Forensics Journal - Stevenson University 2014 | Page 6

FORENSICS JOURNAL

Lasers were setup to measure the movement of these buildings. If a
building moved out of specification, the buildings were evacuated.
HAZMAT teams were also present to address the hazards related to
confined spaces. We were responsible for evidence recovery associated with hazardous materials which included jet fuel, smoke, burned
materials, and possible toxic fumes. Another reason we were stationed
there was in the event of a second attack, which could possibly have
been biological or chemical in nature. I was stationed there for 2-3
weeks following the attacks.

Terrorism is an act of violence or disruption to change government
action. It is important to characterize certain crimes as acts of terrorism because these types of crimes are the number one priority for FBI
resources. With crimes characterized as acts of terrorism, no potential
leads go uninvestigated. In addition, the charges for an act of terrorism may carry the death penalty. In the case of international terrorism, this characterization is very important because it invokes the use
of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA
Court) instead of the United States criminal court.

AS A SPECIAL AGENT AND SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT,
YOU WORKED WITH ANTHRAX. WHAT EXACTLY IS
ANTHRAX AND HOW IT CAN BE CONTRACTED?

GETTING BACK TO THE ANTHRAX ATTACKS, WHAT WERE
THE INITIAL STEPS TAKEN TO ANALYZE THE SUSPECTED
ANTHRAX?

Anthrax is the disease caused by the bacteria; Bacillus anthracis. When
an individual is infected by the bacteria, they are said to have contracted Anthrax. Anthrax can be contracted by either inhalational,
cutaneous, or gasteointestional means. Cutaneous Anthrax is the most
common but is the least lethal whereas, inhalational Anthrax is almost
always 100% lethal unless treated immediately but is much less seen.
The remedy for inhalational Anthrax is high levels of intravenous antibiotics administered immediately. In 2001 there were 5 fatalities, but
there also were several survivors who were put on antibiotics.

The first step was to determine the strain of Anthrax bacteria that was
being used in the attacks. At the time, there were close to one hundred known strains of the Anthrax bacteria. Only two laboratories in
the country had the ability to identify the strain of the Anthrax and
because the procedure used was very new at the time, it was important that both laboratories conducted the analysis.
Within 24 hours, both of the laboratories conducting the analysis
confirmed that the Anthrax used in the attacks was of the Ames
strain. The Ames strain was named for the location for where the
original strain was believed to be isolated (Ames, Iowa). While it was
later discovered the Ames strain actually originated from Texas, the
name continued to be used.

REGARDING THE ANTHRAX ATTACKS IN 2001, HOW DID
THE SITUATION EVOLVE?
The Anthrax attacks occurred several weeks following the attacks that
occurred on September 11, 2001. At this time, letters were mailed
through the U.S. Postal Services which contained various threatening
letters accompanied by powdered Anthrax spores. At least three of
these letters were mailed to news agencies, while two of them were
addressed to United States Senators. Over the course of the Anthrax
attacks, 22 people contracted inhalational Anthrax, which resulted in
5 fatalities.

Determining the strain was a very important step because early in the
investigation, there was no threatening letter to suggest an intentional
act. If the strain