Character

Brenda Ann Spencer

detached flippant nihilistic

Brenda Ann Spencer carried out the 1979 Cleveland Elementary School shooting in San Diego at age 16, killing the principal and a custodian while wounding eight children and a police officer. Police asked her motive; she replied, 'I don't like Mondays.' This flippant explanation inspired the Boomtown Rats song of the same name. Donna recounts the story in a diner, tying it to a time-zone flub during campaign travel with Josh and Toby.

1 appearances

Also known as: unidentified girl (shooter), a girl

Brenda Ann …'s Journey

A timeline through the narrative

1 moments

S4E1 · 20 Hours in America Part I

The Grim Aside — 'I Don't Like Mondays' and a Tonal Pivot

N/A — referenced historic figure; her action casts a somber shadow over the conversation.

Brenda Ann Spencer is referenced in Donna's anecdote as the historical figure whose flippant motive ('I don't like Mondays') inspired the song; she functions as the grim pivot that punctures …

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