Timeline of Homeland Security Events and Milestones
2021
US Capitol Riot
Credit: AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
January 6, 2021: A mob of Trump supporters breaches the Capitol Building in opposition to the Electoral College vote count of the 2020 presidential election.
Read more
2020
2020 Nashville Bombing
Credit: CNN/Explosion aftermath
December 25, 2020: An early morning explosion rocks downtown Nashville, injuring several people and damaging dozens of buildings.
Read more
2020
US Civil Unrest
Police and Protesters
May 25, 2020-Present: The homicide of George Floyd during an arrest by Minneapolis police sets off months of civil unrest protesting racism and police brutality.
Read more
2020
Milwaukee Brewery Shooting
February 26, 2020: At the Molson Coors Beverage Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, an employee opened fire on coworkers, killing five before killing himself.
Read more
2019
Jersey City Shooting
December 10, 2019: Two assailants opened fire at a kosher grocery store in Jersey City, NJ after shooting and killing a police officer at a nearby cemetery.
Read more
2019
West Texas Shooting
August 31, 2019: A gunman opens fire indiscriminately on motorists and bystanders along a 15-mile stretch of road between Midland and Odessa, Texas before being shot and killed by police in a theater parking lot in Odessa.
Read more
2019
Dayton Shooting
August 4, 2019: A gunman opens fire in a popular nightlife district in downtown Dayton, Ohio, killing nine people in less than 30 seconds before being killed by police.
Read more
2019
El Paso Shooting
August 3, 2019: A gunman opens fire at a busy Walmart in El Paso, Texas, killing 22 people before being apprehended by police.
Read more
2019
Virginia Beach Shooting
May 31, 2019: A gunman, DeWayne Craddock, opens fire at the city’s municipal center in Virginia Beach, VA, killing 12 people before later being shot and killed by responding police officers.
Read more
2019
Aurora, Illinois Shooting
February 15, 2019: At Henry Pratt Company in Aurora, Illinois, Gary Montez Martin opened fire and killed five people. The gunman was later shot and killed by responding police officers.
Read more
2018
Thousand Oaks Shooting
November 7, 2018: A gunman opened fire inside Borderline Bar and Grill, a country-western dance bar in Thousand Oaks, California, during a busy ‘College Country Night’ event.
Read more
2018
Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting
(Credit: CTO Henry; wiki commons)
October 27, 2018: Considered the deadliest attach on the Jewish community to take place in the United States in history, a gunman opened fire while Shabbat morning services and a bris were being held.
Read more
2018
October 2018 Mail Bombing Attempts
(Credit: FBI)
October 22, 2018: Over the course of a week, a total of 15 packages containing improvised explosive devices were sent to several prominent critics of President Trump. Fortunately, none of the packages exploded outside of a controlled setting.
Read more
2018
Austin Serial Bombings
March 2-21, 2018: A string of bombings rocks Austin, Texas as a man delivers packaged bombs around the area. For nearly a month, eight package bombs were discovered, six of them detonating, until the suspect committed suicide before police could arrest him.
Read more
2018
Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting
(Credit: formulanone/ wiki commons user)
February 14, 2018: At Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the city of Parkland, Florida, 19 year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on both students and faculty, killing more than a dozen.
Read more
2017
Texas Church Shooting
November 5, 2017: Devin Patrick Kelley of nearby New Braunfels, killed 26 and injured 20 others in a shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
Read more
2017
New York Truck Attack
(Credit: Gh9449, Own work)
October 31, 2017: Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov drove down a crowded bicycle and pedestrian path near the World Trade Center in Manhatten, New York. He drove on the pathway for several blocks, striking numerous people.
Read more
2017
Las Vegas Shooting
(Credit: Mariordo)
October 1, 2017: Stephen Paddock of Mesquite, Nevada, fired hundreds of rifle rounds from his suite on the 32nd floor of the nearby Mandalay Bay hotel on a crowd of 22,000 concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival, leaving 58 people dead and 546 injured.
Read more
2017
Charlottesville Rally Protest
(Credit: Brennan Gilmore/wikicommons user)
August 11-12, 2017: Prior to an Alt-Right rally, a man drove his car into a crowd of protesters, killing one person and injuring 19 more.
Read more
2017
Fort Lauderdale Airport Shooting
January 6, 2017: Near a baggage claim in Terminal 2 at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airport, Iraq war veteran, Esteban Santiago, opened fire with a semi-automatic pistol in a crowd of travelers.
Read more
2016
Ohio State University Attack
November 28, 2016: Somali refugee Abdul Razak Ali Artan, drove a vehicle into a courtyard deliberately striking pedestrians, then began attacking students with a knife after crashing the vehicle.
Read more
2016
New York and New Jersey Bombings
(Credit: FBI)
September 17, 2016: Ahmad Rahami conducted two bombings and attempted additional bombings in various locations in New York City and New Jersey on September 17, 2016, and September 18, 2016.
