Kehoe, an electrician, had previously worked on the school and had rigged explosives through the buildings in the weeks leading up to the attack. His timer device in one part of the building failed, so children in those rooms survived.
In the immediate aftermath of the school explosion, Kehoe set off another bomb in his car, killing himself and several others nearby. Prior to the school explosion, he had murdered his wife and set his own farm on fire.
His motive was anger at a foreclosure on his farm, and the taxes levied by the township to pay for the new school.
Before Andrew Kehoe married, his stepmother was killed when her stove malfunctioned and lit her on fire. He waited a few minutes then, half-heartedly, attempted to help her.
His neighbors suspected that he rigged the stove. It was known that he detested his stepmother and he possessed the knowledge to “fix” the stove to malfunction the way he desired it to.
It’s a shame that not many Americans know about Andrew Kehoe. He was truly a monster. Once, he even beat his own horse to death.