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killing both immediately. Once again needing to flee, he left the building and wound up on East 126th Street in Harlem, where he shot Norma Acosta in the head, but she survived her injuries. Less than an hour later, Collins approached two men, 46-year-old Rev. Robert
Gethers and deacon Joseph Johnson outside of their church. Collins demanded money from Johnson, but he did not have any, so he resorted to Gethers, who handed him $ 350 from his wallet. Because of this, Collins spared both men and fled in their car. On June 21, Collins hitched a ride from a taxi. For unknown reasons, through the ride, Collins shot the driver Emmanuel Malan in the head, killing him.
276:. However, once seized and searched upon, this theory was proven to be untrue. On June 19, Collins approached 38-year-old gas station attendant Jose Gabriel Escarpetta in the parking lot near the Avenue of the Americas. He demanded money, but after refusing to cooperate, Collins shot Escarpetta three times, killing him. At the time, Escarpetta was being investigated in the drug related murder of his brother, but he was eventually cleared of suspicion following his murder.
252:. He ended up sheltering in the Star Motel on Black Horse Pike. There, on June 18, he broke into the room of 41-year-old William Dawson and 27-year-old Stacey Smith, and Smith's 4-year-old son. Upon entering, Collins fatally shot Dawson once in the chest, and shot Smith once in the neck, and left her 4-year-old son unharmed. Smith survived her gunshot wound, and was rushed to Cooper Hospital University Medical Center in
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called the police claiming that three men were wielding guns outside her house, threatening a woman. In an unexpected turn, while on the way there police noticed
Collins in a white vehicle. Reportedly, he had nothing to do with the three men, and it is believed it was a stroke of luck he was spotted.
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Once outside, Collins entered and located Gates, who was sitting in a chair, and she promptly called him out. Collins walked over and, to the horror of party guests, shot Gates once in the ear, then two times in the stomach, knocking her to the ground. Afterwards, Collins reportedly yelled out "Why'd
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He was spotted by police and took cover behind a half-wall on a house's property. He and officers began taking shots at one-another, but no one was hurt in the pursuit. Collins once again attempted to flee to another spot, but was again spotted, and ran down a riverside and positioned himself on his
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police re-spotted him. Collins shot at the police multiple times, missing his shots. Once near
Washington Avenue, he attempted to turn onto Kingsland Street, but hit an embankment. He attempted to careen his car but crashed it into a house, and since it was too damaged to keep going, Collins fled on
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on
Collins, halting him from seeing Gates. Enraged by the decision, on June 17, Collins went to Gates' home in Atlantic City, but the only one home was her mother, 51-year-old Shirley Gates. Instead, he tied up Shirley and shot her two times, once above the ear and the other below, fatally injuring
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Following the murder of
Escarpetta, Collins fled on foot to a nearby building and took the elevator to the ninth floor. Upon this, he encountered two men, 26-year-old Jeffrey Roork and 54-year-old David Roth, who both worked at the building. As the elevator rose, Collins shot both men in the head,
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Upon the end of
Collins' spree, questions began to raise about his parole officer John Goodman and why he didn't take action in response to Collins' parole violations, as Collins was considered a dangerous criminal and habitual re-offender. This led to allegations that Goodman had neglected his
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and burglary, and
Collins was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was paroled on January 11, 1994, after serving ten years in prison. In August he was detained after testing positive for drugs but was not prosecuted. Soon after, he met 30-year-old April Gates, a blackjack dealer at the
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back in the shallow water, and re-loaded his gun, before resuming taking shots at the officers. In the ensuing gun battle, Collins was struck by 14 bullets, knocking him unconscious. Not long after, Collins was finally pronounced dead by the subsequent paramedics who responded.
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Upon spotting the cops, Collins attempted to drive away unnoticed, but police were in pursuit. Throughout the subsequent 20-minute car chase, the police lost sight of him once, before the
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her. Afterwards he stuffed her body in the back of his car and drove three blocks down to the house of Alicia
Chappell, where April Gates was partying for her friend's birthday.
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In June 1995, Gates reported
Collins to the police after witnessing him violate his parole, which apparently angered Collins to the point that the two got into a
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Collins' spree had alarmed outer-state police forces and authorities in New York feared he might have been sheltering there. New Jersey officials contacted the
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position, and after undergoing an administrative hearing on
October 19, the court agreed and Goodman was stripped of his position in January 1996.
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you tell!?", but by that time, Gates was already presumed dead. Collins fled to Gates' vehicle and drove 30-miles to
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In 1984, Collins was detained for six crimes committed in New Jersey. This subsequently led to convictions on
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over four days in June 1995. The spree came to an end once Collins was surrounded by law enforcement in
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456:"A TRAIL OF MURDER: THE OVERVIEW; Before Deadly Odyssey, a Parolee Slipped Through the Cracks"
421:"A TRAIL OF MURDER: THE OVERVIEW; Ex-Convict's Murder Odyssey: 7 People are slain in 2 States"
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Collins was born in New York City on April 5, 1962. Since, his father was killed during the
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in Atlantic City. The two eventually began a relationship but separated in January 1995.
202:. At age nine, Collins was temporarily sent to a juvenile detention center for assault,
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272:(NYPD) and informed them that Collins might be hiding with his aunt in her home in
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People shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States
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who shot and killed seven people and wounded three others in
380:"MAD DOG KILLER; Ex-con shot in N.J. park after chase"
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John Marzulli & Corky Siemaszko (June 22, 1995).
