Three Of The Boys Together
Something Didn’t Feel Quite Right
As the boys looked out across the parking lot, they saw that there was a young woman walking towards them. She was flanked by two men who seemed to be much older than her. They could tell that the girl was drunk, or under the influence of some substance, and the men were treating her harshly, with one in particular being pretty rough. While this scene wasn’t that concerning in and of itself, the boys realized something else was off with the girl.
Something Didn´t Feel Quite Right
A Huge Building
The building of the Chinook Mall actually began in 1960, as the city of Calgary expanded, and there was need for such a complex. It was designed as an open complex, surrounded by other facilities like a public library, bowling alley, and other already extant department stores. The building has since been renovated twice, and is now a huge structure, which has a massive variety of shops inside, as well as a food court and movie theatre.
The Chinook Center
Things Began to Escalate Quickly
The teenagers have been asked about the event and what led them to try to intervene. Carsyn Wright, one of the boys, stated that he remembers that “she was screaming and yelling. She just wanted to be out of there.”
They Confronted The Men
Things Didn’t Seem Right
This led the four boys to wonder what was happening between her and the men, and how well she actually knew them, as well as to fear for her safety. The boys decided to stop the men, and ask them just what was going on.
Things Didn’t Seem Right
The Men Tried to Explain Everything
When the boys confronted the two men, the larger one tried to dispel their concerns, telling them that the girl was his daughter. He said that she had been at a party, and that she had clearly been drinking too much, so he had come to take her home so that she could sober up. The girl didn’t say anything to contradict the explanation, so it seemed to be believable. However, the boys still felt something was off…
He Said He Was Her Father
They Wanted To Believe Him
After hearing out the mysterious man’s explanation, the boys tried to accept what he’d told them and thought about heading home, as it was getting late. Since the girl had not disputed what he had said, they thought that he was probably telling the truth, and that they shouldn’t involve themselves in the situation any further. However, they still could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. They decided not to leave just yet.
They Wanted To Believe Him
The Boys Weighed The Situation
The boys ruminated on the situation together. Since the girl seemed very intoxicated, it was possible that she hadn’t disputed the claims of the man because she was actually not able to. The man’s demeanor was also concerning, as he had seemed fairly arrogant and did not carry himself in the way that they thought a father generally would. Then, they realized something that made them begin to seriously worry.
They Weighed The Situation
They Tried to Let it Go
Initially, the boys tried to just go home and forget about the whole thing. It was late, and they had their own responsibilities and lives to get on with. However, as they skated home, they discussed the situation and decided that they ultimately couldn’t leave her to fend for herself. They ended up turning around and returning to where they had left the girl and the men to reassess and see if she needed help.
Skating Outside
It Got Worse and Worse
While they looked on, they saw that the girl did, indeed, look dirty, and that it seemed she had been struggling against the men in some way for a long time. While she continued to try to resist, the bigger man seemed to grow tired of her protesting, and picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.
The Exterior Of The Chinook Center
A Third Man Appeared
While this all happened, a third man also came into the picture, which scared the boys even further. This was all getting to be too much. It seemed very bizarre that this girl, in her state, would be on her own with three men. There was no way they could walk away as if nothing that happened.
A Third Man Appeared
Needing To Help
They started to feel more and more strongly that the girl was in some grave danger, and that it was their responsibility to do whatever they could to help her out of the situation she was in. But how would they do it? Would they be endangering themselves in the process?
Needing To Help
They Wanted to Intervene
As they watched, the boys thought they would probably need to come up with some type of plan. It really seemed obvious at this point that the girl was not happy nor comfortable with the situation at all, and that the men were not there to look out for her or to help her.
A Skateboarder
But They Also Tried to Be Optimistic
Although they wanted to help the girl and felt she was in danger, they have also explained that they didn’t necessarily immediately think something illegal was going on. One of the boys, Wright, has elaborated on this, stating that, “…you don’t want to really think of the worst in somebody like that. You don’t want that situation to be real, so you just brush it off and hope for the best.”
They Tried To Be Optimistic
Into Thin Air
When the boys finally returned to the parking lot, they found that the girl and the three men had seemingly vanished. They searched high and low for them, initially without being able to find anything from or of them. They began to grow very anxious….
The Chinook Center Parking Lot
Where Were They?
The boys were initially at a loss. Where had they men gone with the girl? However, they quickly cottoned on to the fact that they would need to go and look inside the parking lot for the girl if they were to help her, so that’s exactly what they ended up doing.
