astronaut john hauser is nearly killed when he picks up a parcel left in a computer room on the uc- uc-berkeley campus. >> and exploded. blew my arm off to the side hike this and the first thing i thought was, why did they do that? >> reporter: six months later, a package mailed to the home of a university of michigan psychology professor explodes when research assistant nicholas sawino opens it. sawino sustains burns and shrapnel wounds. the professor suffers some hearing loss. one month later, on december 11th, 1985, the unabomber claims his first fatality with his 11th bomb. computer rental store owner hugh scrutton is killed when he picks up what appears to be a piece of scrap wood. metal shrapnel penetrates his heart, and tears off his right hand.
it. i should throw it away, somebody will step on it. but as i bent down to pick it up, this was a slight click and instantly, i could feel this huge pressure in my chest like almost a crushing pressure. and i heard what sounded like a fighter jet going over. at that point, i didn't know that it had been a bomb. what i honestly thought is that someone had shot me with a shotgun. i began to think i may not make it. >> the explosion has severed nerves in wright's left arm and impaled more than 200 pieces of shrapnel in his body. investigators quickly determine that gary wright has just become the latest victim of the unabomber. a shadowy figure who has been engaged in a campaign of terror across the country for nine years. >> the case we caught uthat bomb actually began in may of 1978 and continued until the last bomb was delivered in the u.s. mail in april of 1995.
ensure that any evidence they obtain is admissible in court. but they are also in a race against time. >> now, there was some real urgency because we knew this is the primary time over the years that the unabomber had hit the road, and started mailing devices. so we were very concerned while we are trying to put all of this together, he could actually get out, get on a bus, and go and deliver another bomb. >> reporter: then, just as the task force is putting its plan in place, word leaks out and kicks the operation into overdrive. >> director of the fbi and said we have information about who your unabomb suspect is. he is a guy in montana in a cabin and louie said, wait, give us 24 hours. >> cbs news told the fbi director we had planned on going to the air tonight with this information. they said well we can hold off unless the competition finds out. >> reporter: with the clock ticking, the authorities close
this bomb contains a clue that had become known as the unabomber's signature -- a metal plate stamped with the letters "fc." >> fc became one of the standard ways of us being able to tie in one bombing with another. and over the years, became one of the giveaways that this was a unabomb device. >> but the fc signature shed no light on the identity of the unabomber or even if he was only one person. >> throughout the investigation, one of the main questions was is this a lone actor? or is there a group involved? there wasn't clear evidence, one way or the other, for quite a while. >> reporter: finally, on february 20th, 1987, investigators got their rst break with the gary wright bombing. >> one of my employees had actually seen a person place this device outside in the parking lot about 25 minutes prior to when i arrived. he stared at her, emotionless, and once he was done pulling the
kaczynski was already on a bus on his way to deliver the package for sending to his next victim. >> reporter: on april 24th, just five days after oklahoma city, a mail bomb killed gilbert murray, president of the california forestry association, a timber industry lobbying group. in an earlier incarnation, the group had been targeted by radical environmentalists. >> a bomb that was sent to the forestry association was actually sent to his predecessor -- a man named william dennison. but he had retired and mr. murray had replaced him. the unabomber was very proud of himself. it didn't matter that his bomb had killed the wrong man. they were engaged in the same kind of work, which was anti-environment, in his opinion. and so, it was okay. >> i had been to a number of bomb scenes over my career, and the last one in sacramento was probably one of the more horrific. the shrapnel is usually what maims or kills the victim. most of the cases -- nails,
and during that time, the unabomber placed or mailed 16 devices. >> reporter: the first device explodes at northwestern university just north of chicago. disguised as an ordinary package, the bomb inflicts mor injuries on a university police officer. a year later, northwestern is hit a second time when another package detonates on campus, graduate student john g. harris sustains cuts on his arms and burns around his eyes. then, on november 15th, 1979, a bomb is placed in the cargo hold of american airlines flight 444 heading from chicago to washington, d.c. in mid-flight, it sets off a smoldering fire. 12 passengers suffer smoke inhalation. >> the pilots were able to land the plane at dulles, shortly before they said to us later that it would have probably burned through the hydraulics
exploits through newspaper accounts. producing a chilling record of a man obsessed by killing. in reference to the primitive bomb left on campus at northwestern university, he wrote i hoped that a student would pick it up and would blow his hands off or get killed. after his second bomb caused minor injuries, he complained, i had hoped that the victim would be blinded or have his hands blown off or be otherwise maimed. i wish i knew how to get hold of some dynamite. >> as you go through some of the writings that he had written over the years, he makes it very clear that my ambition is to kill a scientist, a businessman, i would even like to kill a government official or communist. >> reporter: he complained, again, after the 1982 bomb that injured the secretary at vanderbilt. no indication that she was permanently disabled, frustrating that i can't seem to make a lethal bomb.
again, sending a letter to "the new york times" saying we are the terrorist group fc. we have more to say and we will get back in touch with you later. >> reporter: fc apparently stood for freedom club. theodore kaczynski's assertion that it was a terrorist group was another misdirection. fc would now take responsibility for a renewed wave of attacks. that same month, the unabomber finally struck again. >> reporter: package bomb blew as dr. charles epstein opened his mail at his home late tuesday. >> reporter: charles epstein was a renowned geneticist from the university of california san francisco. >> epstein is recovering from four hours of surgery to his hands, arm, and face. >> news of the bombing hit hard for previous victim gary wright. >> i came home from work. the news was on and he was back. it unglued me. it was just devastating. >> reporter: two days later, and
hundreds and hundreds of suspects. >> there are no incidents for almost two years. then on may 15th, 1985, engineering student and aspiring astronaut john e. hauser is nearly killed when he picks up a parcel left in a computer room on the uc berkeley campus. >> like that. and exploded. blew my arm off to the side like this, and the first thing i thought was, why did they do that? >> six months later, a package mailed to the home of a university of michigan psychology professor explodes when research assistant nicklaus suino opens it. the professor sustains burns and shrapnel wounds. he suffers some hearing loss. one month later on december 11th, 1985, the unabomber claims his first fatality with his 11th bomb. computer rental store owner hugh scrutton is killed when he picks up what appears to be a piece of
astronaut john e. hauser is nearly killed when he picks up a parcel left in a computer room on the uc berkeley campus. >> like that. and exploded. blew my arm off to the side like this, and the first thing i thought was, why did they do that? >> six months later, a package mailed to the home of a university of michigan psychology professor explodes when research assistant nicklaus suino opens it. the professor sustains burns and shrapnel wounds. he suffers some hearing loss. one month later on december 11th, 1985, the unabomber claims his first fatality with his 11th bomb. computer rental store owner hugh scrutton is killed when he picks up what appears to be a piece of scrap wood. metal shrapnel penetrates his heart and tears off his right hand.