Edgewater Technology shooting

{{Infobox civilian attack

| title = Edgewater Technology shooting

| location = 200 Harvard Mill Square, Suite 210, Wakefield, Massachusetts, U.S.

| target = Edgewater Technology

| date = December 26, 2000

| coordinates = {{coord|42|30|1|N|71|4|33|W|type:event_region:US_dim:200|display=inline,title}}

| time =

| type = Mass shooting, mass murder, spree shooting, workplace shooting

| fatalities = 7

| injuries = 0

| perp = Michael Morgan McDermott

| motive = Unknown

| weapons = * AK-47 variant rifle

}}

On December 26, 2000, a mass shooting occurred at Edgewater Technology in Wakefield, Massachusetts, United States. Michael Morgan McDermott, an employee at Edgewater Technology, shot and killed seven of his coworkers. It is the deadliest workplace shooting in Massachusetts history.{{cite web|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/12/26/wakefield_rampage_an_unforgettable_event/ |title=Emotions raw 10 years after shooting |newspaper=The Boston Globe| first1=Jonathan|last1=Saltzman|first2=Travis|last2=Andersen|date=December 26, 2010|access-date=June 20, 2022}}

Shooting

The weapons he used were an AK-47 variant, a 12-gauge shotgun and a .32 caliber pistol. He fired off a total of 37 rounds, shooting his victims in the back of the head repeatedly.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/28/us/a-deadly-turn-to-a-normal-work-day.html |title=A Deadly Turn to a Normal Work Day |newspaper=The New York Times |first=Carey |last=Goldberg |date=December 28, 2000 |access-date=June 20, 2022}} Police later found a .460-calibre Weatherby Mark V rifle in McDermott's locker.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/28/us/man-charged-in-killings-evaded-strict-gun-laws.html |title=Man Charged In Killings Evaded Strict Gun Laws |newspaper=The New York Times |first=David |last=Stout |date=December 28, 2000 |access-date=June 20, 2022}}

He was found by police sitting calmly and stated that he did not speak German. At trial, he stated that he was born without a soul and that God had allowed him to earn a soul by traveling back in time to kill Nazis. However, the prosecution asserted that the killings were motivated by his employer's garnishment of his wages for the IRS in order to pay back taxes that he owed. Evidence also showed that he had researched how to fake mental illness.{{cite web|url=http://masscases.com/cases/sjc/448/448mass750.html|title=McDermott, Commonwealth vs., 448 Mass. 750|website=masscases.com}}

= Legal proceedings =

McDermott was found guilty of seven counts of first degree murder on April 24, 2002, after the jury deliberated for 16 hours across three days. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.{{cite web |last=O'Regan |first=Chris |date=April 24, 2002 |title=Worker Found Guilty In Office Slaying |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/worker-found-guilty-in-office-slaying/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250617010838/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/worker-found-guilty-in-office-slaying/ |archive-date=June 17, 2025 |access-date=June 20, 2022 |publisher=CBS News}} On April 13, 2007, an appeal filed by McDermott, asking for his conviction to be overturned, was denied. The appeal claimed that a prosecution witness mentioning 9/11 was unfair and should have led to a declared mistrial, that the jury was badly instructed, and that the judge should not have allowed certain evidence to be used. The appeal was denied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on the grounds that, due to the length of his trial and the large amount of evidence against him, the result of his trial would have been the same,{{Cite web |author=Jay Lindsay|agency=Associated Press |title=Appeal denied in office slayings |url=https://www.telegram.com/story/news/local/worcester/2007/04/14/appeal-denied-in-office-slayings/52925645007/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250617012627/https://www.telegram.com/story/news/local/worcester/2007/04/14/appeal-denied-in-office-slayings/52925645007/ |archive-date=June 17, 2025 |access-date=2025-06-17 |website=The Worcester Telegram & Gazette |language=en-US}}

Fatalities

Jennifer Bragg Capobianco, 29, marketing
Janice Hagerty, 46, office manager
Louis A. Javelle, 58, director of consulting
Rose Manfredi, 48, payroll
Paul Marceau, 36, development technician
Cheryl Troy, 50, human resources director
Craig Wood, 29, human resources{{cite web|url=https://www.southcoasttoday.com/story/news/state/2000/12/28/families-friends-grapple-with-seven/50463595007/ |title=Families, friends grapple with seven Wakefield slayings |publisher=Associated Press |first=Theo |last=Emery |date=December 27, 2000 |access-date=June 20, 2022}}

