At approximately 11:40 a.m.,[7] Patrick Purdy arrived at the school in his battered 1977 Chevrolet Caprice station wagon; he parked the vehicle at the rear of the property and, minutes later, entered the premises through a gate carrying a semi-automatic rifle with a fixed bayonet and two handguns.

Approximately forty-five seconds later, his station wagon detonated and burned courtesy of a Molotov cocktail and two open gasoline containers he had placed inside the vehicle.

The individual who made this call described himself as a veteran of the Vietnam War and specifically stated the gunfire sourcing from the grounds of Cleveland Elementary School was from an AK-47 rifle.

[34] This multifaith service was attended by over 2,000 mourners and saw many attendees wearing black and white ribbons in a traditional Cambodian symbolic gesture of mourning in the presence of the flower-draped caskets of four of the murdered children.

These funeral services observed the Buddhist rituals in accordance with the beliefs of Oeun Lim and Rathanhar Or and the Baptist faiths of Sokhim An and Ram Chun.

[36] The fifth child murdered in the Stockton schoolyard shooting, Thuy Tran, had been laid to rest on January 21 in a Christian burial following Mass in accordance with her Roman Catholic beliefs.

That December, the Sacramento Child Protective Services were twice called to her residence in response to a neighbor's allegations that Kathleen was physically abusing and neglecting her children.

[45] All three children would be taken into protective custody due to concerns of neglect, although charges against Purdy's mother were dropped when she agreed to participate in a counseling program.

This treatment only produced limited results, although a counselor would note Purdy's behavior was indicative of an individual "seeking a father figure to restrain him," adding: "If his acting out is not contained now, he will develop into a highly deceptive sociopathic character and be practically untreatable.

According to relatives, although Purdy's father had left his son $5,000 in his will, his mother refused to give him his bequeathment — instead using the money to purchase herself a car and fund a lavish trip to New York City.

[51] Following his father's death, Purdy was briefly homeless; he alternately slept on the streets, in cheap motels, or flophouses — supporting himself financially with odd jobs, petty theft, and small-time drug dealing — before he was placed in the custody of a foster mother in Los Angeles until he turned eighteen.

[56] In April 1987, Purdy and his half-brother, Albert Gulart Jr., were arrested for firing a semi-automatic pistol at trees in the Eldorado National Forest while both were intoxicated.

[61][39] In October 1987, Purdy left California and alternately drifted among Oregon, Nevada, Texas, Florida, Connecticut, and South Carolina, searching for welding, security guard and general laboring jobs.

[65] According to Purdy's few friends, although he was never outwardly violent, he periodically exhibited suicidal traits and was openly frustrated that he had failed to "make it [in life] on his own".

"[57] On August 3, 1988, Purdy purchased a Norinco Type 56S semi-automatic rifle for $350 at a sporting goods store in Sandy, Oregon;[67][e] this would be the weapon he used in the Stockton schoolyard shooting.

[64] On December 26, Purdy abruptly quit his employment and returned to Stockton; he rented a room at the El Rancho Motel, paying $95 per week.

[26][51] No suicide note was discovered,[73] although the items recovered led Stockton Police Captain Dennis Perry to remark: "He obviously had a military hangup of some kind ...

"[71] Perry would also dismiss suggestions the murders had been racially motivated, informing reporters that Purdy held no particular grudge against particular ethnic groups and that as he was "a loner, no friends ... no particularly known girlfriends" he had gradually developed a "distinct dislike for everybody — not a particular race, everybody.

"[66] Although Purdy's ultimate motive for his murder spree remains unknown,[74] the official report into Purdy's actions reached evident conclusions:[75] He had primarily, though not exclusively, targeted children of Southeast Asian ancestry attending an elementary school within Stockton he had previously attended and in a city which, in the eight years prior to the massacre, had seen the population of Southeast Asians — the vast majority of whom were refugees or children of refugees — increase from fewer than 1,000 to over 30,000.

[78] He had chosen to "kill others at the same time to make his end dramatic and cause people to remember him" due in part to the fact he had "never achieved success or attention during his life.

[80] One hour before embarking on his murder spree, Purdy is known to have remarked to a fellow resident of the El Rancho motel: "Those damn Hindus and boat people own everything!

"[81] He is known to have made a similar remark in a bar shortly after New Year's Day 1989[g] and to have expressed to many a resentful belief Asian immigrants took jobs from "native-born" Americans.

He is known to have suffered from severe depression throughout his life and to have repeatedly expressed frustrations regarding his lack of familial stability, education, and personal accomplishments.

[86] An article published in Time magazine less than two weeks after the event posed the question: "Why could Purdy, an alcoholic who had been arrested for such offenses as selling weapons and attempted robbery, walk into a gun shop in Sandy, Oregon, and leave with an AK-47 under his arm?

"[h] The article continued: "The easy availability of weapons like this, which have no purpose other than killing human beings, can all too readily turn the delusions of sick gunmen into tragic nightmares.

[92] The ruling also specified that the estimated 20,000 weapons already currently intercepted at the U.S. border be either sold to law enforcement agencies within America or returned to their country of origin.

[59] Three weeks after the shooting, on February 7, Michael Jackson made a short visit to the school; he personally met and spoke with several of the children and staff members affected by the event.

[31] In January 2024, one of the founders of this Stockton-based organization, Judy Weldon, would reflect: "If you think that the shooting was a long time ago and [it is] over and done with, you'd be wrong ...