Incident Summary:
04/02/2015: Assailants armed with grenades and firearms attacked students at Garissa University College in Garissa city, Garissa county, Kenya. The assailants targeted the Christian and non-Muslim students, executing them and holding them hostage for 13 hours before security forces succeeded in ending the siege. At least 152 people, including 142 students, six security personnel, and all four assailants, were killed and 104 others were injured in the assault. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility and stated that the attack was carried out in retaliation for Kenya's military involvement in Somalia.
Overview
GTD ID:
201504020031
When:
2015-04-02
Country:
Kenya
Region:
Sub-Saharan Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Garissa
City:
Garissa
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
| Type of Attack () |
Hostage Taking (Barricade Incident) |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Educational Institution |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Garissa University College |
| Specific Description |
College |
| Nationality of Target |
Kenya |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
Yes |
| Number of Hostages |
Unknown |
| US Hostages |
0 |
| Hours of Kidnapping |
13 |
| Outcome |
Hostage(s) killed (not during rescue attempt) |
| 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 |
Grenade |
| Firearms |
Automatic Weapon |
| Weapon Details |
|---|
| Grenades and automatic rifles were used in the attack. |
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | No |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
| Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
| Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
| Additional Information |
Casualty numbers for this incident conflict across sources. Following GTD protocol, the majority reliable estimates are reported here. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
| Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
| Al-Shabaab |
Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: E-mail) |
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
4 |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
152 Fatalities / 104 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
152 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
4 |
| Total Number of Injured |
104 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
| "Kenya holds five over university massacre, Shebab issues new threat," Agence France Presse -- English, April 4, 2015. |
| "5 arrested in college massacre," CNN, April 4, 2015. |
| "More than 148 died in Garissa, Kalonzo claims," News24, April 23, 2015. |
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
Back to Search Results