Source: Kenosha News

It was a tragedy that no one believed could happen in Kenosha, an event that drew national attention and forever changed many lives.

On a sunny afternoon, Aug. 10, 1993, Dion Terres walked into the McDonald's restaurant at 75th Street and Pershing Blvd. and fired three random shots from a .44 Magnum revolver, killing two customers and wounding a third. Then Terres took his own life.

Bruce Bojesen, a 50-year-old Silver Lake carpenter who had come to Kenosha to buy a dog collar, died on the spot. Sandra Kenaga, 42, owner of a hair styling business near the restaurant, was shot as she dined with co-workers. She died in the hospital the next morning.

Eighteen-year-old Kirk Hauptmann was wounded, but escaped from the restaurant to a nearby supermarket to summon police. When officers arrived on the scene, they found that 25-year-old Terres had shot himself to death.

The loss of lives could have been far greater, police said. A semi-automatic weapon was found next to his car in the McDonald's parking lot. Inside the vehicle was a 30-round clip for the weapon and the gunman had another 30 rounds. Officers speculated Terres had accidentally locked the clip in his auto and, forgetting he had another 30 bullets, dropped the automatic rifle on the ground.

Also in Terres' car was a videotaped suicide note made the day before the shooting. It revealed a highly disturbed man who told of sexual abuse, hearing voices and fantasies of exhuming the body of Abraham Lincoln and putting it in a bathtub. He also talked of killing family members and displayed a "spirit pouch."

He hinted some terrible act would precede his own suicide. "I can't say how or why," Terres said on the videotape.

Media swarmed to Kenosha to report the bizarre shootings, which were reported worldwide.

Hundreds of Kenoshans mourned the victims. Even those who didn't know them, but were touched and disturbed by the tragedy, attended a community candlelight vigil in their honor.

Added: 2004