After a stand-off lasting two and a half hours, the gasoline bomb the couple had brought into the school went off prematurely, badly burning Doris Young while David Young was out of the room. When you say what cut the wire? Now you are a bomb technician. David's youngest daughter from his first marriage, Princess, entered the elementary school with David and Doris, but refused to carry out the plan, leaving to report the incident at the town hall. Seven people in the Chicago area died after ingesting Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide. In the meantime, David and Doris Young gathered children, teachers, staff and visitors in the elementary school into one central location. ITT: people who want to pick a fight with someone who survived an incredible experience. who wins student body president riverdale. You just do whatever you have to do and get up there." results in the deaths of perpetrators David and Doris Young; 154 hostages survive. He hadn't had anything to eat and she finally convinced him to get something to eat, and he let her be in charge of that bomb. It was there for a long time, all that support. David went to the school office, handing out a manifesto titled "ZERO EQUALS INFINITY" and announcing "This is a revolution!" 10 Years Later, Cokeville Just Says: Let Us Be., Pierce, Scott D. Save the Children is Shallow, Exploitative: Focus is on Wacko Bomber Instead of 167 Cokeville Students and Teachers., Troone, Trent. I'm portrayed as the little red haired kid with glasses that asks about the AK-47. Either way, right after my joke is about when David excused himself from the room. Rich Haskell: And fourteen and a half great-grandchildren. Can you describe this? She was a total torch! Mark Junge: Oh, really! ", About 2 1/2 hours into the standoff, David transferred the triggering mechanism of the bomb to Doris' wrist, and went to a small bathroom that connected the first and second grade rooms. Rich Haskell: It's a combustible. Davids writings reveal that he hoped life would be better for him and Cokevilles children in this imaginary place. Nobody come inside this circle." Rich Haskell: I was cookin' right along, yes I was! Dr. Clark is the faculty advisor of the Sweet Memories: Research Group at Western. And screaming, I can't imagine the screams that she was making. Sue Castaneda: Did you look at (unintelligible). Well, he had went into the bathroom and she was out with the bomb, and they said she was complaining of a migraine headache. She was a divorce who earned money working as a waitress and singer in a local bar. Mark Junge: We were worried, Sue and I, that people would take offence, right? I just stayed right there and we processed the scene and did the scene. WyoHistory.org welcomes the support of the following sponsors. President Hinkley, President Monson, and President Faust. If you are interested in seeing the film, theaters are listed here. Both men were handcuffed in a van outside the school.[1]. During my years here in Wyoming I have refereed both basketball and football on the high school and the junior high school level, and I was watching the ball game at that time. Cokeville Children Held Hostage by Bomber., Cokeville Elementary School Bombing: 25-Years Later. Accessed May 17, 2013, at, Fagg, Ellen. When I looked at everyone looking at me (as if I should call on someone to say it) I realized I should call on Allyson Cornia - literally because she was the smartest kid in the class! In a May 16, 1986 photo, the body of Doris Young is removed by officials after the Cokeville Elementary hostage situation in Cokeville, Wyo. His fever broke within minutes of getting it off his chest. In the classroom, David held the gasoline bomb, with the triggering mechanism attached to a string tied around his wrist. Trent Toone, Mormon Times. In their minds they could start another world. There was no give in the school bus. And I didn't know about the angel thing comin' to the kids until many days later. The circuit was powered by a 9-volt lantern battery. Is that morbid thinking on my part? "[6] The two men eventually refused to participate in the event. On May 16, 1986, David and Doris Young entered Cokeville Elementary School with a gasoline bomb, a variety of rifles and handguns, David's philosophical writings and demands for $300 million in ransom. Read more The bomb did detonate and fire, thick black smoke and toxi fumes filled the room. Two Powell residents, Lenita Moore (a science teacher at Powell High School) and John Miller (a longtime choir director at Powell High School who retired in 2020), remember being in Cokeville during the bombing. The detonation didn't do it, it was cut. The Wyoming History one may be the best. Rich Haskell: I think it could be