1994 Shooting at Fairchild Air Force Base

Fairchild Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation located about twelve miles southwest of Spokane, Washington, established in 1942 as the Spokane Army Air Depot and renamed in 1950 in honor of General Muir S. Fairchild. The base served as a Strategic Air Command installation from 1947 to 1992 and is currently home to the 92nd Air Refueling Wing.

On 20 June 1994, Dean Mellberg, a 20-year-old former Air Force member identified by police as the gunman, entered the base hospital at Fairchild AFB and shot and killed four people while wounding 22 others. Mellberg had previously been evaluated by psychologists Major Thomas Brigham and Captain Alan London at Fairchild, who found him unfit for duty; he was subsequently transferred to Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland AFB for further examination. Following congressional pressure from Mellberg's mother, he was later found fit for military service and reassigned to Cannon Air Force Base, where similar concerns led to another evaluation. He was ultimately discharged from Cannon AFB as unfit for service, having been diagnosed with mild autism, generalized anxiety disorder, and paranoid personality disorder.

Four weeks after his discharge, Mellberg traveled to Spokane, purchased a rifle, and planned an attack on the base. At the time, Fairchild's hospital was an ungated facility. Armed with a Chinese-made MAK-90 rifle and a 75-round drum magazine, Mellberg entered the office of Brigham and London and killed both men. He continued through the hospital, injuring several people and killing eight-year-old Christin McCarron. He then walked into the parking lot and killed Anita Lindner. A pregnant woman shot in the stomach during the attack subsequently lost her unborn child.

Security policeman Senior Airman Andy Brown confronted Mellberg from approximately 70 yards away and ordered him to drop his weapon. When Mellberg refused, Brown fired four shots from his 9mm pistol, with two rounds striking Mellberg in the head and shoulder, killing him. A subsequent investigation concluded that Brown's actions were justified and likely saved lives; he was later awarded the Airman's Medal by President Bill Clinton. In 2016, Brown published a book, Warnings Unheeded: Twin Tragedies at Fairchild Air Force Base, describing pre-incident indicators of the shooting as well as a fatal B-52 bomber crash that occurred four days later at the same base, on 24 June 1994, attributed to pilot error.

Reporting on Mellberg's military record indicates that concerns about his behavior were raised during basic training in three separate psychological examinations recommending discharge, but he was allowed to complete training. Psychologists after the shooting speculated that the removal of his uniform following his discharge may have been a triggering factor in the attack.