1997

Events

 * February 23 - The Empire State Shooting occurs; Palestinian schoolteacher Ali Hassan Abu Kamal kills one person and injures six others before committing suicide.
 * May 16 - End of the First Congo War.
 * October 1 - Luke Woodham kills his mother before committing a shooting at Pearl High School in Pearl, Mississippi, killing two students and wounding seven others.

Deaths

 * February 19 - Deng Xiaoping
 * September 7 - Mobutu Sese Seko