Theodore Kaczynski came to our attention in 1978 with the explosion of his first homemade bomb at a Chicago university. His antics continued sporadically for the next seventeen years. Along the way, he sowed fear and panic, even threatening to blow up airliners in flight (FBI, 2015).
Where it all began
The Unabomber case began on May 25, 1978, when a Northwestern University professor became suspicious of a parcel that had been returned to him by the postal service but that he had never mailed. The bomb consisted of common items: tape, wires, a fishing line, a lamp cord, and wooden dowels (Unabomber Case and Trail, 2005).
On November 15, 1979, a bomb began to burn in the cargo compartment of an American Airlines flight 444 (Unabomber Case and …show more content…
Forensics showed that the bomber had started to use more lethal explosives. There was a mix of ammonium nitrate and aluminum powder. The bomb's shrapnel consisted of tacks, nails, and bits of lead (Unabomber Case and Trail, 2005). Stamped on the end seal of the bomb's pipe was the initials FC. June 13, a short time later, a similar bomb showed up at a Boeing plant in Auburn, Washington. A Mailroom clerk stated that the package looked suspicious and called the authorities, who dismantled the bomb. They found the FC logo again (Unabomber Case and Trail, 2005). Then, on June 15, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan and his assistant were injured when the assistant triggered an explosion by opening a book the professor had received in the mail (Unabomber Case and Trail, 2005).
The first death occurred on December 11, 1985, when the owner of a computer store in Sacramento, California, noticed in the parking lot a block of wood with nails protruding from it. When he picked it up, it exploded with enormous force. Forensic examination showed that the bomb consisted of three 10-inch pipes filled with potassium sulfate, potassium chloride, ammonium nitrate, and aluminum powder (Unabomber Case and Trail, 2005). Again, the shrapnel consisted of sharp chunks of metal, nails, and …show more content…
The bombings, then stopped for six years. They returned in June 1993. On June 22, a geneticist at the University of California at San Francisco was seriously injured. He opened a wooden box inside a padded envelope he had received in the mail (Unabomber Case and Trail, 2005). A similar package mailed on the same date, June 18, arrived at the office of a Yale University computer science professor on June 23. Again, when he opened the box, roughly the size of a shoebox, it exploded with devastating force (Unabomber Case and Trail, 2005). That same day, we received the first communication from the Unabomber in the form of a letter. It was sent to the editor of the New York Times, in which he took responsibility for the two most recent bombings, identified FC as the initials of Freedom Club, and promised further communications in the future (FBI,
Where it all began
The Unabomber case began on May 25, 1978, when a Northwestern University professor became suspicious of a parcel that had been returned to him by the postal service but that he had never mailed. The bomb consisted of common items: tape, wires, a fishing line, a lamp cord, and wooden dowels (Unabomber Case and Trail, 2005).
On November 15, 1979, a bomb began to burn in the cargo compartment of an American Airlines flight 444 (Unabomber Case and …show more content…
Forensics showed that the bomber had started to use more lethal explosives. There was a mix of ammonium nitrate and aluminum powder. The bomb's shrapnel consisted of tacks, nails, and bits of lead (Unabomber Case and Trail, 2005). Stamped on the end seal of the bomb's pipe was the initials FC. June 13, a short time later, a similar bomb showed up at a Boeing plant in Auburn, Washington. A Mailroom clerk stated that the package looked suspicious and called the authorities, who dismantled the bomb. They found the FC logo again (Unabomber Case and Trail, 2005). Then, on June 15, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan and his assistant were injured when the assistant triggered an explosion by opening a book the professor had received in the mail (Unabomber Case and Trail, 2005).
The first death occurred on December 11, 1985, when the owner of a computer store in Sacramento, California, noticed in the parking lot a block of wood with nails protruding from it. When he picked it up, it exploded with enormous force. Forensic examination showed that the bomb consisted of three 10-inch pipes filled with potassium sulfate, potassium chloride, ammonium nitrate, and aluminum powder (Unabomber Case and Trail, 2005). Again, the shrapnel consisted of sharp chunks of metal, nails, and …show more content…
The bombings, then stopped for six years. They returned in June 1993. On June 22, a geneticist at the University of California at San Francisco was seriously injured. He opened a wooden box inside a padded envelope he had received in the mail (Unabomber Case and Trail, 2005). A similar package mailed on the same date, June 18, arrived at the office of a Yale University computer science professor on June 23. Again, when he opened the box, roughly the size of a shoebox, it exploded with devastating force (Unabomber Case and Trail, 2005). That same day, we received the first communication from the Unabomber in the form of a letter. It was sent to the editor of the New York Times, in which he took responsibility for the two most recent bombings, identified FC as the initials of Freedom Club, and promised further communications in the future (FBI,