Shot his wife to death, then drove to work at a branch post office where he opened fire and killed two co-workers before shooting himself in the head.

Died the next day soon after relatives gave permission to discontinue life support.

  

Shooting spree kills 3

Man opens fire in Escondido

San Jose Mercury News

10 August 1989

A postal employee apparently shot his wife to death today, then drove to work at a branch post office where he opened fire and killed two co-workers before shooting himself in the head, police said.

The gunman, identified as John Merlin Taylor, 52, had discussed just such a shooting spree two days earlier, a friend said. The man carried a large stash of ammunition, police said, and was apparently prepared for a siege.

Three slain in rampage by 'model' mail carrier

San Jose Mercury News

11 August 1989

A career postal worker described as an "exceptional employee" and model mail carrier apparently shot his wife to death Thursday morning, then drove to a post office and opened fire on his co-workers, killing two of them before turning the gun on himself.

The gunman, John Merlin Taylor, 52, was listed as brain dead late Thursday and was being sustained on life-support systems, police in this northern San Diego County town said.

Gunman kills wife, co-workers, then shoots self

Beacon Journal

11 August 1989

A letter carrier armed with enough ammunition for an extended siege shot his wife to death, then drove to a post office and killed two co-workers before ending the spree with a gun blast to his head, police said.

John Merlin Taylor was brain-dead at a hospital after the shootings at the Postal Service's Orange Glen substation in downtown Escondido, Calif., officials said.

`He fired well over a dozen rounds and there are expended cases all over the floor there,' said police.

Mailman kills wife, 2 co-workers, self

Discussed '86 massacre earlier

Philadelphia Daily News

11 August 1989

A mailman who went on a shooting spree at his post office, killing two co- workers before shooting himself in the head, two days earlier had discussed a similar 1986 massacre that had taken place in Oklahoma.

Mail delivery was scheduled to resume today for some 17,000 households served by the substation in Orange Glen, where John Merlin Taylor opened fire yesterday. Several of his co-workers say they're leery of returning.

Post Office shooting survivors are aided

Gunman's motive remains mistery to investigators

San Jose Mercury News

12 August 1989

Flags at San Diego County post offices were lowered to half- staff and dozens of postal workers rallied to help co- workers Friday, a day after a veteran mail carrier went on a deadly shooting rampage.

John Merlin Taylor, 52, killed his wife at the couple's home, then drove to work and opened fire on co-workers, killing two and wounding two others, police said. The shooting barrage ended when he shot and critically wounded himself, authorities said.

Mailman dies after killing 3 others

Philadelphia Inquirer

13 August 1989

The letter carrier who killed his wife and two co-workers before ending the shooting spree with a bullet to his head has died.

John Merlin Taylor, 52, died Friday night at Palomar Medical Center, soon after relatives gave permission to discontinue life support, hospital spokesman Alain Jourdier said.

Mail carrier who killed 3 grew up with abusive dad

The Miami Herald

13 August 1989

A mail carrier who killed himself after a shooting rampage last week that left his wife and two co-workers dead grew up with an abusive father, a man shot dead in the 1950s.

Postal worker in spree had roots on Missouri, murder

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

14 August 1989

MOKANE, Mo. - For the family here of John M. Taylor, the California postal worker who shot and killed his wife and two others before killing himself Thursday, violence and tragedy are all too familiar.

Taylor's shooting spree came 31 years after his sister Jo Ann, then 17, shot and killed her father, saying he had abused her and her mother and had threatened the family with death.

Toxicology tests

San Jose Mercury News

15 August 1989

Toxicology tests were performed Monday in San Diego on the body of a postal carrier who fatally shot himself after killing his wife and two co-workers in a rampage that has left authorities still searching for a motive. An autopsy on the body of John Merlin Taylor revealed that he died of a single gunshot wound to the head, said Deputy Coroner Cal Vine.

Suicide note

San Jose Mercury News

24 August 1989

A possible suicide note apparently written by a postal carrier before he fatally shot his wife and two co-workers is undergoing handwriting and fingerprint analysis, Escondido police say. The undated note, addressed to John Merlin Taylor's two adult sons from his first marriage, talks about "hurting" and "being ready to go," a newspaper reported today. The handwritten note, which was signed only "your old Dad," also suggests that unidentified persons "have given me a reason" for the Aug. 10 shooting spree.