Read more
2016
St. Cloud Mall Stabbing Attack
September 17, 2016: 10 people were injured in a stabbing attack at the Crossroads Mall in St. Cloud Minnesota. The attacker, Dahir Adan, was fatally shot by an armed off-duty police officer on the scene.
Read more
2016
Dallas Police Shooting
July 7, 2016: Micah Xavier Johnson began shooting at the end of a protest in Dallas, Texas. Five law enforcement officers were killed; nine were wounded, including seven law enforcement officers. The shooter was killed by a bomb-carrying robot.
Read more
2016
Pulse Nightclub Shooting
(Credit: White House, David Lienemann)
June 12, 2016: Omar Mir Seddique Mateen began shooting patrons inside Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Forty-nine people were killed; 53 were wounded.
Read more
2015
San Bernardino Shooting
December 2, 2015: Husband and wife, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik began shooting at coworkers of one of the shooters at an event in the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California. Fourteen people were killed; twenty-two were wounded.
Read more
2015
Colorado Planned Parenthood Shooting
November 27, 2015: Robert Lewis Dear, Jr. opened fire at a Planned Parenthood Clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado, killing 3 and injuring 9.
Read more
2015
Lafayette Movie Theater Shooting
July 23, 2015: An assailant opened fire at the Grand 16 theater in Lafayette, Louisiana. With a history of mental problems, he legally purchased a gun from an Alabama pawn shop.
Read more
2015
Chattanooga Shootings
July 16, 2015: Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez began shooting at the Armed Forces Career Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, wounding a U.S. Marine. The shooter then drove to the Navy and Marine Reserve Center, where he killed 4 U.S. Marines and wounded a law enforcement officer and a U.S. navy sailor who died a few days later.
Read more
2015
OPM Data Breach
Credit: U.S. Navy)
July 9, 2015: The United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) “concluded with high confidence that sensitive information, including the Social Security Numbers (SSNs) of 21.5 million individuals, was stolen from the background investigation databases.” — OPM
Read more
2015
Charleston Church Shooting
June 17, 2015: Dylann Storm Roof began shooting at prayer service at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Nine people were killed; no one was wounded.
Read more
2014
Las Vegas Police Ambush
July 8, 2014: Two Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers were ambushed and killed by two assailants. The assailants went on to instigate an active shooter situation, killing a Good Samaritan civilian who attempted to intervene.
Read more
2014
Isla Vista Rampage
May 23, 2014: Elliot Rodger began shooting in the first of 17 locations in Isla Vista, California. After stabbing 3 inside his apartment earlier that day, the shooter began driving through town, shooting from his car.
Read more
2014
2014 Fort Hood Shooting
(Credit: U.S. Army/Sgt. Mikki L. Sprenkle)
April 2, 2014: Ivan Antonio Lopez-Lopez began shooting inside an administrative office on the Fort Hood Army Base in Texas. The active-duty soldier then moved from one location to another, firing inside and outside buildings. Three soldiers were killed; 12 were wounded. — FBI, Active Shooter Incidents
Read more
2013
Navy Yard Shooting
(Credit: Tim Evanson)
September 16, 2013: Aaron Alexis began shooting in Building 197 at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C.
Read more
2013
West Fertilizer Company Fire and Explosion
(Credit: CSB)
April 17, 2013: The fire and explosion at the West Fertilizer Company (WFC) in West, Texas was described as “one of the most destructive incidents ever investigated by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB).”
Read more
2013
Boston Marathon Bombings
April 15, 2013: At the annual Boston Marathon, 282 people were injured and four were killed, including an MIT police officer, when two pressure-cooker bombs exploded near the crowded finish line.
Read more
2013
Christopher Dorner Shootings and Manhunt
February 3-12, 2013: Former Los Angeles Police Department officer Christopher Dorner began a manifesto-fueled rampage, targeting civilians and law enforcement alike. The incident left four dead and several wounded across multiple counties and involved law enforcement from multiple jurisdictions.
Read more
2012
Sandy Hook School Shooting
(Credit: Aviano AFB)
December 14, 2012: In the space of several minutes, Adam Lanza killed 20 elementary school children and six adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The tragic event heightened growing concerns about school security and gun control laws.
Read more
2012
Benghazi Attack
(Credit: Senior Airman Steele C.G. Britton/ USAF)
September 11, 2012: the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya was attacked by members of Ansar al-Sharia. The group launched a mortar attack at a CIA annex the next morning, approximately one mile away.
Read more
2012
Sikh Temple Shooting
August 5, 2012: Wade Michael Page began shooting outside the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Six people were killed; four were wounded, including one police officer.
