Bruce E. Ivins, Anthrax Scientist from Ft. Detrick, Maryland, Commits Suicide

The Associated Press is reporting that Bruce E. Ivins, a former government scientist at Ft. Detrick, Maryland, has committed suicide. The AP report indicates that Bruce E. Ivins was taken to Frederick Memorial Hospital in Frederick, Maryland, where he received treatment for a drug overdose. Ivins' family confirmed that he committed suicide and an unidentified colleague told the LA Times that Bruce E. Ivins died of an overdose of Tylenol and Codeine. Ivins was the focus of an FBI investigation into the anthrax mailings after September 11, 2001, that ultimately killed 5 people. Mr. Ivins was aware that the FBI was poised to make an arrest.

Anthrax letters: Two mailings

One week after September 11, 2001, five letters were mailed from Trenton, New Jersey, and were addressed to the major television networks, ABC, CBS and NBC, as well as print media, the New York Post, all based in New York City, as well as The National Enquirer at AMI, based out of Boca Raton, Florida. One individual died from this anthrax attack, Robert Stevens. Robert Stevens worked for The Sun, also part of the AMI family of companies.

Three weeks later, two more letters were mailed, also bearing the Trenton, New Jersey postmark. This mailing included letters to Patrick Leahy and Tom Dascle, two Democratic Senators. At the time of the mailing Patrick Leahy was the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Tom Daschle was the Senate Majority Leader. An aide to Senator Daschle opened the letter, which contained a more pure sample of Anthrax, much more so than that which was mailed in the first batch of letters. The letter addressed to Patrick Leahy was found a month later, in November, in an impounded mail bag. The mail handler who discovered the letter contracted Anthrax.

The Anthrax mailings allegedly perpetrated by David E. Ivins killed five individuals, including two mail handlers. Of the 22 infected, half contracted life-threatening Anthrax.

This story hits home for me, more so than most people. At the time of the anthrax mailings, I had immediate family members located in both Trenton, New Jersey, and in Frederick, Maryland. I was terrified for both individuals and urged extra caution with regard to strange mail and being vigilant against terrorism. My sister, who lives in Frederick, Maryland, is quite used to Ft. Detrick, and knows that it is a bio-hazard research facility. Ft. Detrick is mired in a dispute with the Environmental Protection Agency regarding clean-up of its waste. The Baltimore Sun reported that the EPA has flexed its muscles and added Ft. Detrick to its Superfund list, which puts Ft. Detrick on its list of most contaminated sites.

Terrorism via mail: Not a new thing

Bruce E. Ivins wasn't the only one to use the mail to terrorize. The Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, used the U.S. mail to ferry packages to unsuspecting individuals in 1978. Ted Kaczynski's first victim, Buckley Crist, was a professor at Northwestern University. The bomb, a package, was found in a parking lot with the professor's return address, which was returned to him. Since the professor did not recognize the handwriting as his own, he contacted the campus police. A campus police officer ultimately opened the package, which caused a hand injury. In all, Ted Kaczynski wreaked havoc for nearly 20 years, injuring 23 and killing 3.

Additional Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Kaczynski

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/03/14/pentagon.anthrax/index.html