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San Ysidro McDonald's massacre

SOLVED1984San Ysidro McDonald's site, San Ysidro Boulevard, San Diego, California3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Joshua Coleman McDonald's Lawrence Journal-World July 22, 1984
Joshua Coleman McDonald's Lawrence Journal-World July 22, 1984 — Credit: Leonard Ignelzi. 18 July 1984. · Public domain

On July 18, 1984, 41-year-old James Huberty drove to a McDonald's restaurant on San Ysidro Boulevard in the San Ysidro neighborhood of San Diego, California, approximately 200 yards from his apartment, and opened fire on staff and customers. He was armed with a 9mm Browning HP pistol, a 9mm Uzi carbine, and a Winchester 1200 12-gauge shotgun, along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Forty-five customers were inside the restaurant at the time.

Huberty began shooting shortly before 4:00 p.m., killing restaurant manager Neva Caine and wounding an employee before turning his weapons on other staff and customers, including several children and a pregnant woman. Victims killed inside and outside the restaurant ranged in age from four months to 74 years old, and included María Colmenero-Silva, Claudia Pérez, Jackie Reyes (who was pregnant) and her infant son Carlos Reyes, Laurence Versluis, Blythe Regan Herrera and her son Matao, Arisdelsi Vuelvas Vargas, Hugo Velázquez Vasquez, Omarr Alonso Hernandez, David Flores Delgado, Aída Velázquez Victoria, Miguel Victoria Ulloa, Paulina López, Elsa Borboa-Fierro, Margarita Padilla, Jose Pérez, Gloria González, and Michelle Carncross. A dispatch error initially sent responding officers to the wrong McDonald's location, delaying the police lockdown of the area. San Diego police established a perimeter, deployed roughly 175 officers, and were later joined by SWAT personnel.

At 5:17 p.m., approximately 77 minutes after the shooting began, SWAT sniper Charles Foster fired a single shot from a position on a nearby post office roof, striking Huberty in the chest and killing him. In total, Huberty fired at least 257 rounds, killing 21 people, including an unborn child, and wounding 19 others; one additional victim was declared brain dead and died the following day. Seventeen victims died inside the restaurant and four in the immediate vicinity.

Huberty had a documented history of domestic violence, unemployment, financial strain, and expressed paranoid and survivalist beliefs. The day before the shooting, he had called a mental health clinic seeking an appointment; the call was misclassified as non-urgent and not promptly returned. He had never served in the military despite repeatedly claiming otherwise during the attack.

In the aftermath, McDonald's did not reopen the restaurant, which was demolished in September 1984; the site was later donated to the City of San Diego and eventually sold to Southwestern College, with a permanent memorial to the 21 victims unveiled in 1990. Lawsuits filed by survivors and victims' families against McDonald's and the San Diego Police Department were dismissed, with the California Court of Appeal affirming summary judgment for the defendants in 1987. A separate lawsuit filed by Huberty's widow against McDonald's and his former employer was also dismissed. The case remains the deadliest mass shooting in California history.

Key facts

Victims
Jackie Reyes, Claudia Pérez, María Colmenero-Silva, Carlos Reyes, Matao Herrera, Jose Pérez, Hugo Velázquez Vasquez, Arisdelsi Vuelvas Vargas, Blythe Regan Herrera, David Flores Delgado, Margarita Padilla, Miguel Victoria Ulloa, Neva Caine, Victor Rivera, Gloria González, Paulina López, Michelle Carncross, Laurence Versluis, Omarr Alonso Hernandez, Aída Velázquez Victoria, Elsa Borboa-Fierro
Date
1984
Location
San Ysidro McDonald's site, San Ysidro Boulevard, San Diego, California
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1984-07-15

    James Huberty told his wife he believed he had a mental health problem.

  2. 1984-07-17

    Huberty called a San Diego mental health clinic seeking an appointment; the call was misclassified as non-urgent.

  3. 1984-07-18

    Huberty and his family visited the San Diego Zoo and ate lunch at a different McDonald's in Clairemont before returning home.

  4. 1984-07-18

    At approximately 3:56 p.m., Huberty entered the McDonald's on San Ysidro Boulevard armed with a pistol, a carbine, and a shotgun and began shooting.

  5. 1984-07-18

    At 5:05 p.m., police authorized officers to kill the perpetrator on sight if possible.

  6. 1984-07-18

    At 5:17 p.m., SWAT sniper Charles Foster fatally shot Huberty, ending the 77-minute incident.

  7. 1984-07-23

    Huberty's body was cremated.

  8. 1984-07-24

    Community leaders and McDonald's executives decided the restaurant would not reopen.

  9. 1984-08-02

    San Diego Police Chief William Kolendar held a press conference detailing the department's internal review of the police response.

  10. 1984-09-26

    The renovated restaurant was demolished at midnight.

  11. 1986-07

    Etna Huberty filed a $5 million lawsuit against McDonald's and Babcock & Wilcox, her husband's former employer.

