One of the miracles that day was that not a single person was lost. 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 . it is VERY LDS, and yet there are at least 3 other churches in town: Episcopal, Catholic, Baptist (and sometimes a non-denominational church). Have you seen the Unsolved Mysteries episode that had a segment on this? Although many were burned, some severely, only the perpetrators of this horrible incident died. The only thing I bristle at is that TC has me suggesting that we say a prayer. When I walked inside of the classroomit was a kindergarten classroom which meant that the desks were smaller, everything was smaller because of the smaller children. Cokeville Public Library. When I looked up to see if David had heard me (which he had, and scowled down at me) I noticed that the florescent white light overhead was not white, but a yellow hazy light. The detonation didn't do it, it was cut. Go to their hands and knees and crawl out. She was totally burned. David, who dared not risk their reporting him to the authorities, responded by holding them at gunpoint. On May 16, 1986, when former town marshal David Gary Young and his wife Doris Young took 154 children and thirteen teachers hostage at Cokeville Elementary school in Wyoming and kept them at bay with a shopping-cart sized bomb attached to five hairpin-trigger blast caps, it should have ended in great tragedy - one of the worst in American history. Because in the bus, everything was solid in the school bus. One of 'em was in Cokeville and one was in the bus that he did the experiment with. It was not a teacher, but her ancestor. I don't know what. We didn't know if the blasting caps were in therejust exactly what was in there. WyoHistory.org welcomes the support of the following sponsors. Anything? The Youngs both died that day. 'Amityville Horror' killer dies in prison at 69 - NBC News Flipboard. David returned to the restroom and killed himself, ending the hostage crisis. Doris developed a headache from the gasoline fumes, and raised her hand to her forehead. 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 It would have killed them. results in the deaths of perpetrators David and Doris Young; 154 hostages survive. Certified Bomb Technician. 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. I had the chance to watch the pre-screening of the film and it was very emotional. 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. They did a good job telling this story. I think he went in the Marine Corps because of me and served 25 years and retired. I've got a couple of questions. [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. All the hostages escaped, though 79 were hospitalized with burns and injuries. He knew it was a predominantly Mormon [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] community. Peterson, Carol. Rich Haskell: Yeah, there was some people ready to just shoot him right where he was sitting. Dr. Clark is the faculty advisor of the Sweet Memories: Research Group at Western. No, we can't do this. It brings back lots of memories but it doesn't hurt because actually it was a positive experience. Then, several years later, Jennie Sorensen identified what she thought was a teacher who led her out of the building after the blast. When Deppe and Mendenhall finally got wind of his plans moments before the hostage crisis unfolded, they refused to participate. That's why I have a computer. Mark Junge: Well, I want you to know that we think you're courageous for doing this with us. [6] With permission, the teachers brought in books, art supplies and a television to help keep the children occupied. Jessica Clark, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of history and political science at Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs, Wyo. He was in high fevers until the therapist allowed him to speak openly. P. O. When they asked pointed questions like "what did the angels look like?" So if the state didn't pay him, he figured the Mormon church would pay him because the Mormon church has money also. You went back home? Survivors began to tell their stories through a spiritual lens. No need to troll. And afteryou look in there and you could see little pockmarks all through on the walls, and after we finished with our investigationit took us three days to totally do the whole entire sceneyou could tell where those pockmarks were bullets from the heat had gone off. David had the makeshift bomb attached to his body and housed inside a grocery cart, while Doris and Princess carried an arsenal of rifles, handguns and ammunition, as well as the Zero Equals Infinity handouts. On that Friday afternoon in their quiet, rural town, a deranged couple entered the communitys elementary school, took those inside hostage and detonated a bomb in a first grade classroom. over there. This did, in fact, happen in Wyoming! Rich Haskell: Not really that often, but every time I think about it I get very emotional. Mark Junge: Had you seen anything like what took place in this classroom before? who wins student body president riverdale. Because they refused to participate, Princess, Deppe, and Mendenhall were never charged in relation to this crime. Many of the children who stated they saw angels were of various faiths. I absolutely have. I immediately went into rendering safehe had brought in several devices with him to place in different places in the room, and there was a lot of ammunition, a lot of guns out in the hallway, and I immediately started rendering all those safe, making sure that those were safe and they could move them out of the building. The bomb was an improvised explosive device constructed in a small two-wheeled shopping cart with two baskets, one on top of the other. 