Long before we knew the names Uvalde, Pulse Nightclub, Parkland, and Sandy Hook, the nation was stunned and horrified by the Long Island Rail Road massacre.
Legacy of the LIRR Massacre."It was among the first large-scale mass shootings in a public place in the modern era, and it came at a time the U.S. was beginning to grapple with a steadily increasing number of deadly rampages.
Thirty years ago, on December 7, 1993, a Jamaican-born Brooklyn resident boarded a Long Island-bound commuter train, the 5:33 from Penn Station, armed with a semi-automatic 9mm handgun and more than 100 rounds of ammunition. Colin Ferguson opened fire on innocent commuters, killing six and injuring 19 of them. Law enforcement, the public, and the news media descended upon the Merillon Avenue, Garden City station where the train stopped after three passengers tackled Ferguson and disarmed him as he was returning to his seat to reload for a second time. They came upon an unimaginable, chaotic scene of injured commuters, a"river of blood" in the aisle of the commuter railcar, and several victims tragically beyond help. FILE- In this Dec. 8, 1993 file photo, Colin Ferguson is led by detectives from Nassau County Police headquarters in Minneola, N.Y. In what was one of the worst mass shootings of the time, Ferguson opened fire aboard a Long Island Railroad commuter train during rush hour. Six people died and 19 were wounded.Police discovered in Ferguson's pockets handwritten notes labeled"Reasons for This,'' in which he vented his hatred for Adelphi University, where he had been a student, as well as"Caucasians and Uncle Tom Negroes," then-Governor Mario Cuomo, and the state Workers' Compensation Board. He cited"racism" he believed he endured, adding New York City was spared because of his respect for then-Mayor David Dinkens and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. He wrote,"Nassau County is the venue."The Long Island Rail Road happened 30 years ago next week. This Friday, CBS New York will premiere an hourlong documentary looking back at the tragedy that killed six people and injured 19 others. CBS New York's Carolyn Gusoff, who directed the documentary, spoke about it with Chris Wragge.CBS New York's Jennifer McLogan was the first reporter on the scene after Colin Ferguson opened fire on an LIRR train. She worked with our own Carolyn Gusoff on a documentary about the tragic event that took place almost 30 years ago. Ferguson's handpicked lawyers--William Kunstler and Ronald Kuby--suggested that he was overcome with"Black rage," from his perception he was a chronic victim of racism. Ferguson rejected that insanity defense, and eventually dismissed Kunstler and Kuby. Maintaining his innocence, Ferguson decided to represent himself in what became a highly-watched, televised, bizarre spectacle of a trial at the Nassau County Courthouse, where he cross-examined the very people he had tried to kill. At trial, he claimed he had fallen asleep on the train and that an unidentified white passenger removed his gun from his backpack, and was responsible for the massacre. Long Island Railroad massacre victim Mark Heaney demonstrates how the alleged gunman held his weapon during the shooting on the Long Island Railroad as he testifies at the trial of Colin Ferguson in Minneola, N.Y., Feb. 6, 1995.A parade of survivors confronted him with composure, stating,"You shot me. You shot everyone on that train." Ferguson was convicted of the murders on February 17, 1995 and sentenced to 315 years in prison, representing six consecutive life sentences. He was acquitted of hate crime charges. Jurors did not believe he chose his victims according to their race. The victims were white, Asian, Hispanic and Black. Ferguson said at his sentencing,"I hope that, somewhere down the road, I will be forgotten. I will do my time on earth. It is a difficult place, but I will continue." Onlookers, including the survivors of his rampage, erupted in thunderous applause as he was led out of the courtroom to begin a life sentence.Carolyn McCarthy's husband Dennis was killed and son Kevin seriously injured when Colin Ferguson opened fire on the Long Island Rail Road 30 years ago. The tragic shooting forever altered her life, prompting to her run for Congress. She spoke extensively with CBS New York's Carolyn Gusoff for her documentary"The 5:33 - Legacy of the LIRR Massacre."Delton Dove was the foreman of the jury that decided Colin Ferguson's fate. He spoke for the first time about his experience with CBS New York's Carolyn Gusoff for her documentary"The 5:33 - Legacy of the LIRR Massacre."Civil