Ted Kaczynski's Salt Lake City bombing location

This is the location where the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, planted his Salt Lake City bomb.

It is situated at 270 East 900 South in Salt Lake City, Utah.

At the time of the bombing, this was the address of a computer repair and maintenance store called CAAMS, Inc. These days, it is a barbershop called Honest Cuts.

On February 20th, 1987, the owner, Gary Wright, pulled into the parking lot at the back of the building.

After getting out of his vehicle, he noticed that a pile of debris was sitting beside the rear wall, behind two parked cars.

When Wright approached the debris to investigate, he saw two two-by-fours with nails sticking out of them.

Thinking that someone had dumped construction waste in his parking lot, he knelt down to pick it up.

At that point, the bomb exploded, sending Wright flying onto his back.

Although he survived the explosion, the nerves in his left arm were severed, and his body was struck by more than 200 pieces of splinters and shrapnel.

In the weeks and months that followed, Wright underwent dozens of surgeries.

Kaczynski targeted the computer store because of his radical stance against technology.

The 1987 bombing was significant because it was the first time that the Unabomber was seen planting one of his devices.

At around 9.40 a.m., an employee inside CAAMS, Inc. looked out the back window and noticed a hooded man wearing sunglasses in the parking lot.

As the witness watched from behind the glass, Kaczynski proceeded to take a piece of "wood" out of a laundry bag and carefully place it behind the cars.

He then hurried away.

Although the employee thought that the man's behavior was extremely suspicious, they had no way of knowing that the piece of wood was actually a bomb. Before they could go outside to investigate, they reportedly became distracted by a telephone call.

Roughly one hour later, Wright drove into the parking lot, noticed the debris, and accidentally detonated the device by moving it.

During the investigation, a sketch artist worked with the witness to develop the first composite drawing of the Unabomber.

Photos

Photos of the store and other related images.

CAAMS, Inc

Image source: Google Maps

This Google Street View image of 270 East 900 South in Salt Lake City was captured in June 2019.

In 1987, the unit was home to a computer store called CAAMS, Inc.

At around 10.40 a.m. on February 20th, 1987, the owner, Gary Wright, arrived back from a service call. After getting out of his vehicle, he walked over to the debris to see what it was.

When he moved the "debris", the device exploded in his face, leaving him with serious injuries that required dozens of surgeries.

Bomb

This is an aerial image of the back of the store.

The red circle highlights the exact location where Kaczynski planted the bomb.

Shrapnel marks are still visible on the wall.

The second sketch of the Unabomber may have been wrong

Sketch artist Robert Exter drew the first composite of the Unabomber in 1987.

Exter drew the sketch shortly after he interviewed the witness at CAAMS, Inc.

In 1994, the FBI hired facial identification specialist Jeanne Boylan to re-interview the employee and draw a new composite.

However, the authorities did not consult Exter.

The image on the right was published on the front pages of newspapers and magazines across the United States. It was also used in the Unabomber's wanted poster.

Following its release, it emerged that the man in the new image bore a striking resemblance to Exter.

Boylan's "re-interview" took place in 1994, which was seven years after the Salt Lake City bombing. Furthermore, Exter and the witness would have spent a considerable amount of time together during their interviews.

This may have caused the employee to misremember and confuse Exter's facial features with the Unabomber's.

Unfortunately, this meant that the newer composite was far less accurate.

Pipe bomb

Image source: The Salt Lake Tribune

Gary Wright was left with lacerations on his arms, legs, and face.

The pipe bomb was 12 inches long and 1 inch in diameter. Kaczynski encased it in the two-by-fours, which he had hollowed out.

When it exploded, shrapnel and pieces of wood were scattered over a 100-foot area.