On November 12, 1966, 18-year-old Robert Benjamin Smith walked into the Rose-Mar College of Beauty in Mesa, Arizona with a .22-caliber revolver and a disturbing plan. He fired a warning shot and ordered seven women and two children into a back room, forcing them to lie in a circle with their heads toward the center—an arrangement that would later be called the “Wheel of Death.” Within minutes, he executed five of the victims, including a toddler. Two others survived, one by pretending to be dead and another shielded by her mother’s body. After completing the attack, Smith calmly surrendered to police and made no attempt to escape.
In his confession, Smith admitted he was motivated by a desire for notoriety and said he had been inspired by recent mass shootings, particularly that of Charles Whitman earlier that year. He stated openly that he wanted to make a name for himself and had planned to kill many more but arrived too early and didn’t bring enough ammunition.
Smith had no prior criminal history but had shown signs of psychological instability from a young age. He was obsessed with historical figures, power, and revenge. During trial proceedings, his mental state became the focal point, though he was ultimately found competent to stand trial. He was convicted of five counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to death, though his sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment.
The Rose-Mar College shooting is considered one of the earliest American school shootings motivated by fame and recognition. It reflected a dangerous shift toward premeditated public violence committed by young men seeking attention through brutality.
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