On August 10, 1991, nine people were killed at the Wat Promkunaram Buddhist temple in Waddell, Arizona. Among those shot in the back of the head was 16-year-old novice monk Matthew Miller, who was of Thai descent. The victims included the temple’s abbot, five monks, a nun, Miller, and a temple employee.

Two assailants carried out what began as a robbery and escalated to mass murder. Investigators traced a .22-caliber rifle used in the killings to a friend of 17-year-old Johnathan Doody, which led them to Doody and 16-year-old Allesandro Garcia. Garcia confessed that he and Doody went to the temple armed with the rifle and a shotgun intending to steal money and electronic equipment. Both were charged with armed robbery and first-degree murder; Garcia pleaded guilty in 1993 and received a 271-year sentence, and Doody was convicted in 1994 and given a 281-year sentence.