101 California[1] is a 48-story cylindrical skyscraper in the Financial District[2]. Opened in 1982, its lobby is seven stories high and encased in glass. The granite plaza outside is decorated with flowerbeds and a fountain, with oversized Christmas ornaments during the holidays. There are two restaurants, a café, a florist and a laundry service.
On July 1, 1993 55-year-old Gian Luigi Ferri, armed with rapid fire weapons, walked into the building and took the elevator to the law offices of Pettit & Martin on the 34th floor. He put on earplugs, grabbed a rifle out of a bag and began firing at random. He continued down several floors via an internal staircase, killing 8 and injuring 6 before killing himself. In a letter left behind he claimed to have been poisoned by MSG and “raped” by law firms, though he had not had any dealings with Pettit & Martin for over 12 years. It will remain forever unknown why Ferri picked that particular day or that particular law firm.
The Bay Area was still reeling from the 1988 mass murder at ESL Incorporated in Sunnyvale, when Richard Farley killed 6 and wounded 4 after being thwarted by a woman at the company who he had been aggressively stalking (she was one of the wounded). Since 2015 mass shootings have become abysmally commonplace, but back in 1993 they were very rare. After the 101 California shooting Senator Dianne Feinstein[3] championed a bill banning assault weapons. It led to the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton and banning the purchase of assault weapons from 1994 – 2004.
The shooting also spurred the installation of the security measures you see today, including a security station in lobbies and ID badges. Before this, anyone could walk into any building and visit any floor.
Within two years of the shooting Pettit & Martin dissolved. The terraced garden in the plaza of 101 California is now dedicated to the victims. It remains the worst mass shooting in San Francisco history.
[1] Visit them at http://101california.com
[2] Financial District: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4109
[3] Dianne Feinstein: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4348