a spiritual experience that I have with church, or being around the kids, I don't know. Mark Junge: And the explosion went straight up? I don't know. Mark Junge: Well, yes. Did you see anything? Once all the hostages were contained in the first grade classroom, David Young informed them that they were leading a revolution and distributed copies of his philosophy Zero Equals Infinity to everyone present. What had happenedI can't explain it. Anything? The only two fatalities were David and Doris Young. I don't know ifI just felt an emptyactually I could just see a hundred-sixty people dead! Mark Junge: Today is the 23rd of September, 2010. So timelines and characters may be switched up, but the overall spirit of it and the facts are laid out true to witness testimonies. Were you portrayed in the movie at all? Both David and Doris had ties to white supremacist groups, including the Posse Comitatus and the Aryan Nations. He shot and killed her. Debbie Sparks and Steven Moore, both EMTs, discuss on May 9 the elementary school bombing. Students, teachers, visitors, staff who survived the ordeal and bystanders began recounting their memories of this event as it was still unfolding. By the people that was the bad folks, they're the only ones that got really hurt. A quarter of a century later, Williams can still vividly recall the chaotic scene following the explosion. The children and adults escaped after the bomb exploded. You see the bag ladies pullin' them around behind them when they go to the store and they can put their groceries in or whatever else. Wyoming Town Still Healing a Year After School Bombing., Schoolhouse Blast Still Felt a Year Later., Survivor is My Name: Cokeville Elementary School Bombing1986 News Report Audio. Audio Recording. He was dismissed, however, from this position shortly after his six-month probationary period. The Cokeville Elementary School hostage crisis occurred on May 16, 1986, in Cokeville, Wyoming, United States, when former town marshal David Young 44, and his wife Doris Young 47, took 136 children and 18 adults hostage at Cokeville Elementary School . "If you can see the bomb, the bomb can see you," an officer shouted. Many of the children who stated they saw angels were of various faiths. Mark Junge: And what happened? Cokeville Elementary School teachers and staff tried to keep kindergarteners through sixth graders calm and entertained. Mark Junge: With bombs? Mark Junge: They weren't big enough, in a way. Trauma is trauma and everyone deals with it differently. Mark Junge: What were they designed to do? Rich Haskell: Were above the level of the kids, yeah. Contact us at editor@wyohistory.org for information on levels and types of available sponsorships. On May 16, 1986, David and Doris Young took 154 people hostage at the Cokeville Elementary School in tiny Cokeville, Wyo. Others miracles were reported and some of those are recorded in this compilation.." I know that for a fact! My husband and I are looking forward to seeing the movie, as we weren't around when it happened and have just recently learned about it. All the hostages escaped, though 79 were later hospitalized with burns and injuries, the majority of which were severe.[3][2]. The first chapter is titled A Town of Trust.. Certified Bomb Technician. Rich Haskell: I don't think that they were planningor David was planning on the ceiling tiles in the school. David Young had initially planned to involve longtime friends Gerald Deppe and Doyle Mendenhall, who had invested money with him in a get-rich-quick scheme that he had called "The Biggie. over there. Rich Haskell: Yeah. Cook, the school's secretary and the first person taken hostage, could tell Young's threats were serious. In the West? I'm currently the Sheriff of Sweetwater County. I've been involved with law enforcement since 1977 in Sweetwater County. Some of the children just sat right all around and just watched him. [7] The mechanism was triggered by a dead man's switch, consisting of a wooden piece separating two metal connectors within the jaws of a clothespin, forming an incomplete circuit. Also, what do you want us to know about it that isn't covered in the film? I actually created a website knowing that people would wonder what was real and what wasn't. Mark Junge: This was a life-changing event. He did deliver our salvation that day. Two of the three blasting caps on the bomb failed to detonate; the wires to each tuna can had been reportedly cut. It's a continuous training thing and years and years and years of continuous training with the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, with the fire marshals and now that it has come into it with the hazardous materials and everything else. And then he shot himself. Hi