Where Were They?
This Was All a Sign of Something Bigger
While the boys valiantly intended simply to help out this girl in her hour of need, they didn’t grasp at the time that they were unintentionally getting themselves involved in something bigger and much more sinister than what they thought. There was a lot more to the situation they had found themselves in than had met the eye initially, and they were going to find this out whether they wanted to or not.
Part Of A Bigger Problem
They Had Thwarted the Cops, Time After Time
The events of this fateful night were occurring during, and were directly related to, a spike in organized crime in Calgary, and the men involved were some of the key players. A local policeman, Officer Arthur Doner, had been tasked with investigating these crimes and trying to get to the bottom of the situation, but his efforts so far had proved fruitless. The boys did not realize that they had gotten themselves involved with some dangerous men!
Officer Doner And His Colleague
The Boys Were Just There to Have Fun
Because they had been in the parking lot that day themselves, the boys knew that there were no security guards on duty at the time- this was the reason they had been able to skateboard and goof off together. While this was great fun for them, it also meant that the men they had been following were able to get up to some truly despicable behavior in that same building.
In The Parking Lot
But There is Some Evidence, Thanks to Big Brother
Even though there was no security on that evening, luckily there was still CCTV recording happening inside the parking lot, so footage from that night can give evidence about what exactly happened. If not, who knows what could have ended up happening.
Thanks To Big Brother
The Footage Doesn’t Lie
The men and girl were captured by the cameras, and the tape shows the two men walking around in the parking lot, apparently looking for something. Eventually, they find an entrance to a stairwell, and they go in, taking the girl with them.
The Footage Doesn’t Lie
The Heroic Boys Continued Searching for the Girl
Against their better judgement, the boys entered into the parking lot and continued their search for the girl. It seemed to be unusually quiet and empty on that day, which should have meant it would be easy to find the men and the girl if they were actually inside the car park. Still, the boys couldn’t see the group anywhere, but they quickly came across the stairwell and entered.
They Kept Searching For Her
Down They Went…
The boys stood outside the stairwell and took a second to brace themselves for what they might find in there. One of the skaters, Arnaud, told the others to prepare for anything, because at this point, they had no idea what they should expect when they went down there.
The Stairwell
Anything Could Be Waiting Behind The Door
Then, he opened the door, and they entered. While they wanted to try to be ready for anything, it really wouldn’t have been possible for them to truly prepare for what they found in the stairwell.
Up And Down Way In Parking Garage Interior Warm Lights In Dark
A Moment That Will Haunt Them
In the parking lot, the boys had done their utmost to find the group. They had searched high and low, under cars and in corners, but they couldn’t find a single trace of them until they decided that they should search the stairwell. When they did, it took a lot of courage for them to enter, because they truly did not know what to expect. What they ended up finding was truly horrific to witness.
Descending Further Into The Stairwell
The Descent Into Darkness
Finally, the boys entered into the stairwell and began to climb the steps down into the basement. It took a while, but they came to a corner, and when they rounded it, they found something truly shocking. They saw the girl and the two men, who had claimed that they were there to look after her and make sure she was safe, taking advantage of her. The boys resolved in that moment to take action.
The Scene Of The Crime
Then They Immediately Took Action
When they realized what they were seeing, the boys were shocked and paralyzed momentarily by fear and horror. However, they quickly sprang into action, telling the men to stop and running to separate them from the girl.
They Took Action
The Boys’ Bravery
The men were furious, as they had no idea the boys had followed them down there, and they were unaccustomed to being told what to do. The boys just couldn’t leave her, though, so they did everything they could to stop the men in their tracks.
The Boys’ Bravery
They Weren’t Sorry
When recounting the events of that night, Arnaud noted that the men seemed smug about what they had done, as if they didn’t think that they would be stopped, but the boys had other plans. They knew they had to stop at nothing to put the two men away.
They Weren’t Sorry
The Men Tried to Just Walk Away
While the two men had not expected that they would be stopped by anybody, they acted as though they had done nothing wrong and tried to just walk away from the whole situation as if nobody could do anything to stop them.
They Tried To Run
The Hunters Become the Hunted
Quickly, the men realized that they were being chased by three of the boys as they tried to walk away from the parking lot. While one of them stayed with the girl to comfort her and make sure she was ok, the other boys started running to catch the men and ended up pursuing them all over the streets. Eventually, the men realized they had nowhere else to run, and that the boys were going to catch up with them.
