Richard Durn

"I will become a serial killer, a mad killer. Why? Because I am frustrated and I do not want to die alone, because I have had a shitty life. I want to feel powerful and free just once."

- Durn's in his suicide note. Richard Durn (1969 - March 28, 2002) was a Slovene-born mass murderer who perpetrated the Nanterre Massacre in Nanterre, France on March 27, 2002. Durn killed 8 people and injured at least 30 others.

The day after the massacre, he was arrested, but committed suicide while in police custody by jumping out of a fourth-floor window to his death.

Biography
Originally from Slovenia, Durn held a masters degree in political science and a degree in history. According to the police, Durn was an environmental activist, and a former member of the Socialist Party before joining the Greens. He was also a member of the Ligue des droits de l'homme.

At approximately 1:15 a.m. (CEST), at the Nanterre town hall, following a meeting of the municipal council chaired by Mayor Jacqueline Fraysse, Richard Durn rose from his seat, removed firearms previously hidden under his jacket, and opened fire. Durn killed eight councilors and injured 19 others; 14 critically, before being overpowered by Gerard Perreau-Bezouille and other councilors. Once overpowered, Durn began shouting, "Kill me!"

Durn was interrogated at the police station at 36 Quai des Orfèvres, Paris, on 28 March. After confessing, Durn committed suicide by throwing himself from the fourth floor window.

Durn had sent a letter to a friend in which he explained his plan: "Because I have by my own will become a kind of living-dead, I have decided to end it all by killing a small local elite which is the symbol of, and who are the leaders and decision makers in, a city that I have always detested." He explained that he intended to kill the mayor, "and then as many people as possible [...] I will become a serial killer, a mad killer. Why? Because I am frustrated and I do not want to die alone, because I have had a shitty life. I want to feel powerful and free just once."

Suicide note
''I want to have the same stature as bin Laden, Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Milosevic. I've decided to put an end to my life, but before that, I'm going to be a serial killer. I've gone mad, become a drop out and therefore I must die. For months now, thoughts of carnage and death have filled my head. I should have died a long time ago. I don't know what to do with my life, not even how to die without hurting others. But now, I'm fed up with this cowardice... I should die at least with the feeling of being free and getting a kick out of it. That's why I should kill some people. For once in my life, I'll have an orgasm. Be happy and brave, especially with all the idiots who'll hassle you. Love, Richard.''