MadreDeUnMono! Well, when I arrived and saw that body layin' on the front lawn, I was told that was Doris. It would have killed them. I later learned he'd been shot in the back. They had a circle of tape around the device itself and they said, "Do not come inside of this circle. That's what it was designed to do was to go out and be particles and that gasoline was gonna ignite it and blow it up. And that's exactly what took place in Cokeville. [5], "You could see that the roof tiles had been lifted out of their brackets. David Young entered the school with his wife transporting a large gasoline-filled device that appeared to be a bomb. Ahntastic Adventures in Silicon Valley She lured them by telling them there was either an emergency, a surprise, or an assembly there. Vengeance for having been fired did not seem to have been the motive, but rather a philosophy recorded in journal entries referring to a Brave New World where he wanted to reign over intelligent children. The explosion engulfed her in flames and burned many nearby children. The kids couldn't have cut it. 2 Recreation Board, Indigenous People in Wyoming and the West, http://news.google.com/newspapers/p/deseret_news?id=nz1TAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BYQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4165,3587249&dq=cokeville+bombing&hl=en, http://archive.org/details/SurvivorIsMyName-VoicesOfTheCokevilleElementarySchoolBombing, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udNB_xdPiYE, http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mz1TAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BYQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6656,2193766&dq=cokeville+trying+to+rebuild&hl=en, http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oD1TAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BYQDAAAAIBAJ&dq=cokeville&pg=7027%2C3851642, http://wyospcr.state.wy.us/MultiMedia/Display.aspx?ID=86&icon=1, http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1928&dat=19870529&id=-AogAAAAIBAJ&sjid=c2UFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1067,6238243, http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19870521&id=w4sfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zH4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=4596,6209063, https://www.deseret.com/2006/5/15/19953524/cokeville-recollects-miracle-of-1986, http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_18072820, http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article%E2%80%943077bf4a-a45e-5dad-ae3a-a99aa8fcf3aa.html, http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19960515&id=Ke5LAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fuwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5227,9406392, http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19940404&id=GoQwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iuwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2778,1992787, http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705372484/Cokeville-miracle-marking-25-years.html, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe_ZX4Qbsi4, Emergency Management Coordinator Kathy Davison on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, EMT Glenna Walker, Mother of Three Young Children, on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Public Works Director and Fireman Kevin Walker, Father of Three Young Children, on the 1986 bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Lead Investigator Ron Hartley, Father of Four Student Survivors, on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Certified Bomb Technician Rich Haskell on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Secretary Tina Cook on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, First grade teacher Janel Dayton on the 1986 bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Second grade teacher Carol Petersen on the 1986 bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Third grade student Rachel Walker Hollibaugh on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Third grade student Jamie Buckley King on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Fourth grade teacher Kliss Sparks on the 1986 bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Fourth grade student LeaKae Roberts on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Law and Order in Cokeville: A Woman Mayor and Prohibition, Green River Historic Preservation Commission, Natrona County Board of Cooperative Educational Services, Natrona County Recreation Joint Powers Board, Sublette County Historical Preservation Board, University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources, A Projectile Killed Doris Young, Not Bomb Blast, Police in Cokeville Say., Castaneda, Sue