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10 Years in Prison, No Job And a History of Drug Use
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Suspended Parole Officer Talks of Compassion's Role
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593:"Darnell Collins parole officer fired for neglect"
162:(April 5, 1962 – June 21, 1995), better known as
629:How Two States Realized They Sought the Same Man
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299:Hours after the final murder, a woman from
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1163:1995 mass shootings in the United States
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198:, Collins was raised by his mother in
1198:People from Atlantic City, New Jersey
1178:American people convicted of burglary
575:"Parole of murder suspect questioned"
573:Louis T. Lounsberry (June 23, 1995).
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1233:Spree shootings in the United States
1113:mass shootings in the United States
680:Mass shootings in the United States
970:Colebrook, NH & Bloomfield, VT
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1168:1995 murders in the United States
1208:Deaths by firearm in New Jersey
1203:Criminals from New York (state)
1173:20th-century American criminals
550:. June 22, 1995. Archived from
464:. June 23, 1995. Archived from
429:. June 22, 1995. Archived from
292:Collins' car after crashing in
239:. On June 15, a judge issued a
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542:"End of 5-Day Killing Spree"
186:, who promptly killed him.
112:June 17 – 21, 1995
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1223:Murder in New York (state)
519:United Press International
270:New York Police Department
1193:Crime in New York (state)
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200:Atlantic City, New Jersey
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97:
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1183:American mass murderers
335:List of rampage killers
296:
291:
93:"The Killing Odyssey"
16:American spree killer
1218:Murder in New Jersey
1023:Jefferson County, AR
1017:Craighead County, AR
848:Garden City Park, NY
807:Great Barrington, MA
220:Golden Nugget Casino
1188:Crime in New Jersey
958:North Hollywood, CA
624:Map of crime scenes
554:on January 26, 2022
492:New York Daily News
468:on January 26, 2022
433:on January 26, 2022
385:New York Daily News
108:Span of crimes
80:Cause of death
55:New York City, U.S.
695:Quitman County, MS
547:The New York Times
461:The New York Times
426:The New York Times
301:Newark, New Jersey
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254:Camden, New Jersey
184:Nutley, New Jersey
166:, was an American
160:Mwanza Atiba Kamau
72:Nutley, New Jersey
42:Mwanza Atiba Kamau
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952:New York City, NY
906:New York City, NY
836:San Francisco, CA
601:. January 5, 1996
241:restraining order
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707:Jacksonville, FL
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91:"Mad Dog Killer"
88:Other names
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488:"Killing Spree"
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1100:Honolulu, HI
1053:Muskegon, MI
1029:Edinboro, PA
902:(Jun. 17–21)
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824:Palatine, IL
713:Berkeley, CA
709:(Jun. 17–18)
682:in the 1990s
603:. Retrieved
598:Courier-Post
596:
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579:Courier-Post
568:
556:. Retrieved
552:the original
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524:. Retrieved
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466:the original
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431:the original
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354:Find A Grave
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172:spree killer
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66:(1995-06-21)
1158:1995 deaths
1153:1961 births
1082:Atlanta, GA
964:Detroit, MI
929:Jackson, MS
900:NJ & NY
877:Gadsden, AL
871:Bucyrus, OH
830:Langley, VA
801:Houston, TX
760:Killeen, TX
748:Waddell, AZ
605:January 25,
558:January 25,
526:January 25,
498:January 25,
472:January 25,
437:January 25,
204:shoplifting
196:Vietnam War
1147:Categories
1041:Tacoma, WA
1000:Bartow, FL
946:Bethel, AK
854:Aurora, CO
778:Austin, TX
742:Denver, CO
736:Florin, CA
730:Boston, MA
341:References
309:Belleville
231:New Jersey
190:Early life
176:New Jersey
168:recidivist
133:, New York
131:New Jersey
48:1962-04-05
1213:Fugitives
1096:(Sep. 15)
1090:(Aug. 10)
1084:(Jul. 29)
1072:(Apr. 20)
1055:(Nov. 29)
1049:(Jul. 24)
1031:(Apr. 24)
1025:(Mar. 25)
1019:(Mar. 24)
990:(Nov. 13)
982:Pearl, MS
978:(Sep. 15)
976:Aiken, SC
972:(Aug. 19)
966:(Mar. 11)
960:(Feb. 28)
954:(Feb. 23)
948:(Feb. 19)
931:(Apr. 25)
879:(Apr. 16)
873:(Feb. 13)
856:(Dec. 14)
832:(Jan. 25)
809:(Dec. 14)
803:(Jun. 20)
774:(Nov. 14)
762:(Oct. 16)
750:(Aug. 10)
744:(Jun. 16)
732:(Jan. 12)
715:(Sep. 28)
703:(Feb. 10)
320:Aftermath
1111:Part of
1102:(Nov. 2)
1078:(Jun. 3)
1043:(Jul. 5)
1037:(May 21)
1002:(Dec. 3)
996:(Dec. 1)
984:(Oct. 1)
925:(Feb. 2)
908:(Dec. 8)
885:(Nov. 7)
850:(Dec. 7)
844:(Aug. 6)
838:(Jul. 1)
826:(Jan. 8)
780:(Dec. 6)
768:(Nov. 1)
756:(Sep. 2)
738:(Apr. 4)
697:(Feb. 2)
329:See also
264:New York
180:New York
126:State(s)
797:(May 1)
294:Clifton
226:Murders
208:larceny
146:Injured
117:Country
102:Details
312:foot.
274:Harlem
138:Killed
74:, U.S.
1133:2020s
1129:2010s
1125:2000s
1121:1990s
1063:1999
1010:1998
939:1997
916:1996
893:1995
864:1994
817:1993
788:1992
723:1991
688:1990
607:2022
560:2022
528:2022
500:2022
474:2022
439:2022
178:and
170:and
61:Died
38:Born
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46:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
