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1999 Los Angeles Jewish Community Center shooting

SOLVED1999North Valley Jewish Community Center, Granada Hills, Los Angeles, California3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
"Welcome to Granada Hills" monument in Veterans Triangle — location anchor for the case
"Welcome to Granada Hills" monument in Veterans Triangle — location anchor for the case — Credit: Public domain

On the morning of August 10, 1999, at around 10:50 a.m. local time, Buford O'Neal Furrow Jr. entered the lobby of the North Valley Jewish Community Center in the Granada Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, and opened fire with an Uzi-type submachine gun, firing more than 70 rounds. Approximately 250 children were playing outside the center at the time. Five people were wounded: a five-year-old boy, two six-year-old boys, a 16-year-old teenage camp counselor, and a 68-year-old receptionist. All five victims eventually recovered, though the five-year-old, Benjamin Kadish, was critically injured, losing roughly half his blood volume and requiring six hours of surgery before being released from the hospital on September 23, 1999.

Furrow fled the scene in a van, carjacked a vehicle at gunpoint about twenty minutes later, and abandoned it at a motel in Chatsworth. A few miles from the community center, he approached USPS letter carrier Joseph Santos Ileto, asked him to mail a letter, and then shot him nine times with a Glock 9mm handgun, killing him. Furrow later stated he targeted Ileto because he believed him to be Latino or Asian and because Ileto worked for the federal government; Ileto was Filipino American.

Investigators determined Furrow had prepared for the attack in advance, purchasing a van in Washington State loaded with weapons, ammunition, and body armor, and had considered but ultimately avoided three other Jewish institutions in Los Angeles due to the presence of armed security. Materials recovered from his abandoned van included antisemitic and white-supremacist literature. Furrow had prior ties to Richard Girnt Butler's white-supremacist movement and had worked security at Butler's Idaho compound. After the shooting, he traveled by taxi to Las Vegas, Nevada, and turned himself in to an FBI office, confessing to the attacks.

Furrow was charged with federal murder in Ileto's death, along with civil rights violations and weapons charges, and separately faced state attempted-murder charges for the community center shootings. On January 24, 2001, he pleaded guilty to all 16 felony counts against him, avoiding a possible death sentence. On March 26, 2001, U.S. District Court Judge Nora Manella sentenced Furrow to two consecutive life terms plus 110 additional years without the possibility of parole, and ordered him to pay over $690,000 in restitution. He remains incarcerated in a federal prison in Minnesota.

The attack contributed to the formation of the Million Mom March, a gun-control advocacy movement that held demonstrations across the United States on Mother's Day in 2000. Ileto was later honored with a post office named for him in Chino Hills, California.

Key facts

Victims
Joseph Santos Ileto, Mindy Finkelstein, Joshua Stepakoff, Benjamin Kadish, James Zidell, Isabelle Shalometh
Date
1999
Location
North Valley Jewish Community Center, Granada Hills, Los Angeles, California
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1999-08-07

    Furrow purchases a van in Tacoma, Washington, and loads it with weapons, ammunition, and body armor.

  2. 1999-08-10

    Furrow opens fire inside the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills, Los Angeles, wounding five people.

  3. 1999-08-10

    Furrow shoots and kills USPS mail carrier Joseph Santos Ileto in Chatsworth, then flees the state.

  4. 1999-08-13

    Furrow surrenders to the FBI in Las Vegas, Nevada, confessing to the shootings.

  5. 1999-09-23

    Benjamin Kadish, the most seriously injured victim, is released from the hospital.

  6. 2001-01-24

    Furrow pleads guilty to all 16 felony counts against him.

  7. 2001-03-26

    Furrow is sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus 110 years without parole and ordered to pay restitution.

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People

  • Nora Manella

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    U.S. District Court Judge who presided over and delivered the sentencing of Furrow.

  • Joseph Santos Ileto

    VICTIM

    USPS mail carrier shot and killed by Furrow in Chatsworth after the community center shooting.

  • Mindy Finkelstein

    VICTIM

    Sixteen-year-old teenage camp counselor wounded in the thigh and shin during the shooting; recovered.

  • Joshua Stepakoff

    VICTIM

    Six-year-old boy wounded in the leg and hip during the shooting; recovered.

  • Benjamin Kadish

    VICTIM

    Five-year-old boy critically wounded in the abdomen and leg during the shooting; recovered after surgery.

  • James Zidell

    VICTIM

    Six-year-old boy wounded in the heel during the shooting; recovered.

  • Isabelle Shalometh

    VICTIM

    Sixty-eight-year-old receptionist grazed on the arm and back during the shooting; recovered.

  • Buford O. Furrow Jr.

    CONVICTED

    Pleaded guilty on January 24, 2001, to 16 felony counts including the murder of Joseph Ileto, civil rights violations, and weapons charges; sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus 110 years without parole.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Archival records

  • "Welcome to Granada Hills" monument in Veterans Triangle — location anchor for the case

    archival location

    "Welcome to Granada Hills" monument in Veterans Triangle — location anchor for the case

    Credit: Public domain · Source

Places

North Valley Jewish Community Center, Granada Hills, Los Angeles, California

34.2797, -118.4941

View on the map

Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On August 10, 1999, white supremacist Buford O. Furrow Jr. opened fire inside the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills, Los Angeles, wounding five people, then shot and killed Filipino American postal worker Joseph Santos Ileto before fleeing and later surrendering to the FBI.
Where did the shooting happen?
North Valley Jewish Community Center, Granada Hills, Los Angeles, California.
Who was convicted?
Buford O. Furrow Jr. (Pleaded guilty on January 24, 2001, to 16 felony counts including the murder of Joseph Ileto, civil rights violations, and weapons charges; sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus 110 years without parole.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.
More cases in California

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDIC1999 Los Angeles Jewish Community Center shootingWikipedia · 2026-07-10
  2. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — CNNCNN · 2026-07-10
  3. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times · 2026-07-10

Record history

First published
JUL 11, 2026