At 16, Brenda Spencer shot 8 children at the school across the street and killed 2 men who ran out to save them. 14 years later she told a TV reporter that when she got out of prison she’d like to “work with some kids.” The reason she gave for the shooting was even worse: When a reporter called her house during the standoff, she said, “I don’t like Mondays. This livens up the day.” By that summer Bob Geldof had turned her words into “I Don’t Like Mondays,” and the song went to No. 1 in Britain. It was Monday, January 29, 1979, in San Diego. She fired 36 shots from her house with a rifle her father had given her for Christmas, and the first child she hit was 9. Principal Burton Wragg, 53, was shot while trying to help the children, custodian Mike Suchar, 56, died pulling a student to safety, and a police officer was hit too. In the video below she’s 31, in glasses and a prison uniform, calmly explaining that she wants a normal life, school, a job and maybe some work with kids. She pleaded guilty to two murders and was sentenced a day after her 18th birthday to 25 years to life. The parole board has turned her down six times, most recently in February 2025, and she can try again in 2028. Should someone who did this at 16 ever be allowed out?