Incident Summary:
04/01/1996: Two masked men armed with a shotgun, a revolver, and a pipe bomb committed armed robbery at a U.S. Bank in Spokane Valley, Washington state, United States. In a related attack approximately 15-20 minutes earlier two assailants detonated a pipe bomb at a nearby newspaper office. The attackers left notes at both scenes containing Christian Identity rhetoric and signed "Phineas Priests." Authorities report that the first attack was intended to divert attention from the second. The attack at the bank caused major damage but no casualties; assailants ordered everyone to leave the bank prior to detonating a pipe bomb and escaping with $72,000. In October 1996, authorities arrested three members of the Phineas Priesthood group, Robert Sherman Berry, Charles Harrison Barbee, and Verne Jay Merrell, in connection with the attack.
Overview
GTD ID:
199604010007
When:
1996-04-01
Country:
United States
Region:
North America
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Washington
City:
Spokane Valley
Location Details:
East Sprague Avenue
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Business |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
U.S. Bank |
| Specific Description |
Branch |
| Nationality of Target |
United States |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
Yes |
| Number of Hostages |
15 |
| US Hostages |
15 |
| Hours of Kidnapping |
0 |
| Days of Kidnapping |
0 |
| Outcome |
Hostage(s) released by perpetrators |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
Yes |
| Extent of Property Damage |
Minor (likely < $1 million) |
| Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Explosives |
Pipe Bomb |
| Firearms |
Handgun |
| Firearms |
Rifle/Shotgun (non-automatic) |
| Weapon Details |
|---|
| Shotgun; revolver; pipe bomb |
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | No |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | Yes |
| Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
| Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
| Phineas Priesthood |
Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Note left at scene) |
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
3 |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
3 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
0 Fatalities / 0 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
0 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
| Total Number of Injured |
0 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
| "Extremist Group Suspected in Spokane Bombings," The New York Times, April 3, 1996. |
| Federal Bureau of Investigation, Terrorism in the United States: 1996 |
| Smith, Brent. "Pre-incident Indicators of Terrorism Incidents: The Identification of Behavioral, Geographic, and Temporal Patterns of Preparatory Conduct," NIJ Report, May 2006. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties
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