Expert Profiles Mailbox Bomber

By CAROL ANN RIHA
.c The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (May 4) - The note found accompanying pipe bombs in rural mailboxes in three Midwestern states reflects a writer who is angry with the government and appears to be either working alone or in a very small group, a former FBI profiler said Saturday.

Eight bombs were found Friday in eastern Iowa and western Illinois, including six that exploded and injured six people. On Saturday, five more bombs appeared in central Nebraska mailboxes; none exploded.

''Attention people ...'' the note says. ''If the government controls what you want to do, they control what you can do.''

It was signed, ''Someone Who Cares.''

''This is someone whose thinking ... whose anger, sense of frustration is so strong, that he doesn't care who else is injured because he feels his message is so important,'' said Clint Van Zandt, who started his own behavioral analysis company after a 25-year career with the FBI that include leading the team credited with identifying the Unabomber.

Van Zandt believes the bomber may have written to his local newspaper or the government with his grievances and felt ignored.

''This guy didn't just fall off of a turnip truck. This is a guy who is angry with government,'' Van Zandt said.

Nothing in the note indicates the writer was a woman, a foreigner or anyone whose primary language is not English, he said. The use of the phrase ''attention getter'' seems to indicate the writer is older, and other aspects indicate the writer may have mental health problems.

Looking at the timing of the bombings, he said, ''we're drawn to April 15th. This is someone who may well have some tax protest issues.''

On Saturday, FBI special agent Jim Bogner invited the bomber to contact the FBI with his grievances.

''We want to assure him he has our attention and we want to understand what the situation is,'' Bogner said. ''It's a much better option to exercise than planting bombs and injuring people who have nothing to do with these grievances.''

FBI officials have not said whether they think the bombings in Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska were the work of a single individual or a group.

The first bombs appeared in a jagged circle around the Mississippi River, between Dubuque and Davenport. One person driving the route in one night ''would be a very doable thing,'' said Jon Petersen, an agent with Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms.

Van Zandt said the geography of the bombs found Saturday in Nebraska indicated it would have been easier to plant them with help.

''I would suggest it's either one person or a small, small group of participants, people who have known each other for a long time or shared distrust of the government, tax issues, health issues, land use, grazing rights - all of these would be consistent.''

That the bombs were planted overnight indicates they likely were not targeted at rural residents but rather at the mail carriers, Van Zandt said.

''It's his believe we wouldn't go to the mailbox until the mailman got there,'' he said. ''You know if he comes at noon every day, so there's no use in going out at 8 a.m. His target is either the post office itself or mail carriers as representatives of the government.''

Van Zandt believes the bomber may have used phrases similar to those in the note in his conversations with others.

''This person who did the bombings, or he and his group of friends are going to be known by those around them ... as people who have railed against the government,'' he said. ''I think the FBI will be asking people to come forward and share what they know.''

Van Zandt said the series of bombings probably would not continue for long.

''I don't see this as keep happening day after day after day,'' he said. ''They will make a small number of devices and then do that and hope that the fear, like in the case of the anthrax letter, which is probably their model, will continue.''

Quoted:
SNormanm - I couldn't agree more.  This profiling stuff has been so hyped by TV .. but it remains a pseudo-science.

This bomber guy could just as easily be:

a multiple personality that works for the post office

someone that works for a large government organization or contractor at has always gotten "passed over"

someone that got into trouble or feels troubled by the IRS

could be anyone... and what's this "he will have used these phrases in conversation with others" junk ...

*sigh*

Ryan

Nothing in the note indicates the writer was a woman, a foreigner or anyone whose primary language is not English, he said. The use of the phrase ''attention getter'' seems to indicate the writer is older, and other aspects indicate the writer may have mental health problems.

I'm here to help you realize/ understand that you will live no matter what! It is up to you people to open your hearts and minds. There is no such thing as death. The people I've dismissed from this reality are not at all dead.

Conforming to the boundaries, and restrictions imposed by the government only reduces the substance in your lives. When 1% of the nation controls 99% of the nations total wealth, is it a wonder why there are control problems?

The United States strives to provide freedom for their people. Do we really have personal freedom? I've lived here for many years, and I see much limitation. Does the definition of freedom include limitation? I've learned about the history of various civilizations in history, and I see more and more limitation. Do you people enjoy this trend of limitation? If not, change it!

As long as you are uninformed about death you will continue to say "how high", when the government tells you to "jump". As long as the government is uninformed about death they will continue tell you to "jump" Is the government uninformed about death, or are they pretending?

Quoted:
...In that it could fit about half the members of AR15.com, not to mention snip

Originally Posted By rallywagon
They give this guy credit for IDing the Unabomber?

Little hint, Over 9 years the FEDS tried to find him. It was his brother that "ID'd" him, Not this yahoo.