and Mark Junge. By Deseret News. Journal entries also indicate that he saw opportunity in the close-knit community; he wrote, "Threaten one and all are at your mercy." Hi, I am working on publicity for the film, and I will chime in if anyone needs it, or has other questions. Then, several years later, Jennie Sorensen identified what she thought was a teacher who led her out of the building after the blast. I do think the key is talking about it often and early. They believed in reincarnation, which probably led, in part, to the creation of Davids Brave New World idea. Family is the most important thing in a Mormon family. It was perfect! Carbon County School District No. Just like with a pair of pliers, pair of snips. [8] This unintentionally activated the triggering mechanism and the bomb exploded, severely injuring Doris, and filling the room with black smoke and pockets of fire. The two died after the bomb. Mark Junge: This bomb was designed to do what? The Cokeville Elementary School was the site of a horrific hostage situation on May 16, 1986 when David and Dorris Young took a homemade bomb inside the school. Mark Junge: Do you think he took up thatwanted to take that up because of you? I've spent many, many hours and many days with the leaders of the Mormon church, with the Prophet of the Mormon church. Mark Junge: Okay. I did open that briefcase remotely like I was taught in school to do. Doris accidently triggered the bomb by motioning to her hostages with her arms. Have you had anything like this, anything close to this happen? On May 16, 1986, David and Doris Young took 154 people hostage at the Cokeville Elementary School in tiny Cokeville www.wyohistory.org 25 years after school bombing, Wyoming town remembers the . The jug of gasoline had a pinhole-sized leak on its bottom. In 1986 , 154 children and teachers survived the bombing of Cokeville Elementary School. Rich Haskell: No. By Jamie Armstrong May 22, 2015 09:35 AM MDT. They attempted to crowd 154 people into one of the two first grade classrooms, a room with a total capacity of 30 students and a teacher. You have to think about what you're doing right at that particular time so you can stay focused on what you have to deal with. Then when I became a deputy, Sheriff Stark says, "You know, we're going to start finding a bunch of old explosives, dynamite and things. Amy Bagaso Williams was a fifth-grader when a couple used a bomb while taking hostages at her Wyoming school on May 16, 1986. May 12, 2011, 2:30am PDT. Retro Report took a look back at this episode, with a focus on how Johnson & Johnson and . In Cokeville, Nowhere, Wyo. Rich Haskell: Well, run fordo another term as sheriff and then retire, and my wife and I are going to doshe loves genealogy. Weredo you think it had something to do with angels? Interview by Mark Junge. I think you should know that it can be difficult to watch - but that it has a very rewarding outcome. I was, and I still am, a certified bomb technician at the time, and I was, as far as I know, the only bomb technician in the southern half of the state of Wyoming. To my right is Sue Castaneda who is the Wyoming Oral History Project Director, and across the table from me is Rich Haskell, who is a certified bomb technician. Mark Junge: Why do you think that God chose Cokeville to save? Do you ever think about them? The tuna fish cans with the two floury would be spread out in the air likehave you ever seen a grain elevator explosion? Im living proof.. So if it can happen there it can happen anywhere in the United States. As I sat there and watched him, I could feel he was becoming agitated. There are a select number of people that would do this, so thank you. Rich Haskell: There was a reason I was there for some reason. Survivors began to tell their stories through a spiritual lens. (before I see Hollywood's version). I've got a couple of questions. You HAVE to find the positives or the negatives can eat you up the rest of your life. Mark Junge: Okay. Story: Witness who ran toward marathon bomb 'saw bodies flying' "The death of any child shatters us all,'' Barnicle said. Rich Haskell: That's my oldest boy, Steven. But I know that, well, I'll just be quite frank. Meanwhile, police and parents gathered out of sight of the school room where hostages were gathered. Mark Junge: How many actual bombs have you had experience with? TC, I think, saw it the same way. The basket, the shelves. Cokeville Miracle Marking 25 Years.. Sept. 21, 2010. As well as I can. Well, when I arrived at Cokeville, of course they had the roads all blocked off and there was not a lot of people around the school at the time. David saw John Miller, the music teacher, trying to escape and shot him in the back. #TodayInHistory: