Southwestern College will hold a memorial event at its Higher Education Center in San Ysidro Thursday to mark the 35th anniversary of the McDonald’s shooting that left 21 dead and 19 others injured.
The event will feature a community resource fair, a memorial ceremony and a student artwork display at the college’s Higher Education Center, which is located at the former site of the McDonald’s restaurant. The center also has a memorial with 21 hexagonal pillars representing each of the shooting’s victims.
The 1984 shooting is the seventh-deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history and was the deadliest mass shooting ever committed in the U.S. at the time. The gunman, who lived roughly 200 yards from the San Ysidro restaurant, was killed by a sniper with the San Diego Police Department. The victims ranged in age from eight months to 74 years old.
The event is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. with the community fair at the Higher Education Center at 460 W. San Ysidro Blvd. The ceremony, which will feature testimonials about the shooting, will begin at 11 a.m. with a presentation of art by local students following at 11:30 a.m.
— City News Service