The Pursuit Continued
Officer Doner’s Timing Was Perfect
During the chase, Officer Doner was himself getting ready to come out to assist the boys and arrest the men he had been trying to catch for so long. He had been informed by that one of the men he had been keeping watch on had been seen in public near the parking lot, and so Doner left his police station to go and intercept the men while they tried to escape the scene of their crime.
Perfect Timing
In Hot Pursuit
Officer Doner had been attempting to catch these two criminals for such a long time- this was a crucial moment both for him and for Calgary. He ran to his car, leaped in, and drove as fast as he could to the place the man had supposedly been spotted.
Doner Was in Hot Pursuit
The Pivotal Moment
As Doner pulled in, he used his radio to ask for backup in dealing with the dangerous men, but it didn’t take long before Doner spotted the ringleader out in the open. This was the moment he had been preparing for all this time.
The Pivotal Moment
The Battle Begins
The men began to realize that they wouldn’t be able to outrun the boys, and so they decided that they would instead try to fight them off, if necessary. One of the men even grabbed a skateboard from the boys, and used it in an attempt to scare them off by trying to hit them with it, but it was no use. Officer Doner was mere moments away from intercepting the group, and he had come prepared.
One Of The Boards
Officer Doner’s Timing Was Perfect, Again
Just as one of the men was about to strike with the skateboard, Officer Doner leapt in out of nowhere, blindsiding the man and quickly subduing him. Finally, after such a long time, he had found the man that he had been trying to catch for months.
His Timing Was Perfect
He Got Away
In the confusion of it all, however, the second man got away and had well and truly disappeared by the time that the police backup Doner requested arrived. However, he had the ringleader in his custody, which was a huge win already.
He Got Away
The Boys Thought They Were in Trouble
Once they saw the police cars and heard the sirens, the boys decided to make a break for it themselves. They ran back to the parking lot and picked up their other friend, and then bolted home. While they had only acted out of goodwill to protect the girl, they thought they would be in trouble with the law, because they had fought with the men who attacked her.
They Feared The Worst
Their Phones Were Constantly Ringing
Things had only just begun to get crazy for the boys, as once they had all returned to their homes, they began to receive lots of phone calls. However, fearing the worst, none of them answered the calls, as they expected to be in trouble with the law for fighting with the men who had attacked the girl in the stairwell. They also feared that the men they fought with may have somehow found their details, and was calling them to threaten them for what they did.
Their Phones Were Ringing
Eventually, They Got Through to the Boys
While the boys had been declining all the calls they were receiving, they kept coming. They knew that they couldn’t ignore them forever, so they eventually decided to pick up the phone to one of the calls. They were pleasantly surprised when they answered the calls.
The Boys
They Were Being Commended
The boys realized that the calls were actually coming from the police chief, Roger Chaffin, who wanted to congratulate them for their bravery. They were pleased to be recognized in this way, but still shaken up by the whole incident.
They Were Being Commended
The Boys Had Caught a Well-known Gangster
It turned out that the man who ended up being caught by Officer Doner as a result of the boys’ bravery and actions was an especially dangerous gangster, who had been evading arrest in Calgary for a very long time.
A Well Known Gangster
The Criminal In Question
His gang was an especially dangerous one and had been responsible for an extensive list of crimes, even some murders in the Calgary area. He had been actively sought by the police for a long time at this point, but they had not been able to track him down.
The Criminal In Question
He Ended Up Snitching
Fortunately for Officer Doner, once he had found his man, the gangster was more than willing to disclose and divulge details about his gang and the other criminals he was involved with.
He Snitched
They Gathered More Information
This was exceptionally useful for the police force. It meant they became far more aware of gang activity in Calgary and were able to arrest far more people, and it was mostly down to the actions of the four skater boys!
Criminal Man With Handcuffs Being Interviewed In Interrogation R
They Were Treated Like Heroes
The boys were invited by the police force to attend the Chief’s Award Gala in order to celebrate their actions in the face of grave danger. Thanks to them, the girl’s life had been saved, and the police also had a much greater handle on the organized crime situation in Calgary.
The Boys At The Gala
Humble Heroes
The boys were very humble in their response to the honor, stating that they simply hoped that other people would help them in their time of need, if it was ever necessary. They emphasized that they were simply doing the right thing.
