UC Santa Cruz Researchers Target of Firebomb Terror Attacks
August 3, 2008 by national
Filed under Incident Reports
Santa Cruz police are looking for the people responsible for two firebomb attacks that targeted UC Santa Cruz researchers. Investigators called the attacks acts of domestic terrorism and said they believe an animal rights group is responsible.
Emergency crews raced to a quiet Santa Cruz neighborhood Saturday morning after getting a report of a house fire.
Upon arrival, officers discovered that the residence had been intentionally firebombed, police said. The home belonged to the family of a University of California, Santa Cruz, researcher, and the family was home at the time.
The address of the residence was listed in animal rights pamphlets found on Tuesday. The victims, including two young children, escaped down a fire ladder from a second story window. Family members suffered injuries during the escape, police said.
Santa Cruz police investigators, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and UCSC Police are conducting a joint initial investigation, collecting evidence at the scene and interviewing witnesses. The case has been designated an act of Domestic Terrorism and turned over to the FBI.
The incident is being investigated in conjunction with a second incident involving a vehicle that was firebombed on the UCSC campus at around the same time, police said.
