Opposition to President Bill Clinton lifting the ban on homosexuals to serve in the military
On August 6, 1993, 22-year-old Fort Bragg soldier Kenneth Junior French, armed with two shotguns and a rifle, opened fire inside a Luigi's restaurant in Fayetteville, North Carolina, killing four people and injuring seven others. The case was featured in the 1997 documentary film Licensed to Kill.[1][2]
Shooting
At around 10 p.m., French drove to the restaurant in a black truck. Wearing shorts and a fishing vest, French exited the truck carrying a pump-actionshotgun. French then entered the restaurant through the kitchen at the back of the building and then began to yell about politics and homosexuality before opening fire indiscriminately. Four people were killed, and seven injured. French was then shot and wounded by police lieutenant Bill Simons.[3][4][5][6]
Victims
The victims that were killed were:
Wesley Scot Cover, 26
James F. Kidd, 46
Pete Parrous, 73 (the restaurant owner)
Ethel Parrous, 65 (Pete's wife)
Trial
The accused was sergeant Kenneth French, a 22 year old US Army mechanic stationed at nearby Fort Bragg. He was charged with four counts of capital murder, and a further eight counts of assault. French's defense attorney said French was drunk at the time of the shooting, and held life-long anger, saying French's father had raped a family member.[7]
French was convicted for all four murders and eight assaults. The jury deadlocked on whether he should face the death penalty. French was sentenced to four consecutive life terms for the murders, with a further 35 years imprisonment for the assaults.[7]
