Selected terrorist incidents in the United States, through September 2000

complied by Wm. Robert Johnston
last updated 23 September 2000, modified 25 January 2008

The follow listing has not been updated since 2000, but is included here for historical reference. For related listings more thoroughly vetted, see these pages:

Note: table includes terrorist events causing fatalities, incidents involving unconventional weapons or of political significance, politically-motivated murders, and other incidents of political or methodological significance. Sources are listed at end of table.

May 1856Representative Preston Brooks beat Charles Sumner, Massachusetts senator, in the Senate chamber, causing him serious injury.
14 Apr 1865President Abraham Lincoln shot by John Wilkes Booth in Washington DC; secretary of state William H. Seward injured separately by accomplice Lewis Powell; Lincoln died 15 April.
2 Jul 1881President James Garfield shot by Charles J. Guiteau in Washington, DC, died 19 Sept.
4 May 1886bomb thrown during labor rally at Haymarket Square, Chicago, IL, kills 7 policemen, many injured; police fire into crowd, killing 4; 8 anarchists accused.
Feb 1890Kentucky Representative William Taulbee shot outside U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, by Charles Kincaid; Taulbee died several days later.
6 Sep 1901President William McKinley shot by Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, NY, died 14 Sept.
30 Dec 1905Frank Steunenberg, former Idaho governor, killed by bomb.
1 Oct 1910bombing by labor activists at The Los Angeles Times building, Los Angeles; 21 killed.
14 Oct 1912former President Theodore Roosevelt shot and injured in attempted assassination in Milwaukee, WI.
Jul 1915bomb explodes in U.S. Capitol; no injuries.
23 Jul 1916bomb in suitcase explodes at preparedness parade in San Francisco; 10 killed, 40 injured.
31 Jan 1919T. Wong, head of Chinese Educational Mission to the United States, is killed along with two Chinese students in Washington, DC.
16 Sep 1920bomb in horse-drawn wagon exploded near Morgan bank in lower Manhattan, New York, NY; 34 killed, 200 injured.
15 Feb 1933attempted assassination of President-elect Franklin Roosevelt by anarchist Joseph Zangara; Chicago mayor Anton Cermak shot instead, dying 6 March.
8 Sep 1935Senator Huey Long shot in Baton Rouge, LA, by Carl Weiss who was shot and killed by bodyguards; Long died 10 Sept.
21 Sep 1935plane hijacked from Brooklyn and flown across Atlantic, crashing in Irish Free State; 1 injured.
23 Feb 1936retired U.S. Army colonel shot and killed in San Juan, both assassins killed; police chief killed in Utuado, shortly afterward.
21 Jan 1938peace advocate drowned trying to bomb Japanese steamer in Seattle, WA.
22 Jul 1948Stephen J. Supona dropped homemade bomb from airplane over United Nations building in New York; no damage caused.
1 Nov 1950in assassination attempt on President Harry Truman, two Puerto Rican nationalists try to shoot their way into Blair House; 2 killed, including 1 terrorist.
1 Mar 1954Puerto Rican nationalists fire from gallery of U.S. House of Representatives; 5 Congressman injured.
1 Nov 1955United Air Lines DC-8 exploded and crashed near Longmont, CO, destroyed by bomb planted by John Graham in insurance plot to kill his mother, a passenger; 44 killed.
1 Nov 1958Cubana Airlines flight hijacked from Miami by members of 26th of July Movement; plane crashed near Punta Tabaio, Cuba, killing 17 of 20 aboard.
6 Jan 1960National Airlines flight bombed in insurance plot, crashing near Boliva, NC; 34 killed.
22 May 1962Continental flight bombed near Unionville, MO; 44 killed.
12 Jun 1963Medgar Evers, NAACP Mississippi field secretary, killed in Jackson, MS.
Sep 1963bombing of black Baptist church in Birmingham, AL, kills 4 children; in subsequent rioting 2 blacks are killed.
22 Nov 1963President John Kennedy shot in Dallas, TX, by Lee Harvey Oswald, himself later shot by Jack Rudy before trial.
May 1964Frank Gonzalez, intending to commit suicide, shot pilot of Pacific Air Lines flight, causing plane to crash; 44 killed.