Today in 1986, The Cokeville Elementary School crises happened. Mark Junge: Do you think you've taken more joy out of life because of it? Cokeville officially has only536 people in it and two LDS wards that meet in the same chapel. So you got that and you got the flour and the gasoline and that's what it was all designed to do in millisecond delays. And the bathroom was off to the side of it because it was the kindergarten class. But everything was black, like you had gone in there with a flamethrower and just torched everything inside there. Mark Junge: You'd been tested, though. Cokeville had so little crime that many folks didn't bother to lock their doors. At least 74 people, most of them children, suffered second-degree burns when the bomb went off at about 4 P.M. at the Cokeville Elementary School. Witnesses later testified that just before the explosion David Young had connected the explosive to his wife. AN EXPLOSION of vapors, resultLing from a combination of circumstances at the Kearney, N. J., plant of the Koppers Coke Company, on May 17, 1948, resulted in the death of ten men and started a . Mark Junge: Curious, Rich. Now, 28 years later, Conger and more than a dozen other survivors are reliving . Rich Haskell: There was also ayou look through the ceiling and there was a bigger hole up there. It's a little basket that has different layers on it. Well, with the window being open, with the ceiling tiles being able to lift up and down, I think that absorbed a lot of the explosion of the gasoline bottle. You can't think, well, maybe something could happen, because yes it could. That's what David Young forgot to realize just how important families were. (Laughs) Yeah, I understand what you're saying, but it was. I had just cracked a little joke with a toy tank of legos as I drove it "across the death line" or the masking tape square on the floor. Go to school and learn how to do it." They have a lot of first-person histories of the actual event, teachers, investigators and students. Jessica Clark, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of history and political science at Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs, Wyo. May 24, 1986 12 AM PT. Returning to the scene, David shot his wife, a teacher, then himself. Peterson, Carol. The Cokeville Elementary School hostage crisis occurred on Friday, May 16, 1986 in Cokeville, Wyoming, United States, when former town marshal David Young, 43, and his wife Doris Young, 47,[1] took 136 children and 18 adults hostage at Cokeville Elementary School. Mark Junge: Are you one of the most experienced people in the area? For more information about our sponsors and the people behind WyoHistory.org, visit our About Us page: Hostage crisis at the elementary school in Cokeville, Wyo. The timelines of some events are fuzzy Its hard to nail down what stands out the most, there were a LOT of crazy things I'd never seen before then, or since really. Rich Haskell: The bullet in him was in the bathroom. [10][2][3] The injured were triaged to several area hospitals in Wyoming and Idaho.[2][3][11]. At 1:00 pm, they pulled up to the Cokeville Elementary School and unloaded a gasoline bomb, along with four rifles and nine handguns. This is not a Mormon film it is more of an inspirational film. From Tragedy To Triumph- Talking To A Cokeville Bombing Survivor. And my children. On May 16, 1986, an elementary school in Cokeville, Wyoming, was held hostage by a couple with a bomb. Well, with the window being open, with the ceiling tiles being able to lift up and down, I think that absorbed a lot of the explosion of the gasoline bottle. David became increasingly agitated, and decided to leave the room. Excerpt from the book "On This Day In Wyoming History": David young Returning, David Young shot his wife, then himself. Rich Haskell: No. She acknowledges these students for assisting her in researching her contributions to the WyoHistory.org web site. Don't go past this square. Rich Haskell: Yeah, there was some people ready to just shoot him right where he was sitting. Teachers were confused and baffled by Young's nonsensical, strange writing. Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources, Cheyenne. It just embedded into the walls from the ammunition from the heat. Rich Haskell: Yes. Doris had a migraine headache that day, in talking with the other folks, and she was complaining about that, and asked David if she could open the windows because the gas fumesevidently the gas was leaking from the incendiary and he finally consented to let 'em open the window. This sub is dedicated to faithful discourse on church topics. Then he went to the restroom, which was attached to the classroom. He was the father of two, but was estranged from his elder daughter. I certainly enjoy my grandkids a lot more. it is VERY LDS, and yet there are at least 3 other churches in town: Episcopal, Catholic, Baptist (and sometimes a non-denominational church). The photo of Rich Haskell is by Wyoming State Archives. where there's only a limited population, that's going to throw the fear of God into everybody. