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2006 Goleta postal facility shooting

SOLVED2001Goleta postal facility, Goleta, California3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

On the evening of January 30, 2006, Jennifer San Marco, a 44-year-old former United States Postal Service clerk, carried out a mass shooting in Goleta, California. She first drove to her former condominium in Santa Barbara, entering through an unlocked sliding glass door, and fatally shot Beverly Graham, a former neighbor with whom she had previously argued, with a shot to the head. Neighbors reported hearing gunshots at the condominium at around 7:15 p.m.

San Marco then drove to the mail processing plant in Goleta, gaining entry to the facility's lot by tailgating another vehicle through the gate. At gunpoint, she took an employee's identification badge to access the secure staff entrance and told the employee, who was unharmed, to leave. At around 9:00 p.m., in the building's parking lot, she shot Ze Fairchild in the head, then shot Maleka Higgins at point-blank range, and fatally shot Nicola Grant. Some employees, alerted by the gunshots, went to windows to look out; San Marco reportedly smiled at them. Several workers fled to a nearby fire station.

Entering the building, which held roughly eighty employees at the time, San Marco shot supervisor Charlotte Colton in the head; Colton was dragged to another room by a co-worker and died two days later at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. San Marco proceeded to her former work station, where she fatally shot Guadalupe Swartz, who had tried to flee, with four rapid shots. She also fatally shot Dexter Shannon, a Vietnam War veteran who had not heard the gunfire because he was wearing headphones. San Marco then fatally shot herself.

In total, San Marco killed six people at the postal facility and one person at the earlier Santa Barbara residence, before taking her own life. Colton's funeral drew more than 1,200 mourners, and she was buried at Calvary Cemetery. Goleta's mayor, Jonny Wallis, held a news conference praising the police response, condemning the shooting, and offering condolences to victims' families.

According to writings recovered from San Marco's home in Grants, New Mexico, she believed she was the target of a conspiracy centered at the Goleta postal facility. A Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office spokesman suggested her paranoia and history of mental illness may have contributed to the attack. Six of the seven victims were minorities, and racism was cited as a possible factor, alongside a personal dispute with Graham and possible resentment toward the Postal Service. San Marco had a documented history of erratic behavior, including a prior involuntary psychiatric hold, and had purchased the murder weapon, a used Smith & Wesson Model 915, from a pawn shop after passing a background check.

Key facts

Victims
Charlotte Colton, Nicola Grant, Guadalupe Swartz, Maleka Higgins, Ze Fairchild, Dexter Shannon, Beverly Graham
Date
2001
Location
Goleta postal facility, Goleta, California
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 2001-02-05

    San Marco was removed by police from the postal facility for strange behavior and placed on a 72-hour involuntary mental health hold at Vista Del Mar Hospital in Ventura.

  2. 2003-06

    San Marco was pulled out from under a mail-sorting machine and wheeled from her workplace in handcuffs by police; she later left the Postal Service on psychological disability.

  3. 2004

    San Marco's car broke down in Grants, New Mexico, where she settled and developed a reputation for erratic public behavior.

  4. 2004-07

    San Marco was denied a business license to publish a periodical called The Racist Press.

  5. 2005-11

    A mental health clinic manager reported seeing San Marco alone in a post office parking lot, talking to herself; police reportedly had no record of the call.

  6. 2006-01-30

    San Marco shot and killed former neighbor Beverly Graham in Santa Barbara, then drove to the Goleta postal facility, where she fatally shot six people before killing herself.

  7. 2006-02-01

    Charlotte Colton, shot at the postal facility, died at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital two days after the attack.

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People

  • Charlotte Colton

    VICTIM

    Supervisor shot in the head inside the postal facility; died two days later at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.

  • Nicola Grant

    VICTIM

    Fatally shot in the Goleta postal facility parking lot.

  • Guadalupe Swartz

    VICTIM

    Fatally shot with four rapid gunshots after attempting to flee from San Marco inside the facility.

  • Maleka Higgins

    VICTIM

    Shot at point-blank range in the Goleta postal facility parking lot.

  • Jennifer San Marco

    CONVICTED

    Perpetrator; killed seven people (Beverly Graham and six postal facility victims) before dying by suicide at the scene. No criminal prosecution occurred due to her death.

  • Ze Fairchild

    VICTIM

    Killed by a gunshot to the head in the Goleta postal facility parking lot, age 37.

  • Dexter Shannon

    VICTIM

    Vietnam War veteran fatally shot at point-blank range while working with headphones on, unaware of the ongoing attack.

  • Beverly Graham

    VICTIM

    Former neighbor of San Marco in Santa Barbara; shot and killed in her condominium prior to the Goleta shooting.

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

Places

Goleta postal facility, Goleta, California

34.4252, -119.8660

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On January 30, 2006, Jennifer San Marco, a former U.S. Postal Service employee, killed a former neighbor in Santa Barbara before driving to a mail processing plant in Goleta, California, where she fatally shot six people and then killed herself.
Where did the shooting happen?
Goleta postal facility, Goleta, California.
Who was convicted?
Jennifer San Marco (Perpetrator; killed seven people (Beverly Graham and six postal facility victims) before dying by suicide at the scene. No criminal prosecution occurred due to her death.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.
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Sources

  1. 2006 Goleta postal facility shootingwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — Los Angeles Timesnews · Los Angeles Times · 2026-07-07
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — CBS Newsnews · CBS News · 2026-07-07