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. Mark Junge: We were worried, Sue and I, that people would take offence, right? NOTE: Witness to Miracles was published in 2006 by Pronghorn Press, www.pronghornpress.org . For me, what has impressed me about the film is not necessarily the story of Angels (which are remarkable), but that the majority of the 154 hostages chose to see God's hand in their lives that day. They believed in reincarnation, which probably led, in part, to the creation of Davids Brave New World idea. Did you see anything? One hostage observed a birthday on that day and songs were sung in his honor. Several other survivors were there. We're in a conference room here on the main floor. Rich Haskell: I did not. In 1986, 154 children and teachers survived the bombing of Cokeville Elementary School. And I didn't know about the angel thing comin' to the kids until many days later. the children began describing things more specifically and that is when the mom was prompted to find the photograph of their grandmother. A Project of the Wyoming Historical Society. And that's exactly what took place in Cokeville. 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. Where you find brackets [ ] I have added words for explanation or to complete an awkward sentence. But it didn't. TC is one of my heroes. They learned to trust in their God, the kids were healed for the most part, and they value life more now. He had just big rings of perspiration. COKEVILLE, Wyo. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. So many of 'em thatI don't know. Cokeville Elementary School teachers and staff tried to keep kindergarteners through sixth graders calm and entertained. The subsequent police report states that David opened the door from the connecting bathroom, shot his injured wife in the head and killed her,[9] shot and wounded John Miller, a music teacher who was trying to flee, then closed the bathroom door and killed himself with a shot from a .45 pistol to the head. Rich Haskell: I don't know. Best Episode | Law & Order: SVU - Best Episode - Facebook The Cokeville Miracle - Was It Angels? | Light Force Network Rich Haskell: No, I don't think it exited. Because of the tiles and the window? But I walked up to the window and looked inside the window and didn't hardly see anything out of the ordinary except it was all black inside. They have a lot of first-person histories of the actual event, teachers, investigators and students. . She is a beautiful example of turning tragedy into triumph. Amy Bagaso Williams was a fifth-grader when a couple used a bomb while taking hostages at her Wyoming school on May 16, 1986. So we took the tiles off and went up into the ceiling and crawled up into the upper space up there and found a .45 slug up embedded into the iron girders up in the wall, and thought, okay, where did that come from? The Hilton Garden Suites in Laramie, Wyo. There were plenty who opposed this from Cokeville, not a majority, maybe, but they were vocal and raw with feelings. Teachers were confused and baffled by Young's nonsensical, strange writing. Some of them believed the assembly was about weapons; others began realizing something was seriously wrong. Now you are a bomb technician. Witnesses later testified that just before the explosion David Young had connected the explosive to his wife. Well, when I arrived and saw that body layin' on the front lawn, I was told that was Doris. David attached the bomb trigger to his wrist and threatened the group that he might, at any time, move his arm and ignite the bomb. He did deliver our salvation that day. Carbon County School District No. 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 . Do you ever think about that? As I sat there and watched him, I could feel he was becoming agitated. Mark Junge: How many actual bombs have you had experience with? Mark Junge: No? And it was a perfect trajectory up into the ceiling where that bullet was. We know he built two of 'em. Others miracles were reported and some of those are recorded in this compilation.." 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. Rich Haskell: Well, as we were talking before we started recording, because of my knowledge with the explosives and with the law enforcement and everything else, I've had many opportunitiesbecause of the explosivesI've been with Vice President Cheney when he was here in Wyoming up in Pinedale. David and Doris both returned to Cokeville on May 16, 1986. The first chapter is titled A Town of Trust.. Edit: Also, were you at that early screening? And what happens if they trigger something accidently?" 96 views, 2 likes, 0 loves, 0 comments, 2 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from J.Cano: Law & Order: SVU - Best Episode And then he shot himself. 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. Mark Junge: Well, you've been blessed in a lot of ways. The Astonishing True Stories Behind the Cokeville Miracle Movie By the people that was the bad folks, they're the only ones that got really hurt. Mark Junge: And the explosion went straight up? She has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals on the history and heritage of Germans from Russia on the Northern Plains. If you are interested in seeing the film, theaters are listed here. Gallery: Cokeville School Bombing, 25 Years Later - Casper Star-Tribune Rich Haskell: I don't think that they were planningor David was planning on the ceiling tiles in the school. In the meantime, David and Doris Young gathered children, teachers, staff and visitors in the elementary school into one central location. Well, he had put wooden shelves for layers. 