Benjamin Nathaniel Smith
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Nathaniel Smith (March 22, 1978 – July 4, 1999) was a spree killer
who targeted members of racial and ethnic minorities in random drive-by shooting
s in Illinois
and Indiana
, USA
during the weekend of July 4, 1999.
and attended New Trier High School
in Winnetka
. He did not pose for a photograph in his senior yearbook, but in his class statement he wrote, "Sic semper tyrannis
" (Thus always to tyrants). This phrase was allegedly shouted by John Wilkes Booth
after he assassinated President Abraham Lincoln
. After graduating, Smith attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
. Smith dropped out of the university in 1998 after several conflicts with campus authorities. After dropping out, he transferred to Indiana University (Bloomington), where he studied criminal justice. Police reported that Smith was known for passing out hate-filled fliers against Jews, blacks and Asians on university campuses. In October 1998, Smith was the subject of a story on his university's public broadcasting station.
organization now known as the Creativity Movement, and was a devoted disciple of the group's leader Matthew Hale
. Two days after Hale was denied a license to practice law in Illinois, Smith loaded his light blue Ford Taurus
with guns and ammunition and ventured on a three-day, two-state shooting spree that killed two people and wounded nine others.
Beginning on the evening of Friday, July 2, Smith shot and wounded nine Orthodox Jews in drive-by shootings in the West Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago
. Smith then shot and killed former Northwestern University
basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong
, an African-American, in front of two of his three children while they were walking outside Byrdsong's Skokie, Illinois
home. On Saturday, Smith traveled to Urbana
, Springfield
and later Decatur
, where he shot and wounded an African-American minister. On Sunday, July 4, Smith traveled to Bloomington, Indiana
, where he killed Won-Joon Yoon, a 26-year-old Korean doctoral student in computer science at Indiana University, who was on his way to the Korean United Methodist Church.
Smith also shot at but missed another nine people. On Sunday, July 4, while fleeing the police in a high-speed chase on a southern Illinois highway
, Smith shot himself twice in the head and crashed his automobile
into a metal post. He then shot himself again, in the heart
, this time fatally. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
It is widely believed that Smith's crime
s were related to his affiliation with the World Church of the Creator, which views him as a martyr
. The group argued that Smith believed himself to be a soldier
of the Racial Holy War movement.
A chapter of Lone Wolf (a study of spree killers), by Pan Pantziarka
, is devoted to Smith and his crimes.
Spree killer
A spree killer is someone who embarks on a murderous assault on two or more victims in a short time in multiple locations. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a spree killing as "killings at two or more locations with almost no time break between murders."-Definition:According to the...
who targeted members of racial and ethnic minorities in random drive-by shooting
Drive-by shooting
A drive-by shooting is a form of hit-and-run tactic, a personal attack carried out by an individual or individuals from a moving or momentarily stopped vehicle without use of headlights to avoid being noticed. It often results in bystanders being shot instead of, or as well as, the intended target...
s in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during the weekend of July 4, 1999.
Early life
Smith was born and raised in Illinois. He grew up in the Chicago suburb of WilmetteWilmette, Illinois
Wilmette is a village in New Trier Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located north of Chicago's downtown district and has a population of 27,651. Wilmette is considered a bedroom community in the North Shore district...
and attended New Trier High School
New Trier High School
New Trier High School is a public four-year high school , with its major campus located in Winnetka, Illinois, USA, and a second campus in Northfield, Illinois, with freshman classes and district administration...
in Winnetka
Winnetka, Illinois
Winnetka is an affluent North Shore village located approximately north of downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. Winnetka was featured on the list of America's 25 top-earning towns and "one of the best places to live" by CNN Money in 2011...
. He did not pose for a photograph in his senior yearbook, but in his class statement he wrote, "Sic semper tyrannis
Sic semper tyrannis
Sic semper tyrannis is a Latin phrase meaning "thus always to tyrants." It is sometimes mistranslated as "down with the tyrant." The phrase is said to have originated with Marcus Junius Brutus during the assassination of Julius Caesar....
