Department of the Treasury Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
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If you have issues viewing or accessing this file contact us at NCJRS.gov. Department of the Treasury Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms . - .' 144760 u.s. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice This document has been reprod~ced. exactl~ as rec~i~ed from t~e person or organization originating It. POints of view or oplnl?ns stated In this document are those of the authors and do not ~ecessanly r.epresent the official position or policies of the National Institute of Justice. ~ Permission to rllproduce this Wi IgI • material has been gramfubJ'.ic Domain u. s ~ Department of Treasury to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). Further reproduction o!JtsidEj of theNCJRS system re9uires permission of the 8IIIIJIIiI!IiII owner. Cover Photo: Investigators working the scene of a bombing at a residence in California. The bombing resulted in serious injuries to two of the occupants, and minor injuries to a third. Shrapnel from the blast shattered windows in eight other homes, broke windows in vehicles, and flattened tires. ~--------------------------------------------------------------------------~~--------- ltf~'1leo Dedication This dedication is written in tribute of Special Agent Johnny A. Masengale who served this agency with dedication and commitment to duty and honored it with his courage. On May 6, 1992, Special Agent Masengale, a 3-year veteran with ATF and a 9-year veteran with Air Force EOD, was assisting in the destruction of approximately 6,000 illegal explosive devices and over 300 pounds of explosive chemicals that were seized pursuant to the investigation of an illegal explosives factory. An accidental explosion occurred during the process, killing the 36-year-old agent. Special Agent Masengale's death was a sudden, tragiC loss to the ATF family, and one that will not be long forgotten. Yet it should serve, too, as a grievous reminder to all in law enforcement as to the destructive capabilities of these devices and chemicals. '------------------------------------~--~ Preface Agencies providing data incorporated in this report are the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) , the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the United States Postal Service (USPS). The information presented should not be considered exhaustive of all explosives incidents that occurred in calendar year 1992. The data is considered highly representative and sufficient to permit valid chronological, geographical, and trend analyses. Categories appearing in this publication are those used by ATF in its intra-agency tracking of explosives incidents. Also, normal rounding-off procedures have been used. Any minor discrepancies between information previously published may be the result of these rounding-off procedures. Prior to initiating an analysis with this information, we suggest that the reader review the Glossary of Terms and the appropriate Technical Notes Section. ii Director'S Message "Crime," as it was described by former President Ronald Reagan, "is not a statistic: It is an outrage and a sin .... " Crime is what the numbers do not convey, and that is the consequences suffered by the American public--the lives lost, the property destroyed, and the mental and physical wounds that last a lifetime. Nowhere is this better illustrated than with explosives-related crimes, and there is no magic, one-step solution to the problem. But where ATF can act, it will. to help strengthen the capacity of state and local law enforcement in their efforts to fight the criminal violence associated with explosives. The 1992 Explosives Incidents Report is an extension of this commitment. Certainly. law enforcement officers view the explosives-related violence from different angles and take different paths when investigating it. But it is this diversity that gives us strength. knowing that we ultimately share the same goal: to ensure domestic tranquility and reduce the iLJ.cidence of explosives crimes. This unity of purpose has guided us in the past, and I am confident it will continue to guide us in the future. ~E.J/,~ Director iii Table of Contents Dedication Preface ................................. ;'............................................................................. ii Message From the Director................................................................................. iii Part I. SUPPORT PROGRAMS." .......... "................................................. 3 Part II. Technical Notes .............................................................................. 11 Table 1. Types of Explosives Incidents, 1988-92 ..................... 13 Table II. Explosives Incidents by Category by State, 1988-92 .......................................................... 14 Table III. Total Explosives Incidents by State, 1988-92 .................................................................... 16 Figure 1. Bombing and Incendiary Incidents by State for 1992 ........................................................... 17 Figure II. Total Criminal Bombing Incidents, 1988-92 .................................................................... 18 Table IV. Analysis of Bombing Incidents by Target as to Deaths, Injuries, and Property Damage, 1988-92 ....................................................... 19 Table V. Bombing Incidents by Motive, Including Estimated Damage, 1988-92 ..................................... 20 Table VI. Bombing Incidents by Target, 1988-92 ...................... 21 Table VII. Types of Containers Used in Destructive Devices, 1988-92 ....................................................... 21 Table VIII. Pipe Bomb Incidents, 1988-92................................... 22 Table lX. Types of Fillers Used in Destructive Devices, 1988-92....................................................... 22 Table X. Accidental Explosions by Type of Target, 1988-92 .................................................................... 23 Table XI. Other Explosives Incidents, 1988-92 ......................... 24 Part III. STOLEN EXPLOSIVES AND RECOVERIES ................................. 25 'fechnical Notes .............................................................................. 27 Table XII. Quantity of Explosives Stolen by Category, 1988-92..................................................... 29 Figure III. Comparison of Categories of Explosives Stolen, 1988-92 ......................................................... 30 Table XIII. Explosives Thefts by State, 1988-92.......................... 31 Table XIV. Amount of Explosives Stolen by State, 1988-92 .................................................................... 32 Table XV. Number of Detonators Stolen by State, 1988-92 .................................................................... 33 Table XVI. Explosives Thefts as Reported by Licensees, Permittees, and Users, 1988-92 .................................................................... 34 Figure IV. Percentage Graph of Explosives Thefts as Reported by Licensees, Permittees, and Users, 1988-92 .......................................................... 34 Figure V. Explosives Thefts by State for 1992 ........................... 35 1 Table XVII. Methods of Entry for Explosives Thefts, 1988-92 .................................................................... 36 Table XVIII. Quantity of Explosives Recovered by Category, 1988-92 ..................................................... 37 Table XIX. Incidents of Recovered Explosives Previously Reported Stolen, 1988-92 ......................... 37 Figure VI. Comparison of Categories of Explosives Recovered, 1988-92 ................................................... 38 Table XX. Incidents of Explosives Recoveries by State, 1988-92 .......................................................... 39 Table XXI. Pounds of Explosives Recovered by State, 1988-92 .................................................................... 40 Table XXII. Number of Detonators Recovered by State, 1988-92 "' .................................................................. 41 Figure VII. Explosives Recoveries by State for 1992 42 Part IV. SIGNIFICANT EXPLOSIVES INVESTIGATIONS ........................... 43 Part V. SIGNIFICANT ARSON INVESTIGATIONS .................................... 63 Part VI. PROGRAM INITIATIVES ............................................................. 75 Part VII. DIRECTORY OF ATF OFFICES .................................................. 83 Part VIII. GLOSSARY OF TERMS ............................ iii •••••••••••••••••••••••••• "..... 89 2 3 ----------------------------------------------- Blast seat of a large vehicle bomb and the resultant damage to the Israeli Embassy in Argentina. 4 law enforcement. The IRr is the product of such evolutionary change. An offshoot of the concept National behind the NRr, the IRr is the result ofan agreement Response willi the Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service. The agreement originally provided for Team (NRT) ATF's investigative assistance at select fire and postblast scenes on U.S. property where the In 1978, ATF developed a national response Diplomatic Security Service has investigative capability to assist Federal, state, and local responsibility. The agreement has since been investigators in meeting the challenges faced at the expanded to include responses where ATF would scenes ofsignificant arson and explosives incidents. provide technical/forensic assistance and oversight This capability, the National Response Team, to foreign governments on foreign territory. f'.:lCh involves four teams organized