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. No, not at all. I didn't touch the body at all. The Cokeville Town Hall is located at 110 Pine St. For more information, visit the website of the Cokeville Chamber of Commerce at http://www.cokevillewy.com or call (307) 459-4195. I contacted the dispatch up in Kemmerer to get firsthand information as to having second- and third-hand information and they informed me that the school indeed had been taken hostage. Maybe writing that up 2 years ago when this came along was more healing for me than for him, but I gave it all to him! This allowed gasoline to drip into the tuna fish cans, turning the aluminum-flour mixture into paste, unable to aerosolize. Where's he running? David saw John Miller, the music teacher, trying to escape and shot him in the back. Cokeville Bombing. Undated scrapbook. People who had guns! Cook, the school's secretary and the first person taken hostage, could tell Young's threats were serious. Dozens. You'd had experience? TC (the director) also worked incredibly hard to make this a story that can be widely appreciated by members of all faiths. Cokeville Bombing - Wyoming The basket, the shelves. My name is Kamron Wixom, I was a 12 year old 6th grader in 1986 when a mad man took over my school (Cokeville Elementary) with a bomb and his guns. That your life could change just at a blink of an eye. Whether or not you believe in God or miracles, show some respect. You can also read about it on [Wikipedia] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cokeville_Elementary_School_hostage_crisis). This wasn't a pipe bomb. Bullet Hit Woman Who Died in School Siege - Los Angeles Times So timelines and characters may be switched up, but the overall spirit of it and the facts are laid out true to witness testimonies. He was so open to their input, and feelings. Many recalled praying silently, forming prayer circles and seeing angels during the crisis. I think I made it there in record timeI'm not sure. Cokeville Elementary School hostage crisis - Wikipedia I went from within two feet of the bomb to right near the door within ten minutes before the bomb went off. 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. Were you portrayed in the movie at all? Mark Junge: Where at? I actually hadn't thought of doing that, yet. In addition, national reporters began arriving within hours of the explosion. Sept. 21, 2010. It was just shootin' everywhere. Returning, David Young shot his wife, then himself. Mark Junge: That's a record of all the people we've talked to! 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. I really did not even want to walk inside that building because I was just afraid that I'd see kids all over the place. Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources, Cheyenne. I'm portrayed as the little red haired kid with glasses that asks about the AK-47. And then what? David set himself near the center of the room with the grocery cart bomb nearby, as Doris went from room to room rounding up people. There was no give in the school bus. With fear that David might become unhinged, the teachers decided to make an ~8-foot square of masking tape for his own personal space. Edit: Thank you so much for your questions! The Power of Faith: 25 Years After School Bombing, Town Remembers Story of Survival., Mitchell, Ruth Ann. Couple in School Blast Linked to Extremist Group But everything was black, like you had gone in there with a flamethrower and just torched everything inside there. 10 Years Later, Cokeville Just Says: Let Us Be He instructed Doris and Princess, by now a young adult, to handcuff them inside his van. Rich Haskell: Well, run fordo another term as sheriff and then retire, and my wife and I are going to doshe loves genealogy. He was dismissed, however, from this position shortly after his six-month probationary period. May 12, 2011, 2:30am PDT. They had a circle of tape around the device itself and they said, "Do not come inside of this circle. It killed her instantly. Rich Haskell: Uh, I can understand that. What had happenedI can't explain it. Mark Junge: Do you think he took up thatwanted to take that up because of you? Rich Haskell: And fourteen and a half great-grandchildren. SHARE Cokeville recollects 'miracle' of 1986. Accessed May 17, 2013, at, Wyoming Horror: A Fiery Schoolhouse Bomb., A 1986 Hostage Event at a Cokeville, Wyoming Elementary School., Jarvik, Elaine. 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. The story was also featured on Unsolved Mysteries, Unexplained Mysteries, and I Survived A movie about the incident, The Cokeville Miracle, was made by filmmaker T. C. Christensen and released on June 5, 2015. I got a chance to talk to Jennie Sorensen Johnson, who was seven when David Young rolled a bomb into her first grade classroom. He just said just go do it. 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. Mark Junge: And your great-grandkids? Rich Haskell: There was also ayou look through the ceiling and there was a bigger hole up there. Ronald DeFeo Jr., the convicted killer whose 1974 murders spawned the "Amityville Horror" franchise, died last week while serving a 25 years-to-life prison term, officials said Monday . Angelic Intervention save all 153 in bomb blast - Cokeville Wyoming - Unexplained Mysteries - Angels Brain Boyle 2.05K subscribers Subscribe 928 158K views 11 years ago All 153 Children &. It was in their Tucson home that David came up with what he considered the Biggie, a plan to get rich quick and create a Brave New World. This plan involved Davids longtime friends, Gerald Deppe and Doyle Mendenhall, who believed by investing in Davids scheme they would get rich. And it burned some children. I've been involved with law enforcement since 1977 in Sweetwater County. The Cokeville Miracle - The American Tragedy That Never Happened He came out of the bathroom, is what we figured. She fled the building and drove the Youngs vanwith Deppe and Mendenhall still insideto the town hall, where she reported her fathers plan. When you say what cut the wire? The man and woman who took an elementary school here hostage Friday, injuring 70 children when their homemade gasoline bomb exploded, had ties to the Posse Comitatus and other white supremacist. And that's where the bomb sat and that's where they sat. Retro Report took a look back at this episode, with a focus on how Johnson & Johnson and . And I think that these people actually thought that they could start another world. 