On December 26, 2000, an attack at the Edgewater Technology offices in Wakefield, Massachusetts, ended the life of 46-year-old Janice Hagerty, an office manager at the internet consulting firm. Janice was shot twice with an AK-47, sustaining wounds to her head and torso. Six colleagues also died in the assault, which occurred the day after Christmas.

Police identified a co-worker, 42-year-old software engineer Michael McDermott, as the shooter; he entered the office armed with an AK-47 variant, a 12-gauge shotgun, and a .32 caliber pistol. Investigators say McDermott had stashed weapons at the office on Christmas Day and was found sitting at the scene and taken into custody. He was charged with seven counts of murder, and prosecutors said the motive was anger over the company complying with an IRS wage-garnishment order.

The defense argued insanity and a history of mental illness; the prosecution described the killings as planned and vengeful. Janice Hagerty’s death was one of seven in a single, deliberate workplace massacre.