Danny Cizek, 32, was one of six people killed during a violent spree on November 7, 1992, in San Luis Obispo County. The attacker, identified as Lynwood Drake and known locally as Crazy Jim, began by shooting his former landlord, Andrew Zatko, in Morro Bay. Drake then went to the home of Norman Metcalfe; when Metcalfe arrived with two friends, including Cizek, Drake shot Metcalfe between the eyes and fatally shot Cizek while another friend, Jeffrey Sidlin, was wounded.

Drake continued on to a card-playing club in Paso Robles, where two more people were killed and another injured, and ended the night in San Miguel by taking a woman hostage before dying by his own hand in a standoff with authorities. Investigators found a suicide note on Drake’s body in which he blamed his victims for his troubles and expressed intent to take revenge; the note and his actions were cited as evidence of premeditation and severe mental instability. The communities affected were left grieving and searching for answers.