  12. 1987-07-25

    The California Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for McDonald's and the San Diego Police Department in survivors' and families' lawsuits.

  13. 1988-02

    The site of the former restaurant was sold to Southwestern College for $136,000.

  14. 1990

    A permanent memorial to the 21 victims was unveiled at the site.

  15. 1991-08

    The final related lawsuits were dismissed.

  16. 2003

    Etna Huberty died of breast cancer.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Jackie Reyes

    VICTIM

    18-year-old pregnant woman, fatally shot while shielding her niece; her unborn child also died.

  • Claudia Pérez

    VICTIM

    9-year-old, fatally shot.

  • María Colmenero-Silva

    VICTIM

    19-year-old, fatally shot.

  • Carlos Reyes

    VICTIM

    8-month-old infant, fatally shot.

  • Matao Herrera

    VICTIM

    11-year-old, fatally shot.

  • Jose Pérez

    VICTIM

    19-year-old, fatally shot.

  • Hugo Velázquez Vasquez

    VICTIM

    45-year-old banker, fatally shot.

  • Arisdelsi Vuelvas Vargas

    VICTIM

    31-year-old, shot in the head; died the next day, the only fatally wounded victim to reach a hospital alive.

  • Blythe Regan Herrera

    VICTIM

    31-year-old, fatally shot while shielding her son.

  • David Flores Delgado

    VICTIM

    11-year-old, fatally shot outside the restaurant.

  • Margarita Padilla

    VICTIM

    18-year-old employee, fatally shot in the kitchen area.

  • Miguel Victoria Ulloa

    VICTIM

    74-year-old, fatally shot after his wife was killed.

  • Neva Caine

    VICTIM

    22-year-old restaurant manager, fatally shot.

  • Miguel Rosario

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    First police officer to arrive at the correct restaurant location and relay information to the San Diego Police Department.

  • Victor Rivera

    VICTIM

    25-year-old customer, fatally shot after attempting to persuade Huberty to stop.

  • Gloria González

    VICTIM

    22-year-old, fatally shot.

  • Paulina López

    VICTIM

    21-year-old employee, fatally shot in the kitchen area.

  • James Oliver Huberty

    CONVICTED

    Perpetrator; identified by police and eyewitnesses as the sole gunman who killed 21 people and wounded 19 others before being killed by a police sniper. No criminal trial occurred because he died at the scene.

  • Michelle Carncross

    VICTIM

    Fatally shot.

  • Laurence Versluis

    VICTIM

    62-year-old trucker, fatally shot.

  • Omarr Alonso Hernandez

    VICTIM

    11-year-old, fatally shot outside the restaurant.

  • Aída Velázquez Victoria

    VICTIM

    69-year-old, fatally shot.

  • William Kolendar

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    San Diego Police Chief who publicly disclosed the results of the department's internal inquiry into the police response.

  • Charles Foster

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    27-year-old San Diego police SWAT sniper who fatally shot Huberty, ending the incident.

  • Elsa Borboa-Fierro

    VICTIM

    19-year-old employee, fatally shot in the kitchen area.

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

Archival records

  • Jackie Ryes David Flores Blythe Herrera Syracuse Herald American July 22 1984

    newspaper

    Jackie Ryes David Flores Blythe Herrera Syracuse Herald American July 22 1984

    Credit: Family members. R. Herrera, C. Reyes. Also Sunset Elementary School faculty members. · Public domain · Source

  • James Huberty Waynesdale High School Sophomore 1958 The Akron Beacon Journal April 20, 1984

    newspaper

    James Huberty Waynesdale High School Sophomore 1958 The Akron Beacon Journal April 20, 1984

    Credit: High school class picture, as published in the Akron Beacon Journal. Friday, 20 July 1984 · Public domain · Source

  • Joshua Coleman McDonald's Lawrence Journal-World July 22, 1984

    archival location

    Joshua Coleman McDonald's Lawrence Journal-World July 22, 1984

    Credit: Leonard Ignelzi. 18 July 1984. · Public domain · Source

Places

San Ysidro McDonald's site, San Ysidro Boulevard, San Diego, California

32.5559, -117.0542

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On July 18, 1984, James Huberty entered a McDonald's restaurant in the San Ysidro neighborhood of San Diego, California, and fatally shot 21 people (including an unborn baby) and wounded 19 others over 77 minutes before being killed by a police sniper.
Where did the massacre happen?
San Ysidro McDonald's site, San Ysidro Boulevard, San Diego, California.
Who was convicted?
James Oliver Huberty (Perpetrator; identified by police and eyewitnesses as the sole gunman who killed 21 people and wounded 19 others before being killed by a police sniper. No criminal trial occurred because he died at the scene.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.
More cases in California

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICSan Ysidro McDonald's massacreWikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times · 2026-07-07
  3. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — The Washington PostThe Washington Post · 2026-07-07

Record history

First published
JUL 07, 2026