In what is probably one of the best examples of why responding officers should never assume a single type of weapon during a spree attack, the murders committed by Joseph Harris in Ridgewood, New Jersey on October 10th, 1991, involved three different types of weapons: a sword (very unique in this type of crime), explosives and at least one firearm. The murders, all connected to the same location, occurred on two different days - one evening and then the next morning - and at two different locations. This is similar to the Charles Whitman “Texas Tower” event as Whitman killed his parents at home before going to the tower to “finish” his spree.
On October 9th, 1991, Harris went to the home of his supervisor, Ms. Carol Ott, and killed her using the Samurai Sword (a katana) before shooting her fiancé, Cornelius Kasten. The next morning, Harris then went to the Ridgewood, NJ post office, where he had previously worked but been fired from in April of 1990. There, using what’s reported as an “automatic weapon” but was more likely a semi-automatic weapon, he murdered two postal employees: Joseph VanderPaauw and Donald McNaught. Both were employed as mail handlers.
The police responded and a stand-off occurred that reportedly lasted over four hours during which Harris set off two explosions. Reports say he was armed with hand grenades which would have been easy enough to detonate but hard to explain how he obtained.
The post incident investigation linked Harris to a previous breaking & entering crime wherein he also committed three rapes and a murder. That crime occurred in Montville, New Jersey where Harris reportedly broke into the home of his investment banker, dressed all in black as a ninja and took the family hostage. He reportedly sexually assaulted the investment banker’s wife and both daughters before shooting and killing the investment banker himself. Harris wasn’t identified as a suspect in that crime until after his attack on October 10, 1991.
In court, Harris attempted to use an insanity defense but he was convicted of both the Montville murder of the investment banker as well as the murders connected to the Ridgewood post office. He was sentenced to death and housed on death row in the penitentiary and he died of natural causes in prison in September of 1996.
Quite a bit of concerning information about Harris was revealed during the investigation and the trial for the multiple murders, rapes and B&E. Harris’ life didn’t just end in prison but started in prison as well. His mother was incarcerated when he was born - so he was literally born in prison. The background investigation revealed a lifetime of challenges with various psychiatric conditions. That lifetime of psychiatric problems in addition to his having dressed as a ninja to commit two of his crimes (the Montville murder and the murder with a sword/gun the night before his attack at the post office) contributed to his insanity defense but ultimately was insufficient for the judge or psychologist to find him incompetent to stand trial.
Working against his insanity defense was the fact that he reportedly left a two-page letter, which he had handwritten, at his home prior to going to Ott’s house to commit his murders there. In the letter he described his dissatisfaction with the postal service and his general anger toward those who had, in his view, mistreated him.
After Harris had surrendered on the morning of October 10, 1991, the Ridgewood Chief of Police made a statement indicating that Harris had been armed with an Uzi machine pistol, a .22lr machine pistol, three hand grenades and an assortment of home explosive devices. This armament needs to be remembered and kept in mind as officers respond to active shooter / active killer events. If the weapons were indeed automatic, that represents a lot of firepower for one person to have, and the hand grenades are definitely not munitions that the average police officer is usually expecting to encounter.
Further revealed in the post incident investigation was the fact that Harris had booby-trapped his apartment before leaving it the evening he went to murder Ms. Ott. The booby-trap consisted of explosives and an ether-based can of automotive starting fluid which was rigged to detonate if his front door was opened. The landlord, in statements given after the fact, indicated that she had refused to give the police the key to Harris’ apartment when they first showed up after the attack/event. She claims that had she given them the key, they’d have attempted to make entry and likely detonated the explosive rigged to the door. It’s unclear how the police made entry after a warrant for the apartment was secured.
After killing Ott and her fiance, Harris apparently went almost immediately to the post office where he had worked the overnight shift for nine years before being terminated, so he’d have been familiar with the night time security and procedures. The killing there reportedly started about 2 a.m. and the police were on scene shortly thereafter. The standoff reportedly lasted about a half hour before Harris surrendered himself. He was wearing all black, was wearing a ballistic vest and had on a gas mask according to reports. His sister had told investigators that he was a Navy veteran and had worked with machinery and explosives during his time in the service.
As a final note on this incident, it needs to be pointed out that in his two-page handwritten letter, Harris apparently cited the post office attack in Edmond, OK in 1986 and had turned down union assistance in trying to get his job back. He clearly stated that he would, “handle things his own way.” Copy cat attacks do occur and those who commit them tend to learn from and improve on the tactics of those who committed the attacks being copied. Sherrill, the attacker in Edmond, OK was more “successful” in his killing and racked up a higher victim count as compared to Harris, but Harris was prepared and obviously preplanned having thought about his revenge for 18 months or more.
Joshua Borelli
Joshua Borelli has been studying active shooter and mass attack events over the course of the past several years, commensurate with receiving training on response and recovery to natural disasters and civil disturbances. Joshua started to outline this series of articles in an attempt to identify commonalities and logistical needs patterns for response.
