Cleveland Elementary School shooting ( also known as the Stockton schoolyard shooting and the Cleveland School massacre ) occurred on January 17 , 1989 , at Cleveland Elementary School at 20 East Fulton Street in Stockton , California , United States . The gunman , white supremacist Patrick Purdy , who had a long criminal history , shot and killed five schoolchildren and wounded 32 others . As first responders arrived at the scene , Purdy committed suicide by shooting himself in the head . His victims were predominantly Southeast Asian refugees . This particular shooting happened almost exactly ten years after another school shooting in San Diego , which also happened to be at a school named Cleveland Elementary
school shooting in San Diego
Cleveland Elementary School shooting (San Diego)
Cleveland Elementary School shooting (Stockton)