User:Taedayvion312/Robert Fuller Mass Shooting Monroe, Lousiana 1960

Early Life and Army
Born Nov. 11, 1920, Christened Zennie W. Fuller, he was mostly known as Robert. It was rumored that Robert's farther was a know member of the local Klu Klux Klan. Robert was married for the first of three times at the age of 16 in 1937. Like many young uneducated men at time, Robert was drafted into the Army in May 1944. His time in the army raised a lot of red flags about his mental state. "Violent with quickly changing moods, he was discharged in early 1945 with a psychological disability, diagnosed as Dementia Praecox, Simple Type, or what is now called schizophrenia. Elements of schizophrenia include loss of ability to plan and remember, psychosis, hostility and erratic or unpredictable behavior." His random acts of violence in the Army forced his discharge and almost arrested. The deal was that he return home to Louisiana to his father, where he will be put in a mental institution, but there is no record that show that Robert was ever immediate to a hospital.

Criminal in Louisiana
When Robert Fuller return to Louisiana he became a known local criminal in the local area. "According to court records and FBI files, Fuller defaulted on debts and racked up charges for reckless driving, receiving stolen goods, fighting and disturbing the peace. Additionally, he was charged with living off the means of a prostitute and for soliciting a prostitute." He was even investigated for violations against the White Slave Traffic Act, which prohibits the interstate transportation of women or girls for prostitution. When he moved to Monroe, Louisiana in 1953, his criminal actions continue as a pimp. He had a cover as an taxi driver but investigators wasn't deterred from hi true deviant actions.

Lead up to Shooting
According to Mr. Fuller there have been tensions on his property leading up to the violent shooting. Fuller gave a statement to the press following the shooting. "He told the Monroe Morning World in 1960 that Willis was a troublemaker and had been accused of “hitting a white man in the face with a brick” two weeks before the shootings. He also claimed Willis(one of the victims) had started trouble the day before the shootings by cursing him on the job site. Fuller said he and Willis had “fought with fists” because Willis “chased a white employee on the job by threatening to hit him with a shovel.” Fuller had given false statements to the authorities and press about that dark day.The men were aggressive and have been on the job site weeks before. There is a dispute between 5 black employees and Mr. Fuller, but it's about the failed pavements on Mr. Fuller behave.

Robert Argument of the shooting
Robert Version of events of July 13, 1960 was that the five workers of his ranch went to his home armed with knives. Robert was forced to defend his land and family by grabbing his shotgun. When he was armed each men lunge and attack Robert. He shot all the men with the shotgun and killed four. Robert was a "hero" for defending his home and family from knives wielding maniacs.

Witnesses View on the shooting
Many people who witness this horrible act said that the young men, all younger than 25, went to Fuller's ranch to receive their payment. Due to the high tensions already brewing on the ranch, they wanted to received their last payment. Fuller refused to pay the men and came outside his front porch armed with his shotgun. He proceeded to chase down each men and shoot 3 dead on his property. One was mortally wounded and came to his gunshot wombs and passed away. The last man manage to escape but he was injured in the shooting. After the shooting Fuller can quoted to have said "You don’t go in Mr. Fuller’s yard".

Another witness reported a forced statement given by one of the victims after being shot. According to the neighbor, Fuller  called her over and then directed one of the survivors: “tell her what you just told me.” She said the wounded man told her, “We came down here to hurt Mr. Robert.”

Yet another witness reported another horrific detail. A witness later told the FBI that two or three of the victims were still alive after the initial round of gunfire and that another man, Fuller’s son, helped “finish them off” by shooting the survivors in the head with a pistol, according to a 2010 Department of Justice memo about the case.

Investigation of the Shooting
The investigation of Robert Fuller was a joke and display of racial discrimination in the south during this time period. Fuller never faced any persecution from the local authority but the lone survivor became a focus point of the investigation. "The lone survivor of the shooting was charged with trying to murder Fuller and later served time in prison." Fuller or his son was never prosecuted for their parts in the mass shooting. Fuller would go on to become leader of the Louisiana KKK and his two sons would be known members also.

The Rise of the KKK and "Shotgun"
Fuller’s notoriety from this bloodbath, coming six months before the formation of the Original Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, would prompt him to join the group in 1961 and eventually make him a statewide Klan leader. He would do that under the nickname “Shotgun,” taken from the events of that bloody day. The crimes of "Shotgun" and the Klan of Monroe, Louisiana are widely unknown but the era gave way to the terrorist acts of the KKK.

Legacy
The FBI found a death certificate for Robert Fuller, which showed that he had died in 1987, Fuller older son who assisted in the Mass shooting, died in 2016. Even though Fuller had pass away and his eldest son was nearing death, the Federal Government would look into the cold case due to pressure from congress. "Congress would pass a law in 2008 calling on the bureau to examine unsolved murders from the civil rights era. The files, which the LSU Cold Case Project obtained through the Freedom of Information Act." These files would unveiled a witness who can corroborate the ambush mass shooting of five unarmed black men.