22 Jun 1964three civil rights workers kidnapped in Mississippi, bodies found 4 Aug, 7 whites convicted of murders.
16 Feb 1965three individuals, including members of Black Liberation Front and Montreal Separatist Party, arrested plotting to bomb Liberty Bell, Statue of Liberty, and Washington Monument.
21 Feb 1965Malcolm X fatally shot in New York City.
11-16 Aug 1965Watts riots in Los Angeles by blacks kill 34, injure 1,000, cause $20 million in damage.
15 Mar 1966young blacks riot in Watts, Los Angeles; 2 killed, 25 injured.
7 Jan 1967R. Parks commits suicide in bombing of Las Vegas motel; 6 killed, 12 injured.
29 Jan 1967simultaneous bombing of Yugoslav missions in Washington, DC, Chicago, IL, San Francisco, CA, New York City, NY, Ottawa, Canada, and Toronto, Canada.
2 May 196726 Black Panthers walk into California State Legislature in Sacramento carrying loaded guns to read a political statement.
12-17 Jul 1967black riots in Newark, NJ, kill 26, injure 1,500.
23-30 Jul 1967black riots in Detroit, MI, kill 43, injure 2,000.
4 Apr 1968Martin Luther King Jr. shot and killed by James Earl Ray in Memphis, TN.
5 Jun 1968Robert Kennedy shot by Jordanian Sinhan Bishara Sirhan in Los Angeles, CA, died 6 Jun.
Jun 1969gunfight at Black Panther Party headquarters in Sacramento, CA, injures 13 policemen.
6 Mar 1970three killed in New York City, apparently while building bombs for Weathermen.
17 Mar 1970Eastern Airlines flight hijacked; copilot shot and killed.
Nov 1970U.S. Army learns of Weathermen plot to blackmail homosexual officer at Fort Detrick, MD, to steal a biological weapon for use in the water supply of a major city.
1 Mar 1971Weather Underground bombing of Senate wing of U.S. Capitol.
20 Oct 1971JDL members fire into apartment occupied by members of Soviet UN delegation in New York.
1972gunman attempts to hijack plane in Baltimore and fly it into White House to kill President Nixon; kills 2 at airport and himself, injures one.
Jan 1972two teenagers, members of RISE, arrested for plotting to introduce typhoid bacteria into Chicago water supply.
26 Jan 1972Jewish Defense League firebombs two Sol Hurok offices in New York, NY; one killed at each location, with 13 total additional injuries.
7 Mar 1972caller threatens to bomb four TWA airliners, one every 6 hours, unless a $2,000,000 ransom was paid; one bomb exploded in emptied airliner, at least one additional bomb defused on another airliner.
15 May 1972Alabama governor George Wallace and 3 others injured, shot by Arthur Bremer.
27 Jan 1972Black Liberation Army kills 2 police officers.
1 Jul 1973Israeli military attache Colonel Yosef Alon shot outside his home in Washington, DC, claimed by PFLP.
6 Nov 1973SLA kills Marcus Foster, black school superintendent.
1974"Alphabet Bomber", having threatened to kill the President with nerve gas, arrested with all but one of necessary components.
Jan 1974SLA shows interest in biological weapons.
17 May 19746 SLA suspects in Hearst kidnapping killed in gun battle with police.
6 Aug 1974bomb explodes in locker at airport in Los Angeles, CA; 3 killed, 35 injured.
24 Jan 1975FALN bombing of Fraunces Tavern in Wall Street, New York City; 4 killed, 63 injured.
29 Jan 1975Weather Underground bombing of U.S. State Department in Washington, DC.
5 Sep 1975Secret Service agent prevents Lynette Fromme, a Charles Manson follower, from shooting President Gerald Ford in Sacramento.
22 Sep 1975President Gerald Ford unharmed in assassination attempt by Sara Jane Moore, a political activist.
Nov 1975NEST deployed to Los Angeles, CA, after threatened detonation of nuclear device at a Union Oil Company facility; no device found.
29 Dec 1975bomb explodes in locker at La Guardia Airport, New York City; Croatian nationalists suspected; 11 killed, 75 injured.
Jun 1976"B. A. Fox" threatens to use mail to disperse ticks carrying pathogens.
10 Sep 1976Croatian terrorists hijack TWA jet and have it flown to France; 1 policeman killed by bomb at Grand Central Terminal in New York City.
