Starburst Lounge shooting

1980 El Paso shooting
El Paso is located in Texas
El Paso
El Paso
El Paso (Texas)
El Paso is located in the United States
El Paso
El Paso
El Paso (the United States)
Location31°45′33″N 106°29′19″W / 31.75917°N 106.48861°W / 31.75917; -106.48861
5030 Fairbanks Drive,
El Paso, Texas,
United States
DateFebruary 3, 1980
~1:45 a.m. (MDT)
Attack type
Mass shooting, Mass murder
Weapons.22-caliber Marlin Model 60 semi-automatic rifle[1]
Deaths5
Injured3
PerpetratorBarry Chvarak
MotiveThrill killing

On February 3, 1980, a mass shooting occurred at the Starburst Lounge bar in El Paso, Texas. 21-year-old Barry Chvarak, armed with a .22-caliber Marlin Model 60 semi-automatic rifle, killed five and injured three others before being arrested.[1] In July 1980, Chvarak pleaded guilty to the crime.[2] He was then sentenced to five consecutive life sentences.[3][4]

It was the deadliest mass shooting in El Paso County until the 2019 El Paso shooting.[5]

Shooting

At 1:45 a.m., Chvarak told his twin brother that he was going to shoot up the soon to be closed bar they were sitting in, went to his truck, and came back with a rifle. His brother did not take the threat seriously.[1]

Opening fire, he walked around the interior of the bar once, and attempted to do a second sweep, squeezing the trigger of his weapon at least 14 times while doing so.[1]

Roger Miller whacked Chvarak with a pole cue until it broke, causing him to drop his rifle. Another citizen scooped up the weapon and hid it in the office of the bar. Chvarak sat around until police came to arrest him, upon which he said, "Why I did that, I don't know," and "I guess I'm going to prison."[1]

Victims

Killed

  • Randy Steele, 20
  • Kathleen Austin, 32
  • Marianne Laweka, 53
  • Jana Carpenter, 29
  • Fredrick Bergford, 28[6]

Wounded

  • Phil Sell, 19[1]

Aftermath

Chvarak pled guilty and was sentenced to life with parole on July 18, 1980.[7] He was first up for parole on February 3rd, 2000, but was denied.[1][7] He was denied numerous times after that, with the most recent denial being on March 10, 2025.[8] He is currently incarcerated at the Preston E. Smith Unit.[7]

The bar was later demolished and replaced by a car wash, which was later abandoned.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "A Story of Mass Violence". kxan.com.
  2. ↑ Ruiz, Rick (July 8, 1980). "Murderer pleads guilty, gets 5 life terms". El Paso Times. Newspapers.com. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Starburst Lounge mass shooting killed five in 1987 in El Paso bar". El Paso Times. February 11, 2020.
  4. ↑ "1980 Northeast El Paso shooting stands as one of Texas' first mass murders". ktsm.com. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Two mass shootings in one Texas town, decades apart". everythinglubbock.com. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Fredrick James Bergford - Ancestry®". www.ancestry.com. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 "Inmate Information Details". Texas.gov.
  8. ↑ "Parole review information". Texas.gov.
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