On May 20, 1998, William Philip Bill Kinkel, a 59-year-old retired Spanish teacher, was shot and killed at his home near Springfield, Oregon. He lived there with his wife, Faith, and their 15-year-old son, Kipland Kip Kinkel. That day Kip had been suspended from Thurston High School after a handgun was found in his locker; his father was reportedly terrified and had run out of ideas to help his son, who had been diagnosed with clinical depression.

While William Kinkel was in the kitchen that afternoon, Kip retrieved a .22-caliber semi-automatic rifle and shot him once in the back of the head. Kip then dragged his father’s body into a bathroom and covered it with a sheet. Later that evening Kip met his mother in the garage and shot her multiple times, covering her body with a sheet as well.

The next morning Kip drove his mother’s car to Thurston High School armed with the rifle, a pistol, and a handgun and opened fire in the cafeteria and patio, killing two students and wounding 25 others before being subdued. Kip was arrested after police discovered the bodies of William and Faith Kinkel at the family home; he later confessed. Anyone who knew William Kinkel or has information about his life and final days is asked to share what they remember.