9 Mar 1977Hanafi Muslim gunmen seize 3 buildings in Washington, DC, and hold 134 hostages for 39 hours before surrendering.
22 Mar 1977bombing attributed to Chicano activist kills one in Denver, CO.
23 Apr 1977bomb explodes in locker at airport in Washington, DC; 1 killed.
3 Aug 1977FALN bombs two office buildings in New York; 1 killed at Mobil headquarters, 7 injured.
10 Oct 1977Bomb exploded next to visitor center at Trojan NPS, with Environmental Assault Unit of the New World Liberation Front claiming responsibility.
Jan 1979individual with two 5-gallon containers of uranium dioxide threatens to disperse it in a U.S. city unless $100,000 ransom received; man arrested in Wilmington, NC.
Dec 1979Macheteros members ambush Navy bus in Puerto Rico, killing 2 sailors and injuring 10.
1980Omega 7 member places bomb under car of Cuban ambassador to the UN.
Jun 1980Croatian bombing of museum at Statue of Liberty, no injuries.
22 Jul 1980Ali Akbar Tabataba'i, former senior officer in Iranian Shah's SAVAK, shot at home by Daoud Salahuddin, a radical black Muslim under instructions from Iran.
29 May 1980Vernon Jordan Jr., civil rights leader, shot and injured in Fort Wayne, IN.
1981UFF members murder New Jersey State Police officer.
12 Jan 1981Macheteros terrorists bomb 9 Air National Guard jets at Muniz ANGB in Puerto Rico, causing $40 million in damage.
30 Mar 1981President Reagan and 3 others injured in attempted assassination by Hinkley in Washington, DC.
16 May 1981bomb explodes in airport terminal in New York, NY, killing one.
20 Oct 1981Weather Underground member Kathy Boudin captured after killing 3 in New York.
28 Jan 1982Kemal Arikan, Turkish Consul-General in Los Angeles, assassinated by Armenian terrorists.
4 May 1982Orhan Gunduz, honorary Turkish Consul in Boston, assassinated by Armenian terrorists.
1983total of 8 killed in politically motivated murders.
1983two men arrested in Springfield, MA, manufacturing ricin, a nerve agent.
15 Jul 1983bomb in car kills Armenian Victor Galustian in Los Angeles, CA.
Aug 1983Ahmadiyya Moverment in Islam secretary killed in Detroit by members of Fuqra, a black Islamic sect; 2 members killed setting fire in AMI temple.
7 Nov 1983bombing at U.S. Capitol building in Washington, DC; later linked to Revolutionary Armed Task Force.
Dec 1983authorities prevent attempt by pro-Khomeini students to set fire to theater where 500 anti-Khomeini Iranians were meeting.
31 Dec 1983FALN bombings at federal and city buildings in New York City; 1 policeman injured.
1984white supremacists alledged were preparing to poison water supplies of Chicago and Washington, DC, prior to their arrest.
~Apr 1984two Canadians arrested in NY attempting to purchase large amounts of pathogenic bacteria (tetanus and botulinal toxin) from a Rockville, MD, firm.
15 Jun 1984Alan Berg killed by white supremacists.
Aug 1984followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh fail in attempt to spread salmonella in The Dalles, OR.
29 Aug 1984followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh use water to infect two officials with salmonella in The Dalles, OR; both sickened, one hospitalized.
15 Sep 1984salmonella poisoning outbreak in Antelope, OR, produces 60 clinical cases and 751 total known illnesses; followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh implicated.
7 Dec 1984Robert Matthews, leader of The Order, a right-wing group, killed in raid by federal agents on Whidbey Island, WA.
25 Dec 1984three abortion clinics bombed in Pensacola, FL.
1985members of Libyan-linked street gang El Rukn arrested attempting to obtain SAM to attack an aircraft at O'Hare IAP, Chicago.
15 Aug 1985Tscherim Soobzokov, alleged Nazi war criminal, injured in Paterson, NJ, by bombing possibly linked to JDL; died 6 Sept.
Oct 1985Alex Odah, officer of American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, killed by bombing possibly linked to JDL.
19 Feb 1986Unabomber bomb kills Hugh Scrutton, a computer store owner, in Sacramento, CA, with bomb in paper bag behind store.
