Just 2 Seconds (59 page)

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Authors: Gavin de Becker,Thomas A. Taylor,Jeff Marquart

659.
Date: July 11, 1985
Target: President Junius Jayewardene
Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Details: Police discovered a van loaded with 264 pounds of gelignite, wired to explode as Jayewardene's motorcade went past. Three Eelam terrorists were arrested.
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)

660.
Date: January 9, 1986
Target: Florida Governor Bob Graham
Location: Portland, Oregon
Details: A woman was arrested at the Portland International Airport in connection with a plot a plot to kidnap Graham. She had attempted to hire a mercenary, who was actually an undercover police officer. She reportedly planned to hold Graham hostage for the release of her inmate husband, who was serving a 12-year sentence in Florida for a murder-for-hire plot.

661.
Date: November 25, 1986
Target: Pope John Paul II
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Details: A former mental patient with five gasoline bombs was arrested at city hall, just hours before the Pope's arrival. He stated he wanted to kill the Pope "because he has too much money."
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)

662.
Date: November 3, 1987
Target: President Ronald Reagan
Location: Washington, D.C.
Details: An unemployed chemist was arrested in a plot to kill Reagan and Secretary of State George Shultz. Police found an AR-15, three 30-round clips, a Mossberg shotgun, a Remington 870 shotgun, and $7,600 in his car.

663.
Date: February 12, 1988
Target: President Amin Gemayel
Location: Beirut, Lebanon
Details: A one-pound charge of TNT was found under the pilot's seat of Gemayel's Boeing jet, prior to his departure. Three airport employees were arrested.
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)

664.
Date: May 13, 1988
Target: Presidential Candidate (Reverend) Jesse Jackson
Location: Washington, Missouri
Details: Londell Williams and his wife Tammy Williams were arrested after bragging that they would kill Jackson. They were affiliated with a Neo-Nazi white-supremacist group. Police found an AR-15 rifle with a scope.

665.
Date: September 2, 1988
Target: Presidential Candidate (Governor) Michael Dukakis
Location: Springfield, Missouri
Details: A man was arrested trying to board a commercial aircraft with a pistol, a knife, and extra ammunition. He reportedly planned to fly to Los Angeles and kill Dukakis at a campaign stop.

666.
Date: September 27, 1988
Target: Vice President George H.W. Bush
Location: Owensboro, Kentucky
Details: A man attended a Bush outdoor rally, carrying a .45 pistol under his shirt. He was described as a "nice, gentle young man." On September 29, he mailed an anonymous letter to President Reagan, threatening to kill Bush if he didn't drop out of the race. He included three pictures he had taken of Bush at the rally. Following an investigation, he was arrested on October 18. The Secret Service determined that he had gotten within 91 feet of Bush with his pistol. He had also stalked Kentucky Governor Martha Layne Collins and Senator Al Gore, carrying a knife to their rally in May 1987.

667.
Date: August 4, 1989
Target: President George H.W. Bush
Location: Oakland, California
Details: A man was arrested while robbing a bank. He was armed with two handguns, and had $1,400 with him. He told police he was trying to raise money to "kill the president." He had reportedly stalked Bush and tried to kill him, during Bush's visit to Detroit, Michigan, but he found security to be too tight. He said that aliens were telling him to kill the president.

668.
Date: November 3, 1989
Target: Presidential Candidate Cesar Gaviria
Location: Bogota, Colombia
Details: Federal agents assigned to protect Gaviria found a powerful bomb planted under a bridge hours before his motorcade was scheduled to cross it.
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)

669.
Date: April 5, 1990
Target: Interior Minister Horacio Serpa
Location: Bogota, Colombia
Details: Police found and defused a truck bomb containing over 1,000 pounds of dynamite, minutes after Serpa had walked past it.
(1-STARS: Management of the incident immediately after the attack favorably influenced safety/survival.)

670.
Date: May 7, 1990
Target: Colombian President Virgilio Barco
Location: Tampa, Florida
Details: Two Colombian hit men were arrested when they attempted to buy Stinger missiles for $6 million from undercover officers to be used for shooting down Barco's helicopter.

671.
Date: May 21, 1990
Target: Colombian President Virgilio Barco
Location: Bogota, Colombia
Details: Police defused a 170-pound dynamite bomb outside a school where Barco's granddaughters were students.

672.
Date: June 21, 1990
Target: President F.W. de Klerk
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Details: Eleven right-wing terrorists were arrested in a plot to kill de Klerk, Nelson Mandela, and several other government officials. Mandela was to be shot by a sniper on July 18, during an airport arrival.

673.
Date: September 27, 1990
Target: Foreign Minister William Waldegrave
Location: London, England
Details: A plastic lunch box containing four pounds of Semtex plastic explosives was discovered under the lectern at a conference. It was set to explode during the time Waldegrave would be speaking (bomb dogs had swept the room, and missed the bomb).
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)

674.
Date: October 22, 1991
Target: President George H.W. Bush
Location: Los Angeles, California
Details: A man was arrested in a plot to kill Bush during his visit on November 4. Police seized 34 guns, silencers, grenades, and 27,000 rounds of ammunition.

675.
Date: December 22, 1991
Target: President F. W. de Klerk
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Details: Police uncovered a plot by a pro-apartheid group to kidnap de Klerk's grandson, and hold him hostage to force the release of a political prisoner.

676.
Date: February 11, 1992
Target: Vice President Dan Quayle
Location: London, England
Details: A bomb containing five pounds of Semtex plastic explosive was found in a phone booth outside a building Quayle was to visit within hours. The IRA claimed credit.
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)

677.
Date: September 15, 1992
Target: President George H.W. Bush
Location: Denver, Colorado
Details: A woman showed up at a campaign rally for Bush. She was described as a "nice person," and had no arrest record. She was carrying a .32 revolver and planned to attack Bush's motorcade, using the same tactics as Sara Jane Moore. She was unable to get into the building with the handgun, due to the magnetometers, and was deterred from shooting at his armored limousine. She left without taking action, and later related the incident to her psychiatrist. The Secret Service arrested her.
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)

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