1998Jul, 24
Russell Eugene Weston, Jr. bursts into the United States Capitol and opens fire killing two police officers. He is later ruled to be incompetent to stand trial.
The 1998 United States Capitol shooting was an attack on July 24, 1998, which led to the deaths of two United States Capitol Police officers. Officer Jacob Chestnut and Detective John Gibson were killed when Russell Eugene Weston Jr., entered the Capitol and opened fire. Gibson died during surgery at MedStar Washington Hospital Center and Chestnut died at George Washington University Hospital. Weston's exact motives are unknown, but he had expressed a strong distrust of the federal government of the United States and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia six years before the attack. Weston was later charged on July 26 for the murder of two U.S. Capitol Police officers during the shooting rampage. As of July 2018, Weston remained in a mental institution.
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Events on 1998
- 4May
Unabomber
A federal judge in Sacramento, California, gives "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepts a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty. - 6May
Houston Astros
Kerry Wood strikes out 20 Houston Astros to tie the major league record held by Roger Clemens. He threw a one-hitter and did not walk a batter in his fifth career start. - 26May
Ellis Island
The Supreme Court of the United States rules that Ellis Island, the historic gateway for millions of immigrants, is mainly in the state of New Jersey, not New York. - 4Jun
Oklahoma City bombing
Terry Nichols is sentenced to life in prison for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing. - 5Jun
General Motors
A strike begins at the General Motors parts factory in Flint, Michigan, that quickly spreads to five other assembly plants. The strike lasts seven weeks.