On October 9, 1995, a section of the railroad running through the vast desert of Arizona was sabotaged, causing an Amtrak train carrying 268 passengers to derail. One crew member was killed in the disaster, while at least 100 others were injured. The train derailed in the middle of the night in a desolate part of the Arizona desert. The remoteness of the area complicated the search and rescue mission. At least 12 carriages and two engines were being pulled by the derailed train. All of the cars departed the train, save for two sleepers and one dining car, which plunged 30 feet into the valley. Early investigations found that the collision was caused by track vandalism. The saboteurs had removed the plates that link the rail with the railroad ties. The communication line that would have given the crew members prior warning of the breaks in the truck was also disabled. This indicated that a person well versed with railroads sabotaged the truck (Verde, 1995). Ordinarily, the removal of the joint that connects the rail would have interfered with an electric current running flowing along the truck and signaled the engineers of the impending danger. Amtrak engineers revealed that the saboteurs might have attached a wire on each end of the rail for electric current to continue flowing through. The crash seemed well planned and very professional (Hill, 1995).
It took over an hour for the search and rescue team to arrive at the scene of the crash. Much of the search and rescue efforts involved rescue helicopters and special purpose vehicles because the scene of the crash was rugged and remote. Close to 25 helicopters emanating from different agencies like the United States Air Force and the Marines engaged in the rescue mission. It took rescuers several hours to evacuate all the passengers from the scene of the train crash.
In the aftermath of the crash, there were notes from an organization that called itself the Sons of Gestapo claiming responsibility for the heinous act. The notes linked the accident to a federal siege that occurred in Texas and Waco (Mydans, 1995). The federal siege apparently ended in a fire killing over 80 members of the Brandian Davidian sect. The notes also linked the crash to a shootout involving federal agents in which the son and the wife to an illegal gun manufacturer referred to as Randy Weaver were killed in the year 1992. The Sons of Gestapo addressed the notes to FBI, Department of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and the local Sheriff’s office. The notes led the investigators of the crime to believe that this was an act of domestic terrorism. However, Klan watch the agency that tracks the operations of hate groups in Alabama denied having knowledge of the existence of a group called the Sons of Gestapo. Apart from the Klan watch, no other person seemed to have heard about such a group before. A search conducted in newspapers and computer database on the Sons of Gestapo failed to yield any possible clues. The Federal Bureau of Investigation immediately took charge of the investigations due to the possibility that this was an act of terror. They announced a reward for anyone with information that would lead to the capture and prosecution of an individual or individuals responsible for causing the accident (D’Angelo, 2015).
However, according to me, I think the suspect is an individual or individuals who previously worked with Amtrak. This may have been an act of revenge against the company. The sabotage was carried by a person or people with a grudge against Amtrak. The notes signed by the Sons of Gestapo may have just been planted at the scene of the train crash to way lead and distract investigators from the main suspects. Various leads point to the fact that a former Amtrak insider masterminded the sabotage. First, no one has heard or has knowledge of the group that purports to take responsibility for the sabotage, which seems a bit out of place. Even the agency that tracks all hate groups denies being aware of a group called the sons of Gestapo. A search on computer databases and newspapers provides nothing meaningful. This raises serious doubts about the credibility of this theory. Such an act could only be carried by a well-known terror organization with skills and resources, but in this case, the Sons of Gestapo is not even known. Secondly, all indications point to the fact that the sabotage was done by individuals with skills and knowledge of railroads and trains. The saboteur knew very that the crew members operating the train would be notified of the impending danger if the truck joints were disconnected. The suspect devised a plan that would prevent the engineers from receiving any danger signal. Given the expertise involved in the sabotage, it only means that the person who did it gained the knowledge of how trains and railroads operate by working at Amtrak.
After reviewing the materials, there is only one conclusion that the suspect had previously worked at Amtrak. The sabotage was done because of a grudge against the company and the determination to take revenge. The anti government notes found at the scene were only meant to mislead the investigators from the possible suspect.
References
D’Angelo, N.D. (2015). FBI offers $300K reward 20 years after Arizona train derails. Azcentral. Retrieved Sept. 13, 2017, from http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2015/04/06/fbi-arizona-train- derailment-abrk/25372511/
Mydans, S. (1995). Sabotage Derails Arizona Train; One Is Killed and 100 Are Hurt. The New York Times. Retrieved Sept 14, 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/10/us/sabotage-derails-arizona-train-one-is-killed-and- 100-are-hurt.html
Verde, P. (1995). Sabotage suspected in Amtrak derailment. Cable News Network. Retrieved Sept. 14, 2017, from http://edition.cnn.com/US/9510/amtrak/10pm/index.html
Hill, J. (1995). Sabotage suspected in 'terrorist' derailment. Cable News Network. Retrieved Sept. 14, 2017 from http://edition.cnn.com/US/9510/amtrak/10-10/
