Bombing Attacks in the United States

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Recommended: Terrorism and its effect

One of the most deadliest and horrific terrorist incidents occurred in Bath, Michigan in May of 1927. Forty-five people were killed during the incident, including the bomber. The bomber, 55 year old, Andrew Kehoe was angry about a new tax charged to the community to finance a new school. Andrew Kehoe was a school board member and was the school’s caretaker. He also worked as a machinist and electrician. Throughout his adult life, Kehoe routinely campaigned for lower taxes.
After a series of financial hardships (losing his house and farm) and personnel tragedy (his wife became chronically ill), Kehoe blamed the new tax and the new constructed school for his predicament. Over a several month period, Kehoe transported an explosive call Pyrotol and over 1000 pounds of dynamite into the Bath School and hid them in the floors, rafters, and crawlspaces. Kehoe also setup his home and farm in the same manner and included devices that consisted of gas filled containers. Lastly, Kehoe filled the back seat of his truck with dynamite and metal debris (tools, nails, pieces of rusted farm machinery, digging shovels), constructing an improvised explosive device (IED).
On May 17, Kehoe killed his wife and exploded his farm and home. Almost simultaneously, using a timed detonator; Kehoe detonated the explosive in the Bath Consolidated School, killing 36 students and two teachers. After the school exploded, Kehoe drove his truck to the school and called the school Superintendent to his car. Kehoe detonated the dynamite in his car, killing the Superintendent and injuring several people and first responders at the scene. This incident is one of the first cases of domestic terrorism in the United States that received national and internation...

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...of terrorism? As a society, we have grown accustomed to initially linking horrific acts of violence committed against our citizens to an unknown face or organization in the Middle East. After the Oklahoma City bombing, a majority of Americans assumed that the attack was carried out by Middle Eastern terrorists and not a U.S. Army veteran. Domestic terrorism is on the rises, the Boston Marathon bombers were legal permanent residences that were raised and prospered in the United States. But yet, they committed one of the most heinous acts of terrorism in retribution for alleged U.S. crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. There is no face of terrorism, there are only people who believed that their ideology is right and ours is wrong and some are so committed to their beliefs that they are willing to kill innocent bystanders and themselves to justify what they believe in.

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