The Jonestown Massacre was an extremely monumental and well known massacre because it was the "single largest loss of American civilian life, in a non natural disaster until the events of September 11, 2001". One man-Jim Jones- killed over 900 of his followers at one time by poisoning them, and then killing himself. Jones gathered all of his followers together and moved to a remote location in South America, and built a town from nothing. After suspicions about cult activity, Jones got scared and created a mass suicide plan, where even the people that didn't wish to participate still had to die. This was considered a mass murder because, even though Jones forced them into doing "mock suicides", some of his followers were forced against their will to drink his Kool-Aid. Jones would force his followers to participate in fake deaths, "practicing" what would happen when they all got poisoned. On November 17, 1978, over 900 of his followers died, including himself and his wife.