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. [4], Prior to the hostage crisis, David had tested a similar bomb in a sealed school bus in Arizona, destroying it.[5]. NOTE: Witness to Miracles was published in 2006 by Pronghorn Press, www.pronghornpress.org . Accessed May 28, 2013 at. Windows were opened to rid the room of gasoline fumes, and prayers were offered in small groups among the children. Reporters from all the regional news outlets were on the scene by the time of the explosion or shortly thereafter. It packed the brute force of twenty-five sticks of dynamite. Rich Haskell: Well, you know, that's a really good question. Used with thanks. I mean, what it was supposed to do? I can understand that. I actually have a pretty clear memory of the events that day, being 12 years old. Rich Haskell: You know, with 33 years of law enforcement, I've seen a lot of things. I called back to my dispatcher and they did inform me that the school in Cokeville was being held hostage by two individuals and there was bombs involved. She lifted her hand up to rub her forehead and when she did that pulled the pin out and detonated the bomb. In the days and weeks immediately after this event, most accounts focused on the horrors of the day. If I deleted an entire phrase, I have inserted ellipses . I'm proud of all my children. Twenty-five years ago on Monday, a man and his wife pushed a homemade gasoline bomb into Cokeville's sole elementary school and demanded $300 million in ransom. It's just something that you just have to stay on top of. I know it is real. Survivor is my Name: Voices of the Cokeville Elementary School Bombing. Produced by Wyoming State Archives for Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources, the package includes interviews with 14 people about the events of May 16, 1986. Rich Haskell: Absolutely. No, we can't do this. I can't explain it. I don't know how many people under the age of 35 know about the Chicago Tylenol murders, but for a few weeks in 1982, it was a national news sensation. David and Doris both returned to Cokeville on May 16, 1986. Because they weren't in a gun, the pressure wasn't chambered enough to where you could direct it. I actually hadn't thought of doing that, yet. Mark Junge: Do you think David or Doris would have cut it? I contacted my sheriff, and that was Jim Stark at the time, and he said, "Definitely! So we decided to take some masking tape, and we tapedI think it was an eight-foot square in the middle of the room, right here, and he pushed the cart, the homemade bomb into this, and we told the children this was the magic square. Mark Junge: Do you think you were cut out to do this job? There was no give in the school bus. This all happened about 8 months after the bombing. He was in high fevers until the therapist allowed him to speak openly. The Cokeville hostage crisis began the afternoon of May 16, 1986, David and Doris Young took 154 children and adults hostage at the Cokeville Elementary School in tiny Cokeville, Wyo. This did, in fact, happen in Wyoming! The Hartley story didn't come out publicly until my parents (who wrote the book in the year after the bombing) began asking questions about this kind of thing. Survivors shared their stories with each other, investigators, family members, and hospital personnel. I think it's because of the ages of the kids, to start with. Details: At 1:20pm on Friday, May 16, 1986, forty-three-year-old David Young and his forty-seven-year-old wife, Doris, wheeled a shopping cart containing a homemade gasoline-filled bomb into Cokeville Elementary School in Cokeville, Wyoming, just after the lunch hour recess. Words emphasized by the speaker are italicized.~Transcribed by Russ Sherwin, Feb. 27, 2011. On May 16, 1986, David and Doris Young entered Cokeville Elementary School with a gasoline bomb, a variety of rifles and handguns, David's philosophical writings and demands for $300 million And I think that these people actually thought that they could start another world. Rich Haskell: Uh, I can understand that. She has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals on the history and heritage of Germans from Russia on the Northern Plains. Where you find brackets [ ] I have added words for explanation or to complete an awkward sentence. People who had guns! And if I had been a little less of a jokester I may have seen something in that strange light.