More detail on this person: Donald E Schamp
was my father, though I never knew him well. When
he returned from Vietnam, it was not long before
my parents divorced. In 1982 he was murdered at
the Garland County Community College in Hot
Springs, Arkansas by another student. We all
found it sadly ironic he had survived Vietnam and
being shot down behind enemy lines but a boy with
a gun in his home town put an end to his life. I
don't have much more information than that. I was
in high school when he was murdered and had not
seen him since I was five years old. I do not
keep in touch with his family any longer but last
I heard they were still in the Hot Springs area if
you are looking for more information. This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site:
03/10/2024
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From: Jeanette Thompson
Donald Schamp joined the Army in 1965 and
became a helicopter pilot. He was shot down five
times behind enemy lines in the Vietnam War.
After he left the service, he enrolled at Garland
County Community College to obtain a business
administration major. William "Buddy" Putman
dedicated his work day, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., to
teaching business students. It was a job he truly
loved. This morning around 11:15 these two men
had their dreams shattered when 25-year-old Kelvin
Love, a fulltime student at GCCC pulled out a .357
Magnum handgun and shot Donald in the head. He
then shot Buddy in the head as well. Donald died
in the computer programming classroom ten
minutes after being shot. Kelvin then grabbed
19-year-old co-ed Carrie Loy and held her hostage
as he made his way out of the school. He had one
arm around the front of her shoulders and his
other hand held the gun to her ribs. They went
out to her 1976 silver Mercury Cougar and he drove
them west on Highway 270, heading toward Mena.
Paramedics arrived at GCCC and took Buddy to
Ouachita Memorial Hospital where he died at 1:15
p.m. Sheriff deputies and state troopers began
chasing Kelvin and Carrie, reaching speeds of 80
miles per hour. Authorities setup a road block at
the intersection of Highways 71 and 88, near the
town of Hatfield, about 20 miles south of Mena.
Kelvin drove through the escape path of the road
and struck one of the police cars. This collision
shredded the Cougar's front tire on the passenger
side. Police then opened fire on the car's
radiator and brought the car to a smoking halt.
Polk County Sheriff Al Hadaway used a speaker to
negotiate with Kelvin on his options. There were
only two: 1) release Carrie and surrender or 2)
harm Carrie and be killed by the police. Kelvin
spent the next 20 minutes verifying his safety
before throwing the .357 Magnum out the window,
followed by a knife. He was then arrested and
taken back to Hot Springs. He was charged with
two counts of capital felony murder and one count
of kidnapping. On Friday, September 3, 1982, a
jury found Kelvin guilty of capital murder and
sentenced him to life in prison without parole.
Garland County Community College is now known
as National Park Community College.
From:
http://www.columbine-angels.com/School_Violence
_1981-1982.htm
I was late for class that day, and drove up to the
chaos on campus. The above article sums it up
pretty well. Please sends my regards to Donald's
family, a Great Warrior for humanity was lost that
day... I'm sure God has a plan!
From: Dana Grubb