the public. 
https://schoolshooters.info/gang-lu

Opinion: Lesson from Iowa Shootings: Listen to Law Enforcement on Gun Control
https://www.wnyc.org/story/225344-opinion-iowa-shootings-back-bloomberg-listen-law-enforcement-gun-control/

Murderpedia - Gang Lu
http://murderpedia.org/male.L/l/lu-gang.htm