This is a list of notable homicides in California. This list includes notable homicides committed in the U.S. state of California that have a Wikipedia article on the killing, the killer, or the victim. It is divided into four subject areas as follows: Multiple homicides – homicides having multiple victims, including incidents involving spree killers, acts of terrorism, two mass homicides involving criminal acts causing airline crashes, and a mass suicide directed by a cult leader. The article includes sub-lists for homicides involving school shootings, familicides, and police shootouts. Serial killers – persons who murder three or more persons with the incidents taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them Single homicides – notable homicides involving a single fatality, including homicides involving celebrities as victims or perpetrators Bias homicides – includes attacks directed against Native Americans (a more complete list of those incidents is set forth in the California genocide article), Asian immigrants, members of a religious group, and individuals based on sexual orientation
Multiple homicides Listed in chronological order No. Incident Location Date Deaths Description Sources1Lexington murdersLexington1883-03-112Double murder, two of the perpetrators were hanged2Los Angeles Times bombingLos Angeles1910-10-121Union member bombed the Los Angeles Times building31928 Fairfield murdersSolano County1928-08-2211Mass shooting at former workplace4Adele RitchieLaguna Beach1930-04-242Actress who fatally shot a set designer during an argument before killing herself5New Amsterdam hotel fireSan Francisco1944-08- 0322George Holman set fire to the New Amsterdam hotel, killing 22 people and injuring 27 others. One of the worst mass murders in San Francisco.6Pacific Air Lines Flight 773Contra Costa County1964-05-0744Pilot of airliner shot during flight causing plane to crash71965 Highway 101 sniper attackOrcutt1965-04-25416-year-old youth opened fire on cars traveling along the 101 freeway8Tate–LaBianca murdersLos Angeles1969-08-08/108Murders perpetrated by members of the Manson Family, victims included actress Sharon Tate91973 South Los Angeles shootingsLos Angeles1973-04-227Spree shootings at gas stations and private residencesSix slain, 10 hurt in L.A. shooting spree, Merced Sun-Star (April 23, 1973)101974 Los Angeles International Airport bombingLos Angeles1974-08-063Bombing by Yugoslavian immigrant in Pan Am's international terminal killed three and injured 3611Golden Dragon massacreSan Francisco1977-09-045Gang-related shooting at Chinese restaurant12Robert Alton HarrisSan Diego1978-07-052Murdered two teenagers eating cheeseburgers in a supermarket parking lot; executed in 1992, first person executed in California since 196713Assassinations of George Moscone and Harvey MilkSan Francisco1978-11-272San Francisco Supervisor Dan White shot Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk14Keddie murdersKeddie1981-04-114Unsolved quadruple homicide of one woman and three children at the Keddie Resort15Wonderland murdersLaurel Canyon1981-07-014Unsolved murder of four persons at a drug house, also known as the "Laurel Canyon Murders"16San Ysidro McDonald's massacreSan Ysidro1984-07-1823Mass shooting at McDonald's restaurant17Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771San Luis Obispo County1987-12-0743Plane crashed after being hijacked18Sunnyvale ESL shootingSunnyvale1988-02-167Workplace shooting at ESL Incorporated191991 Sacramento hostage crisisSacramento1991-04-046Hostage crisis at Good Guys store in Florin Mall, 40 hostages held at gunpoint201992 San Luis Obispo County shootingsMorro Bay/Paso Robles1992-11-077Spree killing at two homes and a card club21101 California Street shootingSan Francisco1993-07-019Mass shooting at offices of Petit & Martin law firm221993 Oxnard unemployment office shootingOxnard1993-12-24Mass shooting at a Employment Development Department (EDD) office23Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron GoldmanLos Angeles1994-06-122Unsolved murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. O. J. Simpson tried and acquitted24Heaven's GateRancho Santa Fe1997-03-2639Mass suicide by cult members at direction of cult leaderNOTE. Per Law.com: "Suicide is a homicide, but in most cases there is no one to prosecute if the suicide is successful. Assisting or attempting suicide can be a crime."25Black Widow MurdersLos Angeles1999, 20052Two elderly women convicted of murdering two vagrants in 1999 and the second in 200526Glen HelzerConcord20005Former leader of the "Children of Thunder" cult murdered five people as part of an extortion plot272001 Nevada County shootingsNevada County2001-01-103Shooting spree by 40-year-old man with semi-automatic pistol282002 Los Angeles International Airport shootingLos Angeles2002-07-043Gunman opened fire at ticket counter of El Al, Israel's national airline29Murder of Jason Allen and Lindsay CutshallJenner2004-08-142Young Midwestern couple shot as they slept on a Sonoma Coast beach302005 Glendale train crashLos Angeles2005-01-2611Suicidal man parked on tracks and caused crash of Metrolink commuter train312006 Goleta postal facility shootingSanta Barbara/Goleta2006-01-308Spree shooting by former postal worker32Murders of Jan Pietrzak and Quiana Jenkins-PietrzakRiverside County2008-10-152Married couple tortured, sexually assaulted and shot by four Marines33SiPort shootingSanta Clara2008-11-143Former employee returned to workplace and shot the CEO and two other executives in the head34Daniel WozniakLos Alamitos2010-05-212Struggling actor murdered soldier to steal his combat pay and then murdered a friend of the soldier to make it appear the soldier killed her and then disappeared352011 Seal Beach shootingSeal Beach2011-10-128Mass shooting at a hair salon, deadliest mass shooting in Orange County history36Southern California