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Kent State shootings

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Also known as May 4 massacre, Kent State massacre

1970 shootings in Kent, Ohio, US during student-led protest of Vietnam War

Key facts

Location
Kent State University , Kent, Ohio, United States
Date
May 4, 1970 ; 56 years ago ( 1970-05-04 ) , 12:24 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time: UTC−4)
Attack type
Mass shooting
Victims
Kent State University students
Perpetrators
Companies A and C, 1- 145th Infantry and Troop G, 2- 107th Armored Cavalry of the Ohio National Guard
Accused
Lawrence Shafer James McGee James Pierce William Perkins Ralph Zoller Barry Morris Leon H. Smith Matthew J. McManus
Charges
Deprivation of rights under color of law
Verdict
Not guilty
Judge
Frank J. Battisti
Area
17.24 acres (6.98 ha)
Added to nrhp
February 23, 2010
Designated nhl
December 23, 2016

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Location
Kent
Image
Pagoda at Kent State.jpg
Number of deaths
4
Number of injured
9
Show 4 more facts
Commons category
Kent State shootings
start time
1970-05-04
end time
1970-05-04
point in time
1970-05-04
Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

~40 min read

Encyclopedic overview

The Kent State shootings (also known as the Kent State massacre) were the killing of four and wounding of nine unarmed college students by the Ohio National Guard on the Kent State University campus in Kent, Ohio, United States. The shootings took place on May 4, 1970, during a rally opposing the expanding involvement of the Vietnam War into Cambodia by United States military forces, as well as protesting the National Guard presence on campus and the draft. Twenty-eight National Guard soldiers fired about 67 rounds over 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others, one of whom sustained permanent paralysis. Students Allison Krause, 19, Jeffrey Miller, 20, and Sandra Lee Scheuer, 20, died on the scene, while William Schroeder, 19, was pronounced dead at Robinson Memorial Hospital in nearby Ravenna shortly afterward.

Krause and Miller were among the more than 300 students who gathered to protest the expansion of the Cambodian campaign, which President Richard Nixon had announced in an April 30 television address. Scheuer and Schroeder were in the crowd of several hundred others who had been observing the proceedings more than 300 feet (91 m) from the firing line; like most observers, they watched the protest during a break between their classes.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Kent State shootings” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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