Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Golden

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Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Golden Full Name: Mitchell Johnson Andrew Golden Alias: Westside Shooters Drew Grant (Golden only) Origin: Craighead County, Arkansas, United States Occupation: Students (formerly) Salesman (Mitchell Johnson only) Skills: Marksmanship Hobby: Bullying their classmates Causing trouble Playing violent games Goals: Shoot up their school (succeeded) Crimes: Death threat Rape Drug dealing (all Johnson only) Animal cruelty (Golden only) Mass murder Theft Underage driving Type of Villain: Mentally Ill School Shooters

“	I thought we were going to shoot over their heads. We didn't think anybody was going to get hurt.	„
	~ Mitchell Johnson trying to justify him and his friend's actions.

Mitchell Johnson (August 11^th, 1984 - ) and Andrew Golden (May 25^th, 1986 - July 27, 2019) were American boys who perpetrated the Westside Middle School Shooting, in which 5 people were killed. Until Columbine, it was the deadliest mass murder at a K-12 school in United States history. It is currently the deadliest middle school shooting in United States history.

Mitchell Johnson's Life

Mitchell Johnson was born in August 11th, 1984.

When he was 7 years old, his parents divorced, and he and his brother went to live with their mother. Their mother soon married a man called Terry Woodward.

One year before the shooting, Mitchell molested a 3 year old girl while visiting southern Minnesota with his family.

Andrew Golden's Life

Andrew Golden was born in May 25th, 1986.

He used to visit his grandparents and great-grandmother. Both of his parents worked as postal workers and his paternal grandfather, Douglas Golden, was a wildlife conservation officer in Jonesboro.

Andrew once killed a female classmate's cat with a BB gun.

Before the shooting

Three months before the shooting, Golden stated that he intended to shoot some people at the school.

On March 23^th, 1998, one day before the shooting, Golden assisted Johnson in loading his mother's Dodge with camping supplies, snack foods and nine weapons, in which Golden stole from his grandfather.

The Shooting

On March 24^th, 1998; Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Golden drove to their school Westside Middle. They ambushed their teacher and fellow classmates in the woods, after Johnson pulled the fire alarm. They killed 5 people and injured 10. They then retreated back but were soon caught after they were acting suspicious on the street.

Victims

This is a list of people who died in the shooting. In total, 1 teacher and 4 students were killed. They were all females. The victims's names are followed by their date of birth and age at the time of their deaths.

• Shannon Dawn Wright - August 26, 1965 (32 years old)
• Stephanie Dawn Johnson - May 5, 1985 (12 years old)
• Paige Ann Herring - March 11, 1986 (12 years old)
• Natalie Danielle Brooks - May 26, 1986 (11 years old)
• Britthney Ryen Varner- September 18, 1986 (11 years old)

After the shooting

In August 1998, they were both found guilty of the crime. They were sent to jail until they reached the age of 21.

Mitchell Johnson was released from prison on August 11, 2005, on his 21th birthday.

Andrew Golden was released from prison on May 25th, 2007, also on his 21th birthday. He changed his name to Drew Grant in 2008.

Johnson's later legal troubles

On January 1, 2007, he was arrested for drug dealing and possessing a weapon.

Johnson was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 24, 2007. He pleaded not guilty and was released on a $5, 000 bond. Johnson's trial began in January 28, 2008. Two days later, Johnson was found guilty of possessing a weapon while being a drug user. In February 2008, just a few days after his conviction, Johnson was arrested again for possession of marijuana at the convenience store at which he worked and on suspicion of having stolen a credit card.

In September 2008, the judge, Jimm Larry Hendren sentenced Johnson to four years in prison on the weapon and drug charges. On October 7, 2008, Johnson pleaded guilty and admitted that he stole a debit card left by a disabled man at the Bentonville gas station where he worked to purchase a meal at a local Burger King. He also admitted that at the time of his arrest, he was in possession of marijuana. On November 14, 2008, Johnson was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the theft charge and misdemeanor possession charges.

On January 23, 2009, Johnson was sentenced to six additional years in prison for a further charge of theft by receiving and financial identity for using the stolen card to purchase a meal from a local Burger King. In February 2010, the Arkansas Supreme Court granted Johnson leave to appeal his sentence by saying that the judge should not have admitted evidence of the juvenile convictions during the trial. He was eligible for parole in 2011. In February 2016, ABC News reported online that Johnson was released in July 2015 into the custody of the United States Probation Office for the Southern District of Texas and placed in a drug rehabilitation program.

Golden's death

He died of a car crash in July 27 2019 after colliding with 59 year old Daniel Petty, who also died. Three other people, including Golden's wife, another adult, and Golden's son were injured and taken to the hospital. At the time of Golden's death, he was living in Jackson, Missouri.

Trivia

• They both used to ride the bus together.
• They were known to bully other students.
• Mitchell once told his classmates that he wanted to belong to the Bloods and smoke marijuana.
  • He also told them that he had a fascination with firearms and wanted to kill a sixth grader called Candace Porter, his former girlfriend who ended their relationship.

• Andrew also displayed troublesome behavior in school.
  • He often engaged other students in fistfights and used profane language.
• One of the 9 students injured from the shooting was Andrew's cousin, Tristan McGowan.
  • Andrew Golden's former girlfriend, Jennifer Jacobs, was also one of the 10 students injured in the shooting.
• The Jonesboro prosecutor has admitted that, if it weren't for their ages, he would have sough death sentences for Johnson and Golden.
• In 2017, the victims' families were awarded $150 million in damages to prevent Johnson and Golden from profiting in any way from the shooting.
• In prison, Mitchell Johnson's roommate was Justin Trammell.
• Some months before the shooting, Johnson told his classmates that he had "a lot of killing to do".
• Shannon Wright, the teacher who was killed in the shooting, was pregnant at the time of her murder.
  • She also died shielding a student called Emma Pittman, who was 12 years old at the time of the shooting.

• They injured 9 students and 1 teacher.
• The Westside Middle School Shooting is currently the twentieth deadliest school shooting in the United States.
• The shooting was talked about in the documentary "Going Postal: The 15 Most Shocking Acts Of Violence".