13 May 1985police assault on headquarters of radical black group Move in Philadephia starts fire, killing 11.
1 Apr 1985letter writer threatens to contaminate New York City's water reservoirs with plutonium unless charges against Bernhard Goetz are dropped; testing was announced to have detected femtocurie levels of plutonium in the water on 26 July.
1986total of 3 killed in politically motivated murders.
16 May 1986two Aryan Nation members seize elementary school in Cokeville, WY, holding teachers and 150 students hostage, demanding $2 million per child; bomb accidentally explodes, killing one terrorist and injuring 70 students; second terrorist commits suicide.
5 Sep 1986tear-gas bomb set off 5 minutes before end of Russian dance troupe performance at New York City's Metropolitan Opera House by Jewish extremists; 30 injured.
29 Sep 1986four bombs explode in Coeur d'Alene, ID, at department store, restaurant, federal building, and armed forces recruiting station, set by Bruder Scheigen Strike Force II.
28 Oct 1986Macheteros bombings at military facilities Puerto Rico injure one.
Dec 19866 members of Arizona Patriots indicted for planned bombings of federal and Jewish buildings.
14 Dec 1986Dennis Malvasi sets bomb in Planned Parenthood building in Manhattan, leaving rental agent handcuffed nearby; bomb fizzles.
31 Dec 1986three employees set fire in Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, PR, killing 96.
Apr 1987apparent Islamic terrorist plot to bomb Atlantic City casinos called off due to alerted authorities.
23 Oct 1987Lebanese national and two others, all members of Syrain Socialist National Party, arrested attempting to enter Vermont from Canada with bomb components.
28 Nov 1987bomb exploded in parking lot of Sandia National Laboratories.
12 Apr 1988Yu Kikumura, member of Japanese Red Army, arrested in New Jersey with bombs to be detonated in Manhattan 3 days later.
Nov 1988animal rights activist arrested leaving pipe bomb at U.S. Surgical Corporation in Norwalk, CT.
10 Mar 1989pipe-bomb exploded in van of Sharon Lee Rogers, wife of U.S.S. Vincennes captain, planted by pro-Iranian terrorists.
13 Mar 1989U.S. FDA inspectors in Philadelphia discover two grapes laced with minimal amounts of cyanide in shipment from Chile following warning telephoned to U.S. embassy in Santiago.
18 Apr 1989child maimed by bomb in toothpaste tube in K-Mart store in Indianapolis, IN; apparently teenage perpetrator commits suicide 20 April.
19 Apr 1989explosion in gun turrent of battleship U.S.S. Iowa off Puerto Rico kills 47; Navy cites some evidence of sabotage.
21 Aug 1989gas canister in parcel explodes at NAACP regional office in Atlanta; 15 injured.
17 Dec 1989Judge Robert Vance killed by mail bomb, wife injured, in Mountain Brook, AL.
18 Dec 1989black civil rights lawyer Robert Robinson killed by mail bomb in Savannah, GA.
25 Mar 1990arson fire kills 87 in New York City social club.
24 May 1990two Earth First! members injured while transporting bomb in car.
5 Nov 1990Rabbi Meir Kahane assassinated in New York by Al-Sayyid Abdulazziz Nossair.
1992Mustafa Shalabi killed in Brooklyn by Islamic group members.
Mar 1992Minnesota Patriots Council plots to assassinate law enforcement officials using ricin.
26 Mar 1992Parivash Rafizadeh, wife of former senior officer in Iranian Shah's SAVAK, shot in Franklin Lakes, NJ, near her home.
19 Apr 1992federal marshals in shootout with white supremacist Randy Weaver in Idaho kill his wife and son.
27 Apr-2 May 1992black riots in Los Angeles, CA, following not guilty verdict in trial of four policemen for beating black offender; 58 killed.
25 Jan 1993Mir Amail Kansi, an Afghan Islamist, shot several CIA employees in cars in front of CIA headquarters in Langley, VA; 2 killed and 3 injured.
26 Feb 1993bombing at World Trade Center, New York City, NY; truck bomb in basement parking garage started fire; 5 Islamic suspects arrested in March; 6 killed, 1,040 injured; damages estimated at $550 million to $1.1 billion.