Read more
2012
Aurora Century 16 Theater Shooting
July 20, 2012: During a midnight screening of the Batman film
The Dark Knight Rises, James Eagan Holmes, dressed in tactical clothing, set off teargas grenades and shot into the audience with multiple firearms. Minutes later, responding police arrested Holmes outside the theater. —
U.S. Dept. of Justice, Community Oriented Policing Services
Read more
2011
Shooting at Gabrielle Giffords’ ‘Congress on Your Corner’ Event
January 8, 2011: Jared Lee Loughner began shooting during a congressional town hall meeting sponsored by U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords outside a Safeway store in Tucson, Arizona. Six people were killed; 13 were wounded, including Rep. Giffords.
Read more
2010
Stuxnet Worm
June 2010: Discovery of the Stuxnet worm exposes the vulnerability of critical infrastructure and computer systems to attack. Countries known to have been affected by the Stuxnet worm include Iran, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Germany, China and the United States.
Read more
2010
Austin Plane Crash
(Credit: Jasleen Kaur)
February 18, 2010: Andrew Joseph Stack deliberately flew his small single engine aircraft into the Echelon I office building which housed an IRS office in Austin, Texas.
Read more
2009
2009 Fort Hood Shooting
November 5, 2009: Nidal Malik Hasan began shooting inside the Fort Hood Soldier Readiness Processing Center in Fort Hood, Texas. Thirteen people were killed; 32 were wounded, including one police officer. —
FBI, Active Shooter Incidents
Read more
2009
Binghamton Shootings
April 3, 2009: The American Civic Association Shooting, in Binghamton New York, was the deadliest mass shooting in the United States since the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech. —
Broome County AAR
Read more
2008
2008 Cyberattack on United States DoD
October 2008: DOD experienced a wake-up call in October 2008 when an intrusion into military networks extended to the classified realm. — DoD News
Read more
2007
Virginia Tech Shooting
(Credit: Eric Draper/White House)
April 16, 2007: “Seung Hui Cho began shooting in a dormitory at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. Two-and-a-half hours later, he chained the doors shut in a classroom building and began shooting at the students and faculty inside.
Read more
2002
Beltway Sniper Attacks
(Credit: FBI)
October 2002: John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo began a series of sniper shootings that would paralyze the National Capitol Region for almost three weeks until October 22, 2002. Thirteen people were shot, ten of whom died from their wounds.
Read more
2001
“Amerithrax” Anthrax Attacks
(Credit: FBI)
September 18, 2001: “Soon after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, letters laced with anthrax began appearing in the U.S. mail. Five Americans were killed and 17 were sickened in what became the worst biological attacks in U.S. history. The ensuing investigation by the FBI and its partners — code-named ‘Amerithrax’ — has been one of the largest and most complex in the history of law enforcement.” — FBI
Read more
2001
September 11, 2001 Attacks
(Credit: Robert J. Fisch/Flickr User)
September 11, 2001: Two passenger airliners crash into the World Trade Center Towers in New York, one would hit the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and another crashed in a Pennsylvania countryside, but was headed for Washington, D.C.
Read more
2000
USS Cole Bombing
(Credit: FBI)
October 12, 2000: Suicide terrorists exploded a small boat alongside the USS Cole—a Navy Destroyer—as it was refueling in the Yemeni port of Aden. The blast ripped a 40-foot-wide hole near the waterline of the Cole, killing 17 American sailors and injuring many more. — FBI
Read more
1999
Columbine High School Massacre
April 20, 1999: Two subjects walked into Columbine High School and opened fire on both students and staff, as well as detonated explosive devices, some of which were planted in and around the school prior to entering.
Read more
1998
US Embassy Bombings, East Africa
(Credit: USDS)
August 7, 1998: Bombs detonated in front of two American embassies; one in Nairobi, Kenya and the other in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Read more
1996
Centennial Olympic Park Bombing
July 27, 1996: During the Summer Olympic games in Atlanta, GA, Eric Rudolph planted a backpack containing a bomb in crowded Centennial Olympic Park. While many spectators were evacuated, the bomb detonated before all could leave.
Read more
1996
“Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski Arrested
(Credit: Jeanne Boylan/FBI)
April 3, 1996: Theodore Kaczynski is arrested. Also known as the Unabomber, Kaczynski sent primitive, untraceable, homemade explosives to a number of random targets that left the FBI puzzled for nearly two decades.
Read more
1995
Oklahoma City Bombing
(Credit: FBI)
April 19, 1995: A bomb ripped through the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in downtown Oklahoma City, set by Timothy McVeigh.
Read more
1993
World Trade Center Bombing
(Credit: FBI)
February 26, 1993: A bomb exploded in a rented moving truck that was parked in the garage beneath the World Trade Center that resulted in a 100-foot crater that was several stories deep and several stories higher.
Read more
1988
Pan Am 103 Bombing
(Credit: FBI)
December 21, 1988: Pan Am Flight 103 departed from London’s Heathrow Airport, bound for New York City. However, just 40 minutes into the flight, the plane exploded 31,000 feet up in the skies above Lockerbie, Scotland.
Read more
1985
TWA Flight 847 Hijacking