The United States city of Seattle has been the site of occasional, small-scale terrorist incidents.[1] Though several locations in the city have been discovered on target lists of known terrorist cells, as of 2014 the city's Office of Emergency Management believed that a "large-scale attack seems like a low probability event".[1] A 2006 report by the United States Department of Justice indicated that the Washington State Ferries, which have several facilities in Seattle, was the leading "target for maritime terrorism in this country".[2]
| Name | Date | Outcome | Group | Motive | Means | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ole Hanson Mail Bomb | April 19, 1919 | explosives | A mail bomb sent to Mayor Ole Hanson, part of a nationwide bombing campaign, failed to detonate.[3] | ||||
| Theater bombings | 1928 (various dates) | none (lone wolf) | explosives | Six movie theaters were bombed over the course of a year.[4] | |||
| Sniper attack | July 30, 1968 | firearms | Two police officers were injured after their vehicle was hit by sniper fire. In riots that followed, snipers injured two additional police officers and three civilians.[5] [6] | ||||
| UW Administration Building bombing | June 29, 1969 | unknown | unknown | explosives | The University of Washington Administration Building (later renamed Gerberding Hall) was bombed, causing an estimated $300,000 in damages. There were no casualties and no claims of responsibility.[7] | ||
| Clark Hall bombing attempt | January 1970 | explosives | Silas and Judith Bissell attempted to bomb the University of Washington's Clark Hall, the campus ROTC building. They were arrested after the explosives failed to detonate.[8] | ||||
| First 1975 Safeway bombing | September 14, 1975 | Black nationalism | explosives | Ralph Patrick Ford, a suspected George Jackson Brigade member, was killed when the explosives he was trying to plant at a Safeway grocery store detonated prematurely.[9] | |||
| Second 1975 Safeway bombing | September 17, 1975 | George Jackson Brigade | Black nationalism | explosives | Seven people were injured in the bombing of the same grocery store in a failed attack on September 14.[10] | ||
| Laurelhurst City Light bombing | December 31, 1975 | George Jackson Brigade | Black nationalism | explosives | The Laurelhurst sub-station of Seattle City Light was bombed by the George Jackson Brigade as part of a string of regional attacks that included bombing two different Safeway properties in Bellevue, Washington. There were no injuries.[11] [12] | ||
| John Sherman escape | March 10, 1976 | George Jackson Brigade | Black nationalism | firearms | Mark Cook, a member of the George Jackson Brigade, ambushed and shot a police officer escorting John Sherman, another Brigade member arrested previously following a shoot-out with police in Tukwila, Washington.[13] | ||
| anti-Pahlavi theater attack | December 1, 1983 | none (ad hoc) | A group of anti-Pahlavi students planned to lock the doors to a theater in which 500 pro-Pahlavi Iranians and Iranian-Americans had gathered, prior to setting it on fire. The attempt was thwarted by the FBI and local law enforcement.[14] | ||||
| The Order armored car robbery | April 23, 1984 | The Order | firearms, explosives | Seven members of the white supremacist group The Order stole $536,000 from an armored car at the Northgate Mall. Prior to the robbery, a diversionary bombing at a nearby business was staged.[15] | |||
| Jamaat ul-Fuqra bombings | June 17, 1984 | explosives | The Integral Yoga Society, a Hindu religious institution, and the Vendanta Society were bombed. Stephen Paster, a Jamaat ul-Fuqra member, was later arrested and convicted of the attacks. | ||||
| Millennium Bombing | December 31, 1999 | Islamic extremism | explosives | Authorities believed a Montreal-based terrorist cell connected to Osama bin-Laden planned to destroy the Space Needle during New Year's Eve celebrations. The plan fell apart after Ahmed Ressam was arrested attempting to cross the United States-Canadian border with explosives. New Year's Eve celebrations near Seattle's Space Needle were canceled as a precaution. It was later learned the actual target was the Los Angeles International Airport.[16] | |||
| May 21, 2001 | explosives | A firebomb detonated at the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture resulted in between $1.5 and $4.1 million in damages. There were no casualties. By 2012 four of five accused conspirators behind the attack admitted their guilt in plea bargains. A fifth committed suicide in federal detention while awaiting trial.[17] | |||||
| McDonald's arson | January 20, 2003 | Earth Liberation Front | Eco-terrorism | arson | A New Jersey man, who was later arrested, set fire to the McDonald's corporate logo on the roof of a McDonald's restaurant near the Space Needle. In a subsequent voicemail to authorities, the man claimed the action was an "E-L-F ... hit" and "there will be more".[18] | ||
| Molly Norris hit | July 11, 2010 | Al Qaeda | Islamic extremism | unknown | Anwar al-Awlaki issues a call for the killing of Seattle-based cartoonist Molly Norris. As of 2015, Norris remains in hiding.[19] | ||
| MEPS attack | July 5, 2011 | none (ad hoc) | Islamic extremism | explosives, firearms | Two men planned to attack the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) on East Marginal Way in Seattle on July 5, 2011. The plan fell apart after they attempted to recruit a third man who informed police.[20] [21] |