Humble Heroes
Serious Food for Thought
It’s hard to imagine what the boys must have been feeling when they went through their ordeal. It would have taken some tremendous courage for them to have stood up to the gangsters in the way that they did, especially chasing them after they ran in order to make sure they were caught and that justice was served to them. It’s a really inspiring example of bravery for the rest of the world to consider.
Two Of The Boys Together
They Deserve Recognition
The four boys should be named and praised for their bravery. Their names are Carsyn Wright, Arnaud Nimenya, James Hielema, and Starlyn Rivas-Perez. The boys only intended to go to the parking lot to skateboard, but ended up saving the life of the young woman who was savagely attacked by the gangsters. Like the police said, they deserve all the praise in the world for their actions, as such bravery under difficult circumstances is something a lot of people would not be able to match.
One Of The Boys With His Award
A Big Honor
The boys were rewarded with a great honor. The Calgary Police Chief’s Awards Gala is held in order to recognize brave individuals that step up and help out the community. These people exemplify exceptional behavior, often without any personal gain but in order to be good citizens.
A Big Honor
Calgary Police Chief
Roger Chaffin, Calgary Police Chief, gave a speech at the Gala. He thanks the citizens of Calgary for being so helpful, and thanked the boys for their bravery. He said, “Nobody gets their day started thinking this is going to happen to them, that they’re going to be involved in one of these things.”
Calgary Police Chief
A Similar Horror in New Jersey
It was a regular morning for New Jersey teenager, Kayla Rose, who lived in the New Jersey suburb of Irvington. She was going to take her dog, Milkshake, for a walk. Milkshake is a friendly dog, a mix of a bichon-frise and poodle, and Kayla often walked Milkshake before she went to school at Irvington High. Irvington is a pleasant city on the smaller side, with a population of 54,865.
Kayla Rose
This Really Shocked Kayla
Walking your dog can be a really helpful way to relieve stress and is a fun way to exercise. Pet ownership is meant to be one of the best ways to manage and relieve stress in people. However, this day was not at all relaxing for Kayla. As Kayla was walking her dog around their neighborhood, she heard a scratching sound coming from a car that she walked past. She was startled by this, and asked nervously ‘hello?’ She was totally shocked by what would happen next.
Kayla Rose Being Interviewed
A Man in the Car!
Kayla was floored when she heard a voice replying to her from inside the car. The man yelled to her ‘is there anybody that can help me?’ Kayla was really afraid, but knew she had to do something to help the man inside the car. She decided to get her mom to call the emergency services, who would be able to help the man better than she could. She stayed there to wait for them, and make sure they came and would help the man inside the car to get out.
Kayla And Her Mom
They Got Him Out
The emergency services arrived, and some firefighters were there to help the man escape from the car. The firefighters forced open the trunk of the car, using a jimmy. Finally, they were able to get the trunk open, and the man was helped out of the car. His wrists were actually bound together with duct tape, and he was wearing a hoodie and sweatpants. He was really shaken up, but grateful for the men for helping him out.
He Was In The Trunk
He Had a Startling Story
Though the man was shaken, he was able to talk to police once they also arrived at the scene. He said that he carjacked some 12 hours earlier the previous day, and had had to stay in the car overnight in freezing conditions- it got down to 10 degrees or so, and freezing wind would have made it feel even colder for him. This would have been a terrible ordeal, and the man was really grateful that Kayla helped him to escape.
Freezing Conditions
The Man Needed Immediate Medical Attention
Because of his time spent inside the car, it was necessary that the man was taken to the hospital straight away, especially because of the cold conditions that he had experienced while he was tied up inside the trunk of the car. He was quickly taken to the hospital in an ambulance after being let out of his car. Kayla’s mother told her daughter that she is a hero, and probably saved his life.
He Went In An Ambulance
America Experiences Its Fair Share of Violent Crime
There is, unfortunately, a good deal of violent crime that happens in the USA. While it is certainly not the most dangerous country in the world, violent crime happens at a considerably higher rate than some other western countries, like Australia, Germany, and the UK. This is due to a diverse range of factors, like perhaps a higher rate of poverty in the USA than in other Western countries, and different laws and punishments surrounding violent crime.
America Has Its Share Of Crime
Seattle is a City with a Shady History
Despite being situated in perhaps one of the most beautiful parts of the USA, Washington, Seattle is a city with a history of some seriously disturbing acts of violence. Though it has only a population of 700,000, it is the biggest city both in the Pacific Northwest and in Washington. Here are some of the most fascinating and shocking crimes that have happened in the little city on America’s West Coast.