rights attorney Ronald Kuby and his late partner William Kunstler were Colin Ferguson's pre-trial lawyer. Kuby spoke CBS New York's Carolyn Gusoff for her documentary"The 5:33 - Legacy of the LIRR Massacre."Mi Won Kim's sister Mi Kyung Kim was murdered in Colin Ferguson's rampage aboard a Long Island Rail Road train nearly 30 years ago. She spoke with CBS New York's Carolyn Gusoff for our documentary"The 5:33 - Legacy of the LIRR Massacre."Frank Barker was shot five times during Colin Ferguson's rampage on a Long Island Rail Road train car nearly 30 years ago. He spoke extensively with CBS New York's Carolyn Gusoff as part of her documentary"The 5:33 - Legacy of the LIRR Massacre." "Down the road," the carnage in our country has only escalated. Mass shootings have only increased since 1993, claiming innocent lives, instilling fear, and impacting our daily lives. CBS New York embarked this year upon a quest to find and speak with the shooting survivors, law enforcement first on the scene, attorneys who represented Ferguson, and the families of those who perished, to ask the question, what will not be forgotten? And what must be remembered? The original CBS News New York documentary was produced and directed by Carolyn Gusoff with additional reporting by Jennifer McLogan, our veteran Long Island journalists who covered the night of the massacre and every aspect of the case in the days, months and years that followed. McLogan was the first reporter on the scene of the shooting on December 7, 1993. In"The 5:33-Legacy of the LIRR Massacre," we hear extensively for the first time from Jury Foreman Delton Dove. What took the jury 10 hours to decide what appeared to be beyond question to court observers? We also visited with retired Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, whose husband Dennis was shot to death on the train and whose son Kevin was shot in the head and suffered paralysis and brain damage. She emerged as a spokeswoman for the group of victims and became a nine-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives, intent on reforming gun laws. Thirty years later, she says,"I couldn't face the families anymore. I just felt it was time for younger people, younger families to step in my footsteps." FILE- In this Nov. 5, 1996 file photo, Carolyn McCarthy gets a hug from her son Kevin, at Aledphi University in Garden City, N.Y., after she defeated incumbent Republican congressman Dan Frisa of the 4th congressional district. McCarthy's husband was killed and Kevin gravely wounded in the 1993 Long Island Railroad Massacre. Now in her ninth term, McCarthy is perhaps one of the most recognizable faces in the gun control debate.We reconnect with Lisa Combatti, who still lives just blocks from the Merillon Avenue train station, and still commutes to her New York City job on the LIRR. She was nearly eight months pregnant when she curled up in the fetal position to try to protect her unborn child, and was shot through the hip. Her daughter is now 30, and Combatti is planning her wedding. Joyce Gorycki, whose husband James was killed, is furious after 30 years of advocacy for stricter limits on large capacity weapons. "Why do we have to go through this every night? I look at the news - oh, yeah, the latest shooting massacre. Shake my head. I said why? It shouldn't be. Come on, make stricter laws. Wake up," she pleads."I know this country will always sell guns. But you don't sell an AR-15 to anybody who wants it. No other country does that."Frank Barker, a retired technology consultant who was shot 5 times, was a father of seven children in 1993. "It was a tragedy. We tried to fix it through addressing the obvious way we could, a quick fix, let's just take away guns, as if that would make the problem go away and hasn't. The mental health issue and the sickness issue in our culture, and the treatment issue and people who are alienated or angry or view themselves as victims, we're doing nothing really for," Barker said."We didn't get here quickly, and we're not going to get out of it quickly."CBS New York spoke on-camera with 18 people who were directly connected to the tragedy 30 years ago. "The 5:33, Legacy of the LIRR Massacre" is a life-affirming hour-long documentary that raises some of the most challenging questions of our day: How do we stop an onslaught of violence and why must this tragedy not be forgotten.Take a look back at some of our coverage of the LIRR massacre and its aftermath, from the time of the original incident, through Colin Ferguson's trial, and more.
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