Solved case · 2012
File:ChiapperiniKaczowkaMemorial.JPGCredit: DanielPenfieldCC BY-SA 4.0SourceThe short answer
On December 24, 2012, William Spengler set fire to his home in West Webster, New York, then ambushed and shot at arriving firefighters and police, killing two firefighters and wounding two more first responders before killing himself. His sister's body was later found burned in the house.
No one's coverage is attached to this file yet.
Know great coverage of this case?
A documentary, a podcast episode, a careful long-form video. Suggest it and an editor will review it before it appears here.
Suggest coverage for 2012 Webster ShootingIn the early morning hours of December 24, 2012, William H. Spengler Jr., a 62-year-old resident of West Webster, New York, a suburb of Rochester, set fire to his own house at 191 Lake Road and to his family car. He then armed himself with three firearms — a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver, a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun, and a .223-caliber Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle — and positioned himself on an earthen berm across the street from his burning home. When firefighters arrived shortly after 5:30 a.m. to fight the blaze, Spengler opened fire on them without warning.
Two firefighters, 43-year-old Michael Chiapperini, a past chief of the West Webster Fire District who also worked as a lieutenant and public information officer for the Webster Police Department, and 19-year-old Tomasz Kaczowka, who also worked as a 911 dispatcher, were killed. Two additional firefighters, Joseph Hofstetter and Theodore Scardino, were wounded and hospitalized in serious but stable condition; a police officer, Jon Ritter, sustained a minor injury when a bullet struck his patrol car's windshield.
Police responded with an armored vehicle to evacuate wounded and trapped first responders as well as 33 nearby civilians. Spengler exchanged gunfire with police before fleeing on foot and dying by suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. His body was not discovered until nearly six hours later. Because of the standoff, firefighters could not resume battling the blaze until 11:30 a.m., by which time six houses had burned down and two more were rendered uninhabitable; more than 30 residents were evacuated and sheltered on city buses.
The severely burned body of Spengler's 67-year-old sister, Cheryl, with whom he lived, was found inside the house. Investigators also recovered a typewritten letter from Spengler indicating his intent to ambush first responders and burn the neighborhood, though it offered no clear motive.
Spengler had previously served 17 years in prison after being convicted of manslaughter for killing his 92-year-old grandmother with a hammer in 1980, a conviction that legally barred him from possessing firearms. Investigators determined that the rifle and shotgun used in the attack had been purchased in June 2010 by Dawn Nguyen, a neighbor, in what authorities described as an illegal straw purchase made on Spengler's behalf. Nguyen was charged federally with making a false statement in a firearm purchase and with a state charge of filing a false business record; she was sentenced in 2014 to eight years in prison and was released to a halfway house in December 2020.
The attack, along with the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting ten days earlier, contributed to passage of New York's SAFE Act, which included a provision — known as the "Webster Provision" — increasing penalties for the murder of a first responder to life without parole.
William Spengler killed his 92-year-old grandmother, Rose Spengler, with a hammer; he was convicted of manslaughter and served 17 years in prison.
A Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle and a Mossberg shotgun later used in the attack were purchased at Gander Mountain in Henrietta, New York, by Dawn Nguyen.
Spengler set fire to his home and vehicle in West Webster, New York, then ambushed arriving firefighters, killing two and wounding two others plus a police officer, before dying by suicide.
U.S. Attorney William Hochul announced Dawn Nguyen had been arrested and charged in connection with the illegal purchase of the firearms used in the attack.
Dawn Nguyen was sentenced to eight years in prison for her role in the illegal straw purchase of the firearms.
Dawn Nguyen was released to a halfway house.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
67-year-old sister of William Spengler; her severely burned body was found in the burned home.[3]
Police officer slightly injured when a bullet struck his patrol car's windshield.[3]
Firefighter wounded by gunfire, shot in the pelvis; hospitalized in serious condition.[3]
43-year-old firefighter and past chief of the West Webster Fire District, also a lieutenant and public information officer for the Webster Police Department; killed in the attack.[3]
92-year-old grandmother of William Spengler, killed by him with a hammer in 1980.[3]
Firefighter wounded by gunfire, shot in the chest and knee; hospitalized in serious condition.[3]
19-year-old firefighter and 911 dispatcher; killed in the attack.[3]
Neighbor who purchased the firearms used in the attack in an illegal straw purchase; convicted on federal and state charges and sentenced to eight years in prison in 2014.[3]
Perpetrator of the shooting and arson attack; previously convicted of manslaughter in 1980 for killing his grandmother. Died by suicide at the scene of the 2012 attack.[3]
From the record
Coverage is not a source: every fact in this file rests on the records below.
Are you family of someone named in this file? Corrections and removal requests from victims’ families are prioritized.
UNSOLVEDListenRochester, New York, and surrounding towns · 1970s
Between 1971 and 1973, three girls — Carmen Colón, Wanda Walkowicz, and Michelle Maenza — were abducted, sexually assaulted, and strangled in Rochester, New York, each victim's first and last name sharing the same initial. The case remains unsolved.
UNSOLVEDListenCaledonia, New York · 1970s
Tammy Jo Alexander, 16, was found shot to death in a Caledonia, New York cornfield on November 10, 1979, after running away from her Florida home. She remained unidentified for 35 years, known as "Caledonia Jane Doe," until DNA and forensic reconstruction efforts led to her identification in January 2015. Her killer has never been identified.
SOLVEDListenBelleville, Ontario, Canada · 2010s
Former Royal Canadian Air Force colonel and CFB Trenton base commander Russell Williams pleaded guilty in 2010 to murdering Jessica Lloyd and Corporal Marie-France Comeau, along with sexual assaults, forcible confinement, and dozens of fetish-motivated break-ins.
Credit: Pax Ahimsa GethenCC BY-SA 4.0SourceSOLVEDListenPulse nightclub, Orlando, Florida, United States · 2016
On June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen, identified by police as the gunman, shot and killed 49 people and wounded 58 others at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, during a Latin Night event, before being fatally shot by police after a three-hour standoff.
Credit: Canadaolympic989CC BY-SA 3.0SourceSOLVEDListenSandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Connecticut · 2012
On December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot his mother at their Newtown, Connecticut home, then killed 20 children and six adult staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School before killing himself as police arrived.
Credit: AlgrCC BY-SA 3.0SourceSOLVEDListenCentury 16 theater (now Century Aurora), Aurora, Colorado · 2012
On July 20, 2012, James Eagan Holmes opened fire during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises at a Century 16 theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and injuring 70 others. He was convicted in 2015 of 24 counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