Seattle Washington
The Kidnapping of George Weyerhaeuser
The Weyerhaeusers were a family who had been very successful in the lumber industry. Their son, George, went to school in Tacoma, but one day, when he was on the way home from school, he vanished. The family were worried- especially when they received a letter later that day, demanding $200,000 in ransom from them. The money had to be in unmarked bills, and had to arrive within five days- otherwise, George’s parents could expect the worst.
A Young George Weyerhaueser
Jumping Through Hoops for the Kidnappers
In the ransom note, it was written that the parents had to communicate with the kidnappers by posting ads in the personals section of one of the local newspapers, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The parents were also told that the father had to check in at a hotel in Seattle, the Ambassador Hotel, under a false name, and to wait for further instructions or communications from the kidnappers. They had no choice if they wanted their son to survive.
The Kidnappers
They Finally Got Their Boy Back
Some days later, George’s father was in touch with the kidnappers, and he was told that he had to drive along Highway 99, then pull over and walk out of his car backwards, with the ransom money left inside the car. He did this, and his son George was soon after released by the kidnappers. While he was overwhelmingly glad to have his son back, it was obviously not acceptable for the family to have experienced such trauma, and so they went to the authorities to help them to catch the criminals.
Highway 99
It Didn’t Take Long to Find Them
The local authorities and the FBI got involved with the case. They decided to try to track down the criminals however possible, and one of the ways they tried to go about doing this was by using the serial numbers on the ransom money that George’s father paid them. This worked, and they were able to hunt down the men who had kidnapped George and held him to ransom.
The FBI Found Them
Just Who Were These Terrible Men?
As it turns out, the kidnappers were actually just two young men; William Dainard and Harmon Waley, as well as one of their wives. They had actually met originally in prison at the Idaho State Penitentiary. They were ultimately sentenced to 135 years in prison collectively, and George managed to overcome the trauma of this terrible experience to eventually become the chairman of the board at his family’s lumber company.
They Went to Prison
A Harsh Reality
The unfortunate and brutal reality is that these types of situations are all too common in the United States. Sadly, the data just from 2018 indicates that 734,630 people have reported attempted, threats, or completed acts of sexual assault against them in the United States. On average, every 73 seconds, someone in the U.S. is a victim of this type of assault.
A Harsh Reality
Young People Are At A Higher Risk
The truth is that many of these assaults happen to younger people. In fact, children and young adults between the ages of 12 to 34 are in the highest risk category, with over 60% of cases happening to victims belonging to that age group.
Young People Are At A Higher Risk
Women Are Targeted
Women are at a higher risk of being assaulted, as the numbers indicate. 1 in 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed assaults of this nature. Since 1998, 17.7 million women have been victims of sexual assault. However, that does not mean that men and boys are not victims as well.
Young Woman Walking Alone On The Streets At Night
Men And Boys
Just because women are more likely to be the target of these types of assaults, that does not mean that men do not experience this as well. Of the entire population, 3%, which comes out to 1 out of 33, of American males have been the victims of sexual assault.
Men And Boys
Long Term Effects
The fact of the matter is, victims of these kind of attacks often experience long term effects from their experiences. These include PTSD, high rates of contemplated and/or attempted suicide, severe distress, and an increased chance of partaking in illicit substances as a means of coping.
Long Term Effects
Not Isolated Incidents
As is often the case with this sort of crime, the offenders frequently have committed these acts on multiple occasions. Often this type of criminal behavior is a pattern, and unfortunately that means that until the perpetrators are caught, there are often multiple victims.
Not Isolated Incidents
Serial Criminals
This leads to criminals who will terrorize many people until they are caught. Often, these criminals are very elusive and will find clever ways to hide from the police or FBI for long periods of time. That was the case with Ted Bundy.
Serial Criminals
One of the Most Notorious Serial Killers
Ted Bundy is one of the most notorious serial killers in human history. He was originally from Seattle, though he committed his crimes across a handful of states, even in places like Utah and Florida in some cases. He studied law, and was generally a well-presented man, which made it easier for him to gain the trust of his potential victims. He would often pretend to be hurt and needing help, or an authority figure, which would make the women he preyed on lower their guard.
Ted Bundy
A Ruthless Murderer
Once Bundy had gained the trust of a woman, he would generally distract them somehow, and then strike them with a weapon. This meant that they were caught off guard, and usually not able to fight off at all. Once he had successfully this done this, he would usually take them somewhere away from the city, like into a forest, and assault and murder them. He tended to leave the women in the woods after he had committed his act, so that they were hard to find.
