Q&A on the News
Q: In the corrections section of the Oct. 15 paper, there was a notice that Newtown, Conn., was not the deadliest mass slaying at a school. It says, “The worst attack at an elementary school was a 1927 bombing that killed 38 children in Bath Township, Michigan.” Can you please give us some details on this?
—Jenny Galoski, Hiram
A: Andrew Kehoe killed 38 students and seven adults in a series of explosions at the Bath Consolidated School in Bath, Mich., on May 18, 1927.
Bath is near Lansing, Mich.
Kehoe had been the school board treasurer but was defeated in the previous spring’s election and was thought to still be angry about the loss and increased taxes.
Kehoe, who had trained as an electrician and electrical engineer, had hidden hundreds of pounds of explosives in the school in the weeks leading up to the attack.
He killed his wife before he blew up his own house and farm, and a timer then detonated explosives at the school, destroying the north wing, states “It Happened in Michigan: Remarkable Events That Shaped History.”
Kehoe also had loaded his truck with shrapnel and explosives and then drove to the school, where he set it off, killing himself, the school superintendent, the postmaster, a farmer and another student.
Authorities soon found hundreds of more pounds of explosives in the school that hadn’t gone off in the main attack.
The explosions wounded 58 children and adults.
The James Couzens Park, a memorial, the school’s cupola and a historical marker commemorate the site.
Andy Johnston with Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
