Allison Krause

Allison Krause was a student at Kent State University, Ohio when she was killed by Ohio National Guardsmen in the Kent State shootings on May 4, 1970, while protesting the Vietnam war. The Guardsmen opened fire on a group of unarmed students, killing four of them, at an average distance of about 345 feet. Allison was shot in the back at about 343 feet (105 meters).

Related Topics:
Kent State University - Ohio - Ohio National Guard - Kent State shootings - May 4 - 1970 - Vietnam war

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According to Allison's boyfriend, Barry Levine, her shooting was preceded by the pair "watching these men threaten us with their rifles. In response, we cursed them and threw rocks. When they left we followed, all the time screaming and yelling, and then they turned." Some Guardsmen also threw rocks. The rock-throwing, however, was ineffective because the two groups were hundreds of feet apart. Some students then drew closer and hurled rocks from within range of the Guard, who kneeled and aimed their weapons but did not fire. The Guardsmen then retreated to the top of a hill. Suddenly, a group of them simultaneously stopped, turned, took aim and began firing their rifles. Sixty-seven shots were fired in 13 seconds, although other reports say the shooting lasted much longer.

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The other three students killed in the shootings were Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer and William Schroeder.

Related Topics:
Jeffrey Miller - Sandra Scheuer - William Schroeder

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An FBI study of the event noted, "...Many Guardsmen claim that they felt their lives were in danger from the students for a variety of reasons...because they were 'surrounded'...because a sniper fired at them...stones...the students 'advanced upon them in a threatening manner' we have some reason to believe that the claim by the National Guard that their lives were endangered by the students was fabricated subsequent to the event..." The FBI report also noted that "...the Guardsmen were not surrounded ... they could easily have continued going in the direction in which they had been going" and that "...no Guardsman claims he was hit with rocks immediately prior to the firing..." Further, "... a chaplain of Troop G spoke with many members of the National Guard and stated that they were unable to explain to him why they fired their weapons."

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The shootings led to protests on college campuses throughout the United States, causing hundreds of campuses to close because of both violent and non-violent demonstrations. The Kent State campus remained closed for six weeks. Just five days after the shootings, 100,000 people demonstrated in Washington, D.C. against the war.

Related Topics:
United States - Washington, D.C.

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Several studies concluded that Ohio Gov. James Rhodes' actions and words, and his decision to send the Guard, significantly contributed to the Kent State events, which otherwise might have played out not unlike demonstrations then occurring at many other American colleges and universities.

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