Perpetrator

Michael Morgan McDermott was born Michael McDermod Martinez in Plymouth, Massachusetts, on September 4, 1958, and grew up in nearby Marshfield. He was the second of four children to Richard and Rosemary ({{nee}} Reardon) Martinez, who both worked as teachers. In 1976, he graduated from Marshfield High, where he was rather popular among his peers according to a former classmate.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/Story-of-accused-killer-depends-on-whom-you-ask-11713389.php |title=Story of accused killer depends on whom you ask |publisher=Associated Press |date=December 29, 2000 |access-date=June 20, 2022}}{{cite magazine |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,998904-2,00.html |title=Portrait Of A Killer |magazine=Time |first=Nadya |last=Labi |date=January 8, 2001 |access-date=June 20, 2022}}

Shortly after graduating high school, McDermott enlisted in the United States Navy and served for six years as an electrician's mate, most of which was spent on the USS Narwhal. He was eventually honorably discharged with the rank of electrician's mate petty officer second class.{{cite web|url=https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/news/2000/12/30/suspect-s-history-yields-few/51004690007/ |title=Suspect's history yields few clues |newspaper=Cape Cod Times |agency=Associated Press |date=December 30, 2000 |access-date=June 20, 2022}}

From 1982 to 1988, McDermott worked for the Maine Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. He then moved to Weymouth, Massachusetts, and began work in research and development for Duracell. In 1992, McDermott married Monica Sheehan. They divorced several years later. Around this time, McDermott began to gain significant weight. In 2000, after Duracell announced that it would soon move to Bethel, Connecticut, McDermott resigned and later joined Edgewater Technology that same year.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/28/us/in-wake-of-killings-strands-of-suspect-s-life.html |title=In Wake of Killings, Strands of Suspect's Life |newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 28, 2000 |access-date=June 20, 2022}}

In October 2000, McDermott moved out of his apartment in South Weymouth after failing to pay his rent, leaving the residence in a derelict state and owing the landlord $1,720. He then moved into an apartment in Haverhill.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

It later emerged that, in addition to his other financial troubles, McDermott had owed roughly $5,000 in back taxes to the IRS and that Edgewater Technology had withheld a portion of his wages in order to comply with an order by the IRS.{{cite web|url=https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/2001/01/03/report-wakefield-shooting-suspect-owed/51305385007/ |title=Report: Wakefield shooting suspect owed IRS less than $5K|publisher=Associated Press |date=January 3, 2001 |access-date=June 20, 2022}}

As of 2024, McDermott was incarcerated at Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.{{cite web|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-mad-1_09-cv-11992/pdf/USCOURTS-mad-1_09-cv-11992-0.pdf |title=Report and Recommendation Re:Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus |date=October 25, 2011 |website=www.govinfo.gov |access-date=2019-07-08}}

Media references

McDermott is cited in the 2003 psychology book Why We Hate.{{cite book|last=Dozier|first=Rush|title=Why We Hate|year=2003|publisher=McGraw-Hill|isbn=978-0809224791|page=352}}

In 2008, his case was studied on the psychology program Most Evil.{{cite web|title=Most Evil: Season 2|url=http://investigation.discovery.com/tv/most-evil/ep-guide/most-evil-ep-guide.html|access-date=May 13, 2012}}

Commemorations

A cherry tree was planted outside of Edgewater Technology's offices in Wakefield in memory of the seven victims. Every December, carnation flowers are woven into the branches in their memory.{{cite web|url=http://www.necn.com/news/new-england/_NECN__Survivor_of_Mass_Shooting_on_Healing_Process_NECN-251502711.html|title=Survivor of Mass Shooting on Healing Process|website=NECN|date=March 21, 2014 }}

References

External links

[https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/27/us/7-die-in-rampage-at-company-co-worker-of-victims-arrested.html 7 Die in Rampage at Company; Co-Worker of Victims Arrested], The New York Times (December 27, 2000)
[https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/28/us/a-deadly-turn-to-a-normal-work-day.html A Deadly Turn to a Normal Work Day], The New York Times (December 28, 2000)
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/12/27/7-die-in-massachusetts-office-shooting/1b9f9c67-b2c3-482c-bf1b-fa869fc6c430/ 7 Die in Massachusetts Office Shooting], The Washington Post (December 27, 2000)
[https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/28/us/in-wake-of-killings-strands-of-suspect-s-life.html In Wake of Killings, Strands of Suspect's Life], The New York Times (December 28, 2000)
[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/dec/27/usgunviolence.usa Gunman kills 7 at net firm], The Guardian (December 27, 2000)
[http://www.dailynewstranscript.com/news/x253543499 McDermott found guilty of Edgewater murders: Judge sentences him to seven consecutive life sentences] The Daily News Transcript (April 24, 2002)