Three slain in rampage by 'model' mail carrier

A career postal worker described as an "exceptional employee" and model mail carrier apparently shot his wife to death Thursday morning, then drove to a post office and opened fire on his co-workers, killing two of them before turning the gun on himself.

The gunman, John Merlin Taylor, 52, was listed as brain dead late Thursday and was being sustained on life-support systems, police in this northern San Diego County town said.

There was no apparent motive for the rampage, which also left two employees injured and happened as postal workers were readying for the day's business around 7:30 a.m.

''We believe he fired indiscriminately and randomly," said Police Chief Vincent Jimno, adding that 15 to 20 shots from a .22-caliber automatic were fired in the post office as workers dived for cover.

Only two days earlier, Taylor had joked with co-worker Johnny Sims about a 1986 shooting spree in a post office in Edmond, Okla., where a disgruntled employee killed 14 fellow workers and injured six others.

''You gotta watch for those postal carriers," Sims said Taylor told him. "You never know when they are going to go crazy and shoot you."

Investigators could not determine Thursday whether Taylor's comments indicated he was preparing a similar assault. "We do not know if it had any meaning in this particular case," Chief Jimno said.

The two people killed in the attack were among Taylor's closest friends: postal workers Richard Berni, 38, and Ron Williams, 56. They died at a picnic table outside the Orange Glen Post Office where Taylor often joined them for coffee and cigarettes before the morning mail rounds.

Taylor's wife, Elizabeth, was found in her bed at the nearby Taylor home by police who went to investigate a motive for the shootings.

Taylor's wife, who was in her early 50s, was shot twice in the head at close range and apparently did not struggle, investigators said.

Police said that Taylor drove his 1974 Plymouth Duster to the post office. Dressed in his postal blues, he opened fire on Williams, a 20-year postal service veteran, and shot him in the head, police said. Berni, a father of three young children and a Little League baseball coach, was hit in the upper chest, detectives said.

Taylor -- described as a "merry mailman" who was beloved on his postal route -- then jumped onto the loading deck and entered the post office with his revolver drawn, witnesses said.

''Don't go out there; he's got a gun," an employee reportedly yelled as postmaster Bob Henley came out of his office after hearing gunshots.

Shot in shoulder

By then, postal clerk Paul DeRisi had been confronted by Taylor and was holding his shoulder after being shot.

''I was stunned," DeRisi said later at his home. "He missed on his first shot and I didn't realize I was hit by the second until I saw the blood. I took off for outside."

Taylor then turned and headed toward Henley's office, the postmaster said.

''Mr. Taylor pointed in my direction and shot," Henley said. "At the time he said, 'I'm not going to shoot you.' I don't know if he was talking to me."

Henley rushed into his office, locked the door, and called police. Meanwhile, the 10 employees in the building ran for cover, witnesses said. One female worker suffered a broken nose after falling down a flight of stairs while fleeing, police said.

After shooting at the walls and ceilings, Taylor then shot himself in the head in front of a drinking fountain, police said. An employee felt for a pulse, and when he saw that Taylor was still alive, he took the gun from Taylor, police said.

Two near-empty ammunition magazines were found near Taylor.

Trying to find a reason

Postal workers huddled and hugged one another outside the post office Thursday and tried to find a reason why Taylor would have fired upon his family and friends.

Taylor was recently a candidate for an award -- the postal worker of the quarter. He had received numerous commendations for his work and was never any trouble, postal officials said.

''If all my employees were as good as him, I'd be postmaster general by now," Henley said, shaking his head in disbelief. "He was an exceptional employee." ''I sat outside near a store and wondered why would Taylor do this," DeRisi said later, nursing his shoulder wound. "I just couldn't figure it out. He was a model carrier."

Neighbors described the Taylor's as a quiet couple who loved dancing. The Taylor's had lived in their ranch-style house for more than a decade, neighbors said. Taylor had five children by a previous marriage and one stepson, neighbors said.

Demeanor had changed

Taylor enjoyed tinkering with his lawn and was usually pleasant, neighbors said. But neighbors told police that recently Taylor's easy-going demeanor had changed.

''There was increased paranoia on his part, but very moderate," Chief Jimno said. "He seemed a little on the grouchy side."

A decision on how long Taylor will remain on life-support will be made by doctors, Jimno said. Meanwhile, police plan to continue their investigation and hope to determine what drove Taylor mad.

''It's real uncomfortable for us because we do not have a rationale for the shooting," Jimno said. "We are at a loss to explain why."