" (Thus always to tyrants). This phrase was allegedly shouted by John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. Booth was a member of the prominent 19th century Booth theatrical family from Maryland and, by the 1860s, was a well-known actor...
after he assassinated President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. After graduating, Smith attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
. Smith dropped out of the university in 1998 after several conflicts with campus authorities. After dropping out, he transferred to Indiana University (Bloomington), where he studied criminal justice. Police reported that Smith was known for passing out hate-filled fliers against Jews, blacks and Asians on university campuses. In October 1998, Smith was the subject of a story on his university's public broadcasting station.
Shooting spree
Smith was a follower of the white supremacistWhite supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
organization now known as the Creativity Movement, and was a devoted disciple of the group's leader Matthew Hale
Matthew F. Hale
Matthew F. Hale , more commonly known as Matt Hale, was the third Pontifex Maximus of the white supremacist religion, Creativity, and the founder of the group formerly known as the World Church of the Creator and now known as The Creativity Movement. The organization's headquarters were based in...
. Two days after Hale was denied a license to practice law in Illinois, Smith loaded his light blue Ford Taurus
Ford Taurus
The Ford Taurus is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States. Originally introduced in the 1986 model year, it has remained in near-continuous production for more than two decades, making it the fourth oldest nameplate that is currently sold in the North American...
with guns and ammunition and ventured on a three-day, two-state shooting spree that killed two people and wounded nine others.
Beginning on the evening of Friday, July 2, Smith shot and wounded nine Orthodox Jews in drive-by shootings in the West Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Smith then shot and killed former Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong
Ricky Byrdsong
Ricky Byrdsong was an insurance executive and former African American men's basketball coach who was murdered in a hate crime.- Career :...
, an African-American, in front of two of his three children while they were walking outside Byrdsong's Skokie, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
home. On Saturday, Smith traveled to Urbana
Urbana
Urbana can refer to:In geography:United States*Urbana, Illinois**Urbana , a Christian convention formerly held in Urbana, Illinois*Urbana, Indiana*Urbana, Iowa*Urbana, Maryland*Urbana, Missouri*Urbana, New York*Urbana, Ohio...
, Springfield
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
and later Decatur
Decatur, Illinois
Decatur is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city, sometimes called "the Soybean Capital of the World", was founded in 1823 and is located along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. In 2000 the city population was 81,500,...
, where he shot and wounded an African-American minister. On Sunday, July 4, Smith traveled to Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
, where he killed Won-Joon Yoon, a 26-year-old Korean doctoral student in computer science at Indiana University, who was on his way to the Korean United Methodist Church.
Smith also shot at but missed another nine people. On Sunday, July 4, while fleeing the police in a high-speed chase on a southern Illinois highway
Highway
A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
, Smith shot himself twice in the head and crashed his automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
into a metal post. He then shot himself again, in the heart
Heart
The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...
, this time fatally. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
It is widely believed that Smith's crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
s were related to his affiliation with the World Church of the Creator, which views him as a martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
. The group argued that Smith believed himself to be a soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
of the Racial Holy War movement.
A chapter of Lone Wolf (a study of spree killers), by Pan Pantziarka
Pan Pantziarka
Pan Pantziarka is the author of House of Pain, crime writer and techie...
, is devoted to Smith and his crimes.
See also
- Ben KlassenBen KlassenBernhardt "Ben" Klassen was an American religious leader who founded the Church of the Creator with the publication of his book Nature's Eternal Religion in 1973...
- Buford O. Furrow, Jr.Buford O. Furrow, Jr.Buford O'Neal Furrow, Jr. is a former Aryan Nations member and security guard who perpetrated the Los Angeles Jewish Community Center shooting in August 1999...
- Creativity Movement
- Matthew F. HaleMatthew F. HaleMatthew F. Hale , more commonly known as Matt Hale, was the third Pontifex Maximus of the white supremacist religion, Creativity, and the founder of the group formerly known as the World Church of the Creator and now known as The Creativity Movement. The organization's headquarters were based in...