Unabomber (Italy)

The Italian Unabomber (Italian: Unabomber italiano ) is a term coined by the international media for a terrorist who has been unidentified to this day and who is responsible for several bomb attacks in northern Italy. The perpetrator prepared seemingly harmless objects such as pipes, candles, toys or food packaging with booby traps and left them in public places such as beaches, churches or supermarkets, where they were then picked up by passers-by and exploded while being handled. The series of attacks, which began on August 21, 1994 and initially ended on May 6, 2006, injured at least 17 people, some of them seriously, in over 30 booby traps. The perpetrator was named after the American bomber Theodore Kaczynski , who sent letter bombs for 17 years and was referred to by the media as an unabomber .

Chronology of attacks and attempted attacks

1994

• August 21: A pipe bomb exploded during a festival in Sacile , injuring four people from fragments.
• December 17th: A pipe bomb was found outside a shop in Pordenone .
• December 18th: Another bomb found in the churchyard of Aviano .

1995

• March 5: Two separate charges exploded in downtown Azzano Decimo ; no injuries.
• September 30th: A woman lost an arm in the explosion of two booby traps in Pordenone .
• December 11: An explosive device explodes in a telephone booth in Aquileia ; no injuries.
• December 24th: An explosive device exploded in Latisana ; no injuries.
• December 26th: Explosion of a booby trap in Bibione ; no injuries.

1996

• April 2: A bomb exploded in Claut ; no injuries.
• April 22nd: Another bomb exploded in Fiume Veneto ; no injuries.
• August 4th: A 33-year-old tourist was seriously injured in the explosion of a booby trap hidden in a parasol in Lignano Sabbiadoro .

2000

• March 6: An explosive device exploded in San Vito al Tagliamento ; no injuries.
• 6 July: A pensioner was seriously injured in the explosion of a booby trap hidden in the sand on the beach in Lignano Sabbiadoro .
• September 13: Explosion of an explosive device in San Stino di Livenza ; no injuries.
• October 31: A booby trap hidden in an egg was discovered and defused in a supermarket in Portogruaro .
• November 1st: Another explosive device explosion in San Stino di Livenza ; no injuries.
• November 7th: A tomato can bought in a supermarket and prepared with a booby trap exploded when opened in a house in Cordignano . A 37-year-old woman lost three fingers.
• November 17: A booby trap hidden in a mayonnaise tube was discovered and defused in Portogruaro .

2001

• November 2: A 63-year-old woman was injured in the explosion of a prepared candle in the Motta di Livenza cemetery .

2002

• July 23: A booby trap hidden in a Nutella jar was discovered and defused in a supermarket in Porcia .
• September 2: In Pordenone , a 5-year-old child suffered burn injuries to the abdomen and hands when he opened a tube of bubbles containing explosives.
• December 25: Explosion of a booby trap disguised as a Nutella jar in the confessional of a church in Cordenons ; no injuries.

2003

• March 24th: An explosive device exploded in a judicial building in Pordenone ; no injuries.
• April 25: Two children were seriously injured in San Biagio di Callalta when a colored pencil prepared with explosives exploded. One of the girls lost an arm and an eye.

2004

• April 2: A hidden bomb was defused in a church in Portogruaro .

2005

• January 26th: A prepared children's surprise egg exploded in Treviso when it was thrown against a wall by school children; no injuries.
• March 13: An explosive device hidden in an electric candle exploded in a church in Motta di Livenza , injuring three churchgoers, including a little girl.

• March 16: An explosive can of mackerel was found in Concordia Sagittaria .
• July 9th: In Portogruaro a booby trap was discovered under the saddle of a bicycle, but it became unusable due to rain and therefore did not explode.

2006

• May 6th: A booby trap disguised as message in a bottle exploded in the hands of a 28-year-old man in Caorle ; He was seriously injured in the explosion and lost a thumb and three fingers. Another person was injured by broken glass.

Investigations

The Italian police assume a mentally ill individual perpetrator, as neither political nor financial demands were made, as would be usual for criminal groups. In addition, the booby traps are manufactured too intelligently and in a tricky manner to be copied by copycat criminals. On August 28, 2006, the 49-year-old engineer Elvo Zornitta, who had previously been under surveillance for a long time, was arrested. He was trusted to have the specialist knowledge, and some points also agreed with an elaborated perpetrator profile. He had a large garage laboratory and tools to go with it; In addition, a pair of scissors was found that is said to have been used to make one of the booby traps. When more material was found, he was eventually charged with responsible for at least 20 of the booby traps. In the course of further investigations, which also included an FBI expert , it turned out that the evidence against Zornitta was falsified. He was therefore rehabilitated in January 2009 and received compensation of around 200,000 euros. In November 2010, a forensic scientist was sentenced to two years in prison for forging evidence. The attacks remain unsolved to this day.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Tomato puree bomb blows off woman's fingers  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ Birthe Arff: Unknown bomber aims at children . September 3, 2002 ( welt.de [accessed January 7, 2020]).
3. ↑ news networld Internet Service GmbH: - Italy's "Unabomber" struck during Christmas mass. December 25, 2002, accessed January 7, 2020 . 
4. ↑ Italian 'Unabomber' strikes again . April 26, 2003 ( bbc.co.uk [accessed January 7, 2020]).
5. ↑ news networld Internet service GmbH: netw - highlighter explodes: 2 children seriously injured - 55835. April 25, 2003, accessed on January 7, 2020 . 
6. ↑ Attack on the Italian Church ( memento from September 5, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
7. ↑ Boobytrap bomber leaves deadly message in a bottle
8. ^ Malcolm Moore: Italian bomber suspect held after 12 years . October 3, 2006, ISSN  0307-1235 ( telegraph.co.uk [accessed January 7, 2020]).
9. ↑ UnaBomber, an italian mystery. In: A Quantum Diaries Survivor. January 17, 2009, accessed January 7, 2020 .