A Serial Bomber Known As Fc

The first bomb exploded Tuesday in Tiburon, Calif., when it was opened by Charles Epstein, a geneticist at the University of California, San Francisco. The blast tore off several of Epstein’s fingers from his right hand and broke his arm. In New Haven, Conn., two days later, another package blew up in the face of Yale computer scientist David Gelernter. With blood gushing from severe wounds to his right hand and chest, Gelernter staggered to the university clinic a block away. Later that day, someone telephoned the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in West Haven, Conn., where Gelernter’s brother Joel practices psychiatry, and warned: “You are next.”

Both bombs apparently originated in California. The package sent to Epstein bore a return address and postmark in Sacramento; the Gelernter package had a Sacramento postmark and an indecipherable return address. The devices themselves appeared to be similar. “The forensic experts believe from their observations to date that the maker or makers of each of these 14 explosive devices are the same,” said Terry Shumard, an FBI spokesman in New Haven. If so, the serial bomber has injured 22 people to date and has killed one, a computer-store owner who died in 1985.

The day of the Yale explosion, The New York Times received a letter from Sacramento, “We are an anarchist group calling ourselves FC,” it said. It predicted “a newsworthy event that will happen about the time you receive this letter.” It continued: “Ask the FBI about FC. They have heard of us. We will give information about our goals at some future time.” The letter included a nine-digit “identifying number that will ensure the authenticity of any future communications from us.”

Investigators could only speculate about the identity and motive of the bomber. Epstein and Gelernter are both prominent in their fields, as were some of the other victims, including former United Airlines president Percy Wood, who was injured in 1980. Other victims were more obscure. The first several targets were in the Midwest, but since 1981, the bomber has gone coast to coast. Some experts infer that the perpetrator has obsessive compulsive habits and low self-esteem. If one man is indeed responsible for a series of bombings that began as long ago as 1978, then he is obviously persistent. But until the investigators can discover a motive, it may be impossible to predict his next attack-or to stop him from shedding more blood.

title: “A Serial Bomber Known As Fc " ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-12” author: “Vernon Osborn”

The first bomb exploded Tuesday in Tiburon, Calif., when it was opened by Charles Epstein, a geneticist at the University of California, San Francisco. The blast tore off several of Epstein’s fingers from his right hand and broke his arm. In New Haven, Conn., two days later, another package blew up in the face of Yale computer scientist David Gelernter. With blood gushing from severe wounds to his right hand and chest, Gelernter staggered to the university clinic a block away. Later that day, someone telephoned the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in West Haven, Conn., where Gelernter’s brother Joel practices psychiatry, and warned: “You are next.”

Both bombs apparently originated in California. The package sent to Epstein bore a return address and postmark in Sacramento; the Gelernter package had a Sacramento postmark and an indecipherable return address. The devices themselves appeared to be similar. “The forensic experts believe from their observations to date that the maker or makers of each of these 14 explosive devices are the same,” said Terry Shumard, an FBI spokesman in New Haven. If so, the serial bomber has injured 22 people to date and has killed one, a computer-store owner who died in 1985.

The day of the Yale explosion, The New York Times received a letter from Sacramento, “We are an anarchist group calling ourselves FC,” it said. It predicted “a newsworthy event that will happen about the time you receive this letter.” It continued: “Ask the FBI about FC. They have heard of us. We will give information about our goals at some future time.” The letter included a nine-digit “identifying number that will ensure the authenticity of any future communications from us.”

Investigators could only speculate about the identity and motive of the bomber. Epstein and Gelernter are both prominent in their fields, as were some of the other victims, including former United Airlines president Percy Wood, who was injured in 1980. Other victims were more obscure. The first several targets were in the Midwest, but since 1981, the bomber has gone coast to coast. Some experts infer that the perpetrator has obsessive compulsive habits and low self-esteem. If one man is indeed responsible for a series of bombings that began as long ago as 1978, then he is obviously persistent. But until the investigators can discover a motive, it may be impossible to predict his next attack-or to stop him from shedding more blood.