Edison shootingIrwindale2011-12-163Workplace shooting37Lei family murdersSan Francisco2012-03-235Murder of Chinese immigrant family38Murders of Ming Qu and Ying WuLos Angeles2012-04-112Chinese graduate students at USC shot to death while sitting in their car near campus39Murders of Claudia Maupin and Oliver NorthupDavis2013-04-142Torture, mutilation and murder of elderly couple in their home, perpetrator a 15-year-old psychopath402015 San Bernardino attackSan Bernardino2015-12-0216Terrorist attack by Muslim couple on public health department Christmas party41San Francisco UPS shootingSan Francisco2017-06-144Workplace shooting at UPS facility42Rancho Tehama shootingsRancho Tehama2017-11-136Shooting spree in which five were killed and 18 injured at 8 crime scenes43Yountville shootingYountville2018-03-085Murder-suicide shooting at Veterans Home of California44Thousand Oaks shootingThousand Oaks2018-11-0713Mass shooting at Borderline Bar and Grill452019 Gilroy Garlic Festival shootingGilroy2019-07-284Mass shooting at food festival46Orinda shootingOrinda2019-10-315Mass shooting during a house party472019 Fresno shootingFresno2019-11-174Mass shooting at football watch party48Aguanga shootingAguanga2020-09-077Mass murder at residence used to grow illegal marijuana492021 Orange, California office shootingOrange2021-03-314Shooting at office building502021 San Jose shootingSan Jose2021-05-2610Mass shooting at transit rail yard512022 Sacramento shootingSacramento2022-04-036Mass shooting by multiple shooters in downtown Sacramento522023 Goshen shootingGoshen2023-01-166Execution-style killing of six persons, including a 10-month-old baby at a house where a search warrant had been executed one week earlier as part of a drug investigation532023 Monterey Park shootingMonterey Park2023-01-2112Mass shooting at a dance studio during Lunar New Year celebration542023 Half Moon Bay shootingsHalf Moon Bay2023-01-237Workplace shooting at two farms
School shootings Listed in chronological order No. Incident Location Date Deaths Description Sources11976 California State University, Fullerton massacreFullerton1976-07-127School shooting perpetrated by university custodian2Cleveland Elementary School shooting (San Diego)San Diego1979-01-29216-year-old girl fired at neighboring school from a window3Stockton schoolyard shootingStockton1989-01-175School shooting in an elementary school yard41992 Lindhurst High School shootingOlivehurst1992-05-014School shooting perpetrated by former student51996 San Diego State University shootingSan Diego1996-08-153Graduate student shot and killed three professors at engineering building6Costa Mesa school car attackCosta Mesa1999-05-032Man drove his Cadillac into preschool playground and opened fire, killing two and wounding five72001 Isla Vista killingsIsla Vista2001-02-235Vehicular homicide and assault near UCSB campus, perpetrator was son of director Dan Attias82001 Santana High School shootingSantee2001-03-052School shooting perpetrated by 15-year-old student92012 Oikos University shootingOakland2012-04-027Mass shooting at Korean Christian college102013 Santa Monica shootingsSanta Monica2013-06-076Spree shooting at Santa Monica College campus following domestic dispute and house fire112014 Isla Vista attacksIsla Vista2014-05-237Perpetrator conducted vehicular homicide and murder with knives in Isla Vista (close to UCSB), killing six UCSB students and himself. Perpetrator was son of director Peter Rodger.122016 UCLA shootingLos Angeles2016-06-013Unsuccessful Ph.D. student shot his thesis adviser, his estranged wife, and himself132017 North Park Elementary School shootingSan Bernardino2017-04-103Man shot his estranged wife at the school where she worked and a student standing behind her and then killed himself14Saugus High School shootingSanta Clarita2019-11-143Student age 16 shot five schoolmates, killed two, then killed himself15Union City, California elementary school double murderUnion City, California2019-11-202Boys ages 11 and 14 shot in school parking lot by two gang members
Familicides Listed in chronological order No. Incident Location Date Deaths Description Sources1McGlincy murdersCampbell1896-05-266Married couple, their two adult children, and two servants are killed by their estranged son-in-law2George HassellWhittier1917, 192613Spree killer, killed his wife and three children in Whittier, then killed his second family in Texas in 19263Ralph WorksPasadena1941-08-082Murder-suicide in which former professional baseball pitcher shot himself and his wife4Barbecue murdersTerra Linda1975-06-212Married couple murdered in their home by adopted daughter and her boyfriend who attempted to dispose of bodies by burning in a barbecue pit5Judith BarsiCanoga Park1988-07-253Murder suicide in which father killed his 10-year-old actress-daughter and his wife6Ramon SalcidoSonoma/Cotati1989-04-147Spree killer of six family members and workplace supervisor7Lyle and Erik MenendezBeverly Hills1989-08-202Shotgun murders of José and Mary Louise ("Kitty") Menendez by their sons8Betty BroderickSan Diego1989-11-052Convicted of murdering her ex-husband and second wife, later depicted in A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story9Dana EwellFresno1992-04-193Ordered the killing of his father, mother and sister10Avanesian family massacreGlendale1996-02-067An Iranian immigrant sets fire to his entire family, killing his wife and six children in Glendale’s worst arson murder.11Nikolay SoltysSacramento2001-08-20-217Murdered his family including his unborn child.12Marcus WessonFresno2004-03-129Father murdered his family13Covina massacreCovina2008-12-2410Christmas Eve shooting by family member14Hart family murdersMendocino County2018-03-268Murder-suicide in which white lesbian couple murdered their six adopted black children and killed themselves
Police shootouts and killings Listed in chronological order