Bombings and Bomb Scares

Types of Bombers

The bomber's motivations may be roughly divided into two categories, the criminal and the political. All bombings are of course criminal acts, but a distinction is made between bombers for whom the crime is an end in itself, and those for whom the bombing is meant to serve a broader ideological goal.

For the criminal bomber, the destruction or injury caused by the bomb enables him or her to attain some personal end—financial gain, revenge on a person or institution. A bomb may also be used to cover up a crime, for instance, to make it appear that a murdered person died in an accidental fire. The criminal bomber is often a lone individual; many such bombers suffer from some form of mental illness. Bombing has also been adopted as a tactic by criminal organizations, however, not only for the purpose of theft or extortion but also as a method of assassinating rival gang leaders.

For the political bomber—the terrorist—the destructive power of the bomb is intended to further his or her cause, especially by attracting public attention and media interest. The terrorist bomber is frequently part of a highly organized group that carries out other terrorist activities in addition to bombing. It should be noted, however, that an ostensibly terrorist group might bomb a particular target to serve a purely criminal purpose. Conversely, an individual bomber may act out of political motives; Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, targeted the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building because it was a symbol of the federal government, which he believed to be oppressive.

The hoax bomb or bomb scare often occurs after an actual bombing, but is usually the responsibility of a separate and unrelated individual. The bomb scare is meant to take advantage of the atmosphere of fear created by the possibility of a bombing; for the individual who causes it, the spectacle of the public response to the threat may provide a sense of power or satisfaction. Other individuals attempt to turn the precautions undertaken by authorities in the event of a bomb threat to their advantage. For instance, a student might call in a threat to his or her school in the hope that the evacuation of the building will enable the person to avoid a class or test.

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