As families prepare for a new school year, most are focused on back-to-school shopping, first-day photos, and lunchbox plans — not the more sobering reality of active shooter drills and lockdown procedures that have become routine for many American students.
A Tragedy Close to Home
Nearly a century ago, in the small Michigan town of Bath, just northeast of Lansing, a bombing at the local elementary school killed 45 people, including 38 children. It remains the deadliest school attack in American history — a tragedy that has largely faded from national memory, even though it happened not far from home.
What Happened on May 18, 1927
The attack unfolded on the morning of May 18, 1927, on the last full day of the school year. Andrew Kehoe, a local farmer and school board treasurer, had spent months quietly wiring Bath Consolidated School with explosives. When the bombs were detonated, they reduced part of the building to rubble, killing dozens of children inside.
A Grudge Turned Deadly
In the documentary produced by 9&10 News, The Devil Came to Michigan: The Bath School Massacre, local historians walk viewers through the tragic day that unfolded nearly 100 years ago. Kehoe, facing mounting financial troubles, had become increasingly distraught over rising property taxes, which he blamed in part on the local school district.
Kehoe had rigged two sets of explosives to detonate inside the school using timed triggers, but only one bomb went off. The force of the first explosion damaged the second timer, causing it to fail. His main target, school superintendent Emory Huyck, had survived the initial blast. Upon learning this, Kehoe returned to the scene, parked his truck near the school, and fired a shot into it — igniting additional explosives and shrapnel inside. The second explosion killed Kehoe, Huyck, and a five-year-old boy who had survived the earlier bombing.
The Forgotten Legacy of Bath
Although the Bath School Massacre is still the deadliest school attack in American history, it’s often left out of national conversations about school violence. Unlike modern school shootings, it involved explosives and occurred nearly a century ago, making it easier to overlook — even here in Michigan.
How the Town Remembers
Today, a memorial park in Bath marks the site of the old school, with a plaque honoring the 45 lives lost and the original school cupola preserved at its center. Inside the nearby middle school, a small museum holds artifacts and survivor stories, and a larger memorial is planned in time for the 100th anniversary in 2027. Nearly a century later, the Bath School Massacre serves as a chilling reminder that the threat of violence in schools is not new — and that even the darkest chapters of our past must not be forgotten.
Watch the full documentary from 9&10 News below to learn more about the day that changed Bath forever.
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