28 Feb 1993Branch Davidian cult members kill 4 ATF agents, injure 16, when agents raided their compound in Waco, TX; 10 cult members killed; compound was seiged until 19 Apr when cult leader David Koresh burned the compound following another attempted raid; total 76 killed.
10 Mar 1993Abortionist David Gunn shot and killed in Pensacola, FL, by abortion opponent.
Jul 1993FBI arrests skinheads planning to machine gun worshippers at First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles in hopes of starting a race war.
25 Aug 1993Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman indicted for conspiracy in the World Trade Center bombing and for plotting to bomb the United Nations building, a tunnel, and other New York targets.
14 Dec 1993Colin Ferguson shot and killed 6, injured 17 on Long Island, NY, train, professing hatred of whites.
26 Apr 1994mail bomb kills man in Colorado Springs, CO, and injures his wife.
29 Jul 1994abortion opponent shot and killed abortionist and his bodyguard and injured abortionist's wife in Pensacola, FL.
12 Sep 1994Frank Corder flew Cessna from MD into White House, striking tree near President's bedroom, killing himself and causing damage to White House.
29 Oct 1994lone gunman with semi-automatic weapon fires shots at White House from sidewalk in front on Pennsylvania Avenue.
30 Dec 1994gunman kills 2 abortion clinic workers in MA, then drives to Norfolk, VA, and fires on clinic before arrest.
10 Dec 1994Unabomber mail bomb kills New York advertising executive Thomas Mosser in North Caldwell, NJ.
1995members of right-wing group arrested with biological agents.
19 Apr 1995truck bombing partially destroys federal building in Oklahoma City, OK; 168 killed, 432 injured; prime suspect believed motivated by anti-federal government views; possibility of bombs emplaced in building alleged by some.
24 Apr 1995Unabomber mail bomb kills Gilbert Murray, president of California Forestry Assn., at office.
May 1995man with unloaded gun scales White House fence; jumper and Secret Service agent shot and injured by another guard.
29 Jun 1995Unabomber threatens to blow up an airliner.
12 Sep 1995car bomb kills 5 at shopping mall in Essex, MD, in apparent murder plot.
10 Oct 1995Amtrak train derailed near Hyder, AZ, by sabotage to tracks with nearby note claiming responsibility by Sons of Gestapo, later attributed to railroad employee; 1 killed, 100 injured.
23 Dec 1995Thomas Lewis Lavy arrested in Arkansas for possession of ricin, a biotoxin; Lavy commits suicide the next day.
Jun 1996several individuals arrested in New York planning to kill Republican officials; seized weapons included radioactive materials.
27 Jul 1996pipe bomb explodes in park at night concert at Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, GA; 1 killed, 1 died nearby of heart attack, 110 injured.
2 Jan 1997letter bombs received at Egyptian newspaper offices in Washington, DC, New York City, and a prison in Leavenworth Kansas; similar device exploded at Egyptian newspaper office in London, UK, injuring 2 guards.
Feb 1997James Dalton Bell allegedly investigates toxins for use in assassinating government officials.
22 Feb 1997bomb explodes in Atlanta, GA, nightclub frequented by homosexuals; 4 injured.
23 Feb 1997Lone Palestinian gunman fired on tourists on observation deck of Empire State Building, New York City; Danish national was killed and other tourists injured before gunman killed himself.
26 Mar 1997discovery of mass suicide by 39 members of Heaven's Gate cult in Rancho Santa Fe, CA, tied by cult members to Comet Hale-Bopp.
Apr 1997Counter Holocaust Lobbyists of Zion mails package falsely claiming to contain anthrax.
1998several abortion clinics contaminated with foul-smelling chemicals.
29 Jan 1998bombing at abortion clinic in Birmingham, AL, kills one guard and injures a nurse; Eric Rudolph suspected in case.
Jul 1998three indivduals arrested in or near Olmito, TX, allegedly plotting to assassinate government officials with biotoxins.
24 Jul 1998gunman enters U.S. Capitol building in Washington, DC, and kills two guards; one tourist and the gunman are injured.


Summary:
total listed terrorist acts in the United States resulting in fatalities through September 2000: 66
total fatalities in these incidents: 415


SOURCES:


© 2000, 2008 by Wm. Robert Johnston.
Last modified 25 January 2008.
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