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. 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. Healing will come Slowly From Within a Wounded Cokeville. Of course, most children were elated by the prospects of an assembly. You know, the kids have forgot about it, let's let 'em move on. I guess I should say I am only speaking as a child, the adults were probably tense the entire time! The photo of Rich Haskell is by Wyoming State Archives. In the days and weeks immediately after this event, most accounts focused on the horrors of the day. Debbie Sparks and Steven Moore, both EMTs, discuss on May 9 the elementary school bombing. Press J to jump to the feed. Mark Junge: Do you still think about this? Because it was sittin' low enough and the kids were low enough that it would have done it. There was nobody killed but the perpetrators. They lived in a mobile home with Princess, Davids youngest daughter from his first marriage. I know there's angels. It's made me, I think, more open-minded to things and don't take so much for granted anymore. I have given that some thought. Rich Haskell: Sure. 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. She is a trained rural historian who specializes in oral history, childhood history and memory studies. Well, he had went into the bathroom and she was out with the bomb, and they said she was complaining of a migraine headache. But I know that, well, I'll just be quite frank. Nobody come inside this circle." The circuit was powered by a 9-volt lantern battery. On May 16, 1986, an elementary school in Cokeville, Wyoming, was held hostage by a couple with a bomb. Rich Haskell: Yes. Rich Haskell: I sometimes do, but you can't let yourself think about it. Man Decapitated by Exploding Pipe Bomb - NBC Chicago I mean, what it was supposed to do? Carbon County School District No. The only two fatalities were David and Doris Young. After being fired for misconduct, he moved to Tucson, Arizona, where he married Doris Young. Mark Junge: In fact, didn't you say you burned up your engine? The miraculous events that followed transformed the lives of hundreds of people, including many who witnessed angels or received heavenly help from deceased ancestors. Upon entering the classroom, children saw an arsenal of weapons, a grocery cart and an unfamiliar manDavid Young. Mark Junge: What's been your experiences since then? Parentheses ( ) are used for incidental non-verbal sounds, like laughter. David emerged from the bathroom to find his wife in excruciating pain. I did see the lighting had changed in the room, and it was right in the same timeline as everyone else's witness. Doris tried numerous times to calm the children by telling them to "think of it as an adventure movie," or that they "would have a great story to tell their grandchildren." Rich Haskell: Because of the response and because of the emails and everything that took place. Oral histories, memoirs and drawings began to reveal a narrative of fortune rather than misfortune. The hostage takers took part in the singing. The explosion engulfed her in flames and burned many nearby children. I can understand that. Rich Haskell: Absolutely! A compilation project by the Cokeville Miracle Foundation, a 501(c) (3) charity. Cokeville seems like a pretty small town. [T]rust is big here youngsters grow up knowing they can turn to many other members of the community with confidence, write Hartt and Judene Wixom in Trial by Terror: The Child-hostage Crisis in Cokeville, Wyoming. He was asking large amounts of money. By Deseret News. After a two-and-a-half hour standoff, the children were becoming restless, so the teachers preoccupied the kids in the form of movies, games, prayer, and books. Cokeville Recollects Miracle of 1986: Hostage Survivors, Town Residents Compile Book, ________. As I come to the junctionI'm sorry, I don't know what the road is that goes over to Bear Lakebut as I was passing that intersection, they did inform me that the bomb had exploded. On May 16, 1986, an elementary school in the tiny town of Cokeville, Wyoming, was held hostage by a married couple with a bomb. "Move!" At about 9:30 a.m., the bomb disposal squad used a robotic device to shoot out the end caps of the device, remove the . The Cokeville hostage crisis began the afternoon of May 16, 1986, when David and Doris Young took 154 children and adults hostage at the Cokeville Elementary School in tiny Cokeville, Wyo. How did you determine how everything looked when this went up in smoke itself. Is there a news article that I could read to get a better idea of what happened? Students, teachers, staff and visitors frantically exited the building, with teachers helping many of the children escape through the windows. You know their names but not their birthdays. I think it was still in his body. How has that experience shaped your life? Below the jug in the bottom basket were two tuna fish cans filled with a mixture of aluminum powder and flour meant to aerosolize and deflagrate following detonation, each with its own blasting cap. I'm currently the Sheriff of Sweetwater County. 1 of 7. You can see what's happening in the world today. In most cases I have deleted redundant ands, ers, uhs, buts, false starts, etc. You can't think, well, maybe something could happen, because yes it could. The children and adults escaped after the bomb exploded. On May 16, 1986, David and Doris Young took 154 people hostage at the Cokeville Elementary School in tiny Cokeville, Wyo. 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. Returning to the scene, David shot his wife, a teacher, then himself. Throughout both baskets were chain links, gunpowder, and boxes of ammunition acting as shrapnel. And he didn't even ask me if I wanted to do that. Although many were burned, some severely, only the perpetrators of this horrible incident died. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. My name is Mark Junge and I'm here at the Hiltonis it the Hilton Hotel?