O.C. Man Kills 2, Himself at Naval Base

In a swift and bloody incident that was sparked by a busted romance, two young naval officers, both former star athletes at the U.S. Naval Academy, were shot to death early Wednesday morning by a third officer who then killed himself, police said.

The gunman, identified by Navy officials as George P. Smith, an ensign from Huntington Beach, stormed into the bachelor officers quarters at the Amphibious Base and shot a female ensign and a male lieutenant at approximately 1:45 a.m., said Coronado Police Lt. Bill Abel. The slayings took place in the woman’s room at Moses Hall.

Killed were Lt. (j.g.) Alton Lee Grizzard and Ensign Kerryn (Kerry) O’Neill, Smith’s fiancee. Smith, 24, fired four shots from a 9-millimeter pistol into Grizzard and one into O’Neill before fatally wounding himself in the head.

“There were shots, then a woman screaming hysterically, followed by more shots,” Abel said. “Then it was over.”

Smith, who had attended the Naval Academy, was a 1987 graduate of Marina High School, where he played defensive end on two league championship football teams.

“He was an outstanding guy,” said Larry Doyle, Marina’s athletic director, who coached Smith for several years.

“He was a great student and a real good football player, a major contributor to the team,” Doyle said. “He wasn’t very big, but he was one of those guys who makes up for his size with intelligence and technique.”

Doyle said he was “definitely” surprised to hear the news from Coronado. “I’d say I don’t believe a guy like George could do something like that, but you can’t say that these days. . . . The stress factor has taken its toll on many people.”

Grizzard, 24, was a member of the SEALs, the Navy’s elite commando team. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1991 and was a mathematics major and star quarterback, setting a career record of 5,666 yards passing and rushing. As a senior, he set a Navy record with 12 touchdown passes.

O’Neill, 21, graduated from the academy in 1993. She was an honor student and athlete who won 12 letters in cross-country and track and studied engineering. She set academy records for women’s cross-country and the 5,000-meter run.

Navy officials said Smith was assigned to a base in San Diego and knew the victims.

A close family friend said Smith and O’Neill planned to marry. But Abel said O’Neill had decided to break off the relationship. He said witnesses reported seeing them arguing earlier in the evening and seeing O’Neill crying. “They had different ideas about their future,” he said.

Grizzard and O’Neill had known each other at the Naval Academy but were not involved in a relationship, Abel said.

The nine-story, dormitory-style building is home to male and female officers who are undergoing training or awaiting assignment to other bases.

The killings shattered the well-ordered atmosphere of the Amphibious Base, which is located on San Diego Bay across from the Silver Strand beach, half a mile from the Hotel del Coronado. The base is home to between 4,000 and 6,000 sailors and Marines and several military training centers, including those of the SEALs, who are proficient at sea, air and land operations.

All three officers were dressed in civilian clothes and there was no sign of forced entry or a struggle, Abel said.

O’Neill, from Kingston, Pa., had been at the Amphibious Base since October. She died of a wound to the head. Grizzard was hit in the chest and head.

Grizzard, from Virginia Beach, Va., was co-captain of the Naval Academy football team in his senior year. His father was a career Naval officer.

In an interview in 1990, Grizzard said his biggest thrill in football was a victory over Army in 1989: “It’s great playing the big teams, but only when you beat them.”

As a high school star, Grizzard was recruited by universities across the country but said he never regretted going to the academy, despite the team’s losing record all four of his years there.

Navy Coach George Chaump called Grizzard “one of the greatest (people) I’ve been around, not just as a player but as a human being.”