Kent State Shootings

Setting the scene

The Kent State shootings occurred on May 4, 1970, at Kent State University in Ohio, when Ohio National Guardsmen fired on unarmed students protesting the Vietnam War. President Nixon had announced on April 30 that U.S. troops were invading Cambodia, expanding the war despite promises to end it. Protests erupted nationwide, and at Kent State, students burned the ROTC building on May 2.

What happened

On May 4, about 2,000 students gathered for a rally. Guardsmen, armed with M-1 rifles, attempted to disperse the crowd with tear gas. After 13 seconds of firing, 28 guardsmen fired 67 rounds. Four students were killed—Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer, and William Schroeder—and nine wounded. The closest student shot was 30 yards away; the farthest was 750 feet. None were armed, and two killed were not even protesting, just walking to class.

Why it still matters

The shootings, captured in a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of a girl screaming over a dead student, radicalized a generation and triggered a national student strike—4 million students walked out, closing 450 campuses. The incident symbolized the government's willingness to use lethal force against dissent and deepened divisions over Vietnam. The guardsmen were acquitted, and no one was held accountable. May 4 remains a symbol of the costs of political polarization and the tragedy when protest meets state violence.

Background

Campus strikes spread nationwide.