He Earned Their Trust
Finally Off the Streets
As luck would have it, the police randomly found Bundy during a routine traffic stop in Utah in 1975. After he was court, he was on trial for years and years, before he was eventually sentenced to death in 1980. He stayed on death row for 9 years, and during this time he gave detailed recounts of his actions to the authorities. Eventually he was executed, and he requested that his ashes would be spread in the Cascades, a mountain range in North America.
Off The Streets
Bundy Was an Escape Artist
Part of the reason that Bundy’s trials went on for so long was that he was able to escape from jail several times. Bundy was an intelligent man, and very skilled when it came to manipulating people. During his trial, Bundy was his own legal representation, and this meant that he was allowed to not wear handcuffs or chains during his trial. At one point, while there was a break in the trial, Bundy was able to jump out of a window at the courthouse, and fled into the nearby mountains.
Into The Mountains
He May Have Been Freed
Bundy walked around in the mountains for days before growing tired and weak and returning to civilization, where he was spotted by police and returned to jail. It seemed that the case against him was actually fairly weak, because much of the evidence that was to be used had been dismissed as inadmissible. Had he stayed in jail and been patient, it is actually possible that Bundy may have been allowed to walk free and the charges against him dropped.
Bundy Escorted By Police
But Bundy Was Not a Patient Man
While he knew it was possible that he may be freed, Bundy chose instead of try to escape again. He made up a plan of the prison, and also got a saw blade from another inmate. He had many visitors, who he got to smuggle money in for him, and eventually accumulated around $500. While other inmates were in the shower, Bundy would spend time slowly sawing a hole in the bars in the ceiling of his cell.
Bundy In Aspen
He Actually Pulled it Off
Bundy waited until the right moment- around Christmas, many of the inmates in the prison he was held in had been sent on furlough to spend time with their families, and many of the prison staff were on holidays for the Christmas period. Bundy took this moment to make his escape, and crawled through the whole he had made into the crawl space above his cell. He fell through the ceiling into the apartment of the chief jailer, who was out at the time with his wife. Bundy changed into a normal pair of clothes and simply walked out of the prison!
Ted Bundy Mugshot
Chased Across the USA
After his escape, Bundy traveled to Michigan, and tragically decided to resume his crime spree there. He continued in this way in Tallahassee, but eventually was found by the police there after traveling around Florida for some time. He had run out of money by this point, and was arrested as he crossed the border between Florida and Alabama. They did not realize they had actually arrested Ted Bundy at the time, though- they had only stopped him because they knew his car was stolen.
Another Bundy Mugshot
The Killer of the Green River
Another killer from Seattle was Gary Ridgway, who the media had nicknamed the Green River Killer. He was responsible for many disappearances of teenagers and women around and along Highway 99 in the state. Many of them were later found floating in the Green River.
The Green River Killer
They Eventually Got Him
The police eventually arrested him, and said that DNA evidence was crucial in catching the man. He confessed to murdering 48 women, a huge number, and will thankfully be in jail for the rest of his days.
They Eventually Got Him
Targeted By Arsonists for Something He Didn’t Do
The University of Washington was the target of arson, committed by environmental activists from the group Earth Liberation Front. They said that one of the professors there had genetically engineered a tree, and so they broke into the Center for Urban Horticulture and left a bomb in one of the filing cabinets in the building. The fire that they started caused a whopping $7 million in damages, and burned for 2 hours before being put out.
The Building After The Fire
The Professor
Tony Bradshaw was the professor targeted by the arsonists, and they accused him of genetically engineering trees. He claimed that his techniques and research were actually hybridization, which has been used for a long time in his field.
The University Of Washington
A Huge Blow To His Work
It turned out in the end that he had not actually genetic engineered the trees in the way that the arsonists thought. The fire burned much of the professor’s work, which was stored in the filing cabinets. It also destroyed many plant samples that were stored inside the building.
A Huge Blow To His Work
Operation Backfire
UW eventually opened a new building to replace the old Center for Urban Horticulture, and the activists responsible for the bomb were all arrested and taken into custody shortly thereafter. Four of the five activists were sent to prison for their actions, but the Earth Liberation Front has continued to operate and carry out similar acts. The FBI has been closely monitoring the group for a while as part of an investigation called Operation Backfire.
More Of The ELF’s Arson
