Howard Unruh
Howard Unruh | |
|---|---|
| Born | Howard Barton Unruh January 21, 1921 East Camden, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | October 19, 2009 (aged 88) Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupations | Sheet-metal worker, former United States Army armor crewman |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Motive | Inconclusive (possibly PTSD and/or a personal feud with one of the victims) |
| Convictions | N/A; found not guilty of all charges by reason of insanity |
| Criminal charge | First-degree murder (x13) Assault and battery (x3) |
| Penalty | Involuntary commitment |
| Details | |
| Date | September 6, 1949 9:20 a.m. - 9:32 a.m. |
| Locations | Camden, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Killed | 13 |
| Injured | 3 |
| Weapons | Luger P08 |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Service years | 1942–1945 |
| Rank | Private first class |
| Unit | Battery C, 342nd Armored Field Artillery Battalion |
| Conflicts | World War II |
| Awards | European Theater of Operations Medal World War II Victory Medal Good Conduct Medal |
Howard Barton Unruh (January 21, 1921 – October 19, 2009) was an American mass murderer who shot and killed thirteen people and injured three others during a twelve-minute walk through his neighborhood in Camden, New Jersey, on September 6, 1949. The incident, which became known as the "Walk of Death" and the "Camden shootings", ended after Unruh surrendered to police after running out of ammunition.
Diagnosed as being legally insane and thus immune to criminal prosecution, Unruh was committed at the New Jersey State Hospital. He died at this facility in 2009 at the age of 88 following over 60 years of confinement.
The "Camden shootings" remained the deadliest mass shooting to occur in the United States (in terms of number of fatalities) until the 1966 University of Texas tower shooting, and are widely regarded as the first example of a mass shooting by a lone gunman to occur in America following World War II.