"Banks had been in prison since 1982 after shooting 14 people, and killing 13, including his own children, during a rampage in Wilkes-Barre. At time, it was considered one of the worst mass murders in American history. He was convicted of 12 counts of first-degree murder and one count of third-degree murder. Banks had been drinking at a party late at night before using an AR-15 rifle to start the rampage at his home."
"Five victims were his children, ages one to six. Four more were the mothers of his children. Other victims were bystanders, including an 11-year-old child who sometimes stayed with his family, a seven-year-old child and a teenager who saw Banks leaving his home armed with the rifle and recognized him. Banks killed three women and five children at his home, authorities say."
"Then, dressed in green army fatigues with an ammunition bandolier around his chest and shoulders, Banks left, when he saw four teenagers walking to their car from a nearby friend's house. He shot one fatally, and another, who survived, authorities say. He stole a car and went to the Heather Highlands Trailer Park where police found the bodies of Banks's son and the child's mother, as well as her mother and her nephew."
George Banks died at age 83 at Phoenix state prison in Pennsylvania from complications of renal neoplasm. Banks had been imprisoned since 1982 after a shooting rampage in Wilkes-Barre that left 13 people dead and 14 shot, including five of his children ages one to six. Banks was convicted of 12 counts of first-degree murder and one count of third-degree murder and received life imprisonment after state courts found him not mentally competent for execution. The attacks involved an AR-15, multiple locations, bystander victims, a four-hour standoff and at least one survivor who later recalled events.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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