Quoted:
I would disagree on the foreigner part, but I do agree with the mental health part.

said Clint Van Zandt, who started his own behavioral analysis company after a 25-year career with the FBI that include leading the team credited with identifying the Unabomber

FBI: Colo. Pipe Bomb Linked to Others

By COLLEEN SLEVIN
.c The Associated Press

SALIDA, Colo. (May 7) - An FBI official said a pipe bomb found in a Colorado mailbox Monday appeared linked to 16 others found in three Midwestern states, raising concerns that the domestic terrorism spree is spreading West.

''We have a rather disturbing pattern where the subjects are moving West rather quickly,'' FBI agent Mark Mershon said. ''We're looking for someone who is mobile. We're moving mountains to determine who that is.''

A resident found the device in a sandwich bag with a piece of folded paper in the small mountain community of Salida, about 100 miles southwest of Denver. It did not explode.

''The device is consistent in description and appearance with 16 other devices recovered since Friday in Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska,'' Mershon said.

He said the fact that the other devices were found in clusters makes authorities fear that more bombs may be delivered in the area. Postal carriers near Salida have been told not to deliver materials to any closed mailbox but that they could deliver to the home's front door.

Mershon said he hadn't seen the paper inside with the device, so he didn't know whether it was similar to the anti-government letter found with the other devices.

A bomb squad from the Colorado Springs Police Department took the bomb. It wasn't clear whether police planned to detonate it.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms spokesman Rich Marianos said a second Colorado pipe bomb was found late Monday in a field about 35 miles east of Salida. He said it did not fit the characteristics of the other devices.

Also Monday, another mailbox bomb was found in rural Nebraska. It was the eighth discovered in the state and the 16th in the Midwest since last week.

Six people were injured by mailbox pipe bombs in Illinois and Iowa on Friday. None of the injuries were considered life-threatening.

The latest Nebraska pipe bomb was found near Hastings in the mailbox of someone who had been away for the weekend, authorities said. It did not explode. There was no immediate word on whether it was accompanied by the same anti-government note found with the other devices.

The explosive was disarmed Monday evening by Nebraska State Patrol bomb technicians after it was removed from the rural Clay County mailbox by a robot. Authorities had detonated the other Nebraska bombs.

There have been no arrests in the case.

The FBI said Monday that the first 15 bombs clearly come from the same source, but officials have not said whether they are searching for an individual or a group.

That the bombs were planted overnight indicates they likely were not targeted at rural residents but rather at the mail carriers, Van Zandt said.

Quoted:
I'd bet they're pretty close.  I would *love* to see the full profile report, as I thinkyou would be as well.  We'll see how close they are.

Quoted:
Boy, this profiling crap is almost as amusing as Miss Cleo.  As pointed out by RallyWagon and Magic, this numbnuts did not catch the Unabomber.  Perhaps the Unabubba in Atlanta.  (Remember him?)

A resident found the device in a sandwich bag with a piece of folded paper

Quoted:


Also remember the Amtrak sabotage incident in Arizona and the Anthrax mailings.  No one has been caught from either of those incidents.

The "unsolved" file is getting a little thick

''This is someone whose thinking ... whose anger, sense of frustration is so strong, that he doesn't care who else is injured because he feels his message is so important,'' said Clint Van Zandt, who started his own behavioral analysis company after a 25-year career with the FBI that include leading the team credited with identifying the Unabomber.

...

The use of the phrase ''attention getter'' seems to indicate the writer is older

FBI Hunts for Pipe-Bomb Suspect  
Bureau Seeking 21-Year-Old College Student for Questioning

By BETSY BLANEY
.c The Associated Press

AMARILLO, Texas (May 7) - The FBI said Tuesday it was searching for a 21-year-old college student in connection with a wave of pipe bombs found in rural mailboxes.

Luke John Helder was seen driving a gray Honda Accord with Minnesota license plates, investigators said. Helder turned 21 on Sunday, according to a check of public records.

Helder is ''a person of interest that we would like to question in connection with the series of pipe bombs found throughout the Midwest,'' FBI agent Jim Bogner told reporters in Omaha, Neb.

The announcement came a day after a pipe bomb was discovered in a rural mailbox in Amarillo with a letter attached. The device was similar to the 17 pipe bombs found in four other states, the FBI said.

Earlier, Bill Morgan, a police spokesman in Lubbock, Texas, said an all-points bulletin described Helder as armed and dangerous.

Bogner, however, said he could not confirm that Helder had a gun.

Bogner said Helder is believed to be somewhere in Texas.

Earlier, Bill Morgan, a police spokesman in Lubbock, Texas, said an all-points bulletin described Helder as armed and dangerous.

Bogner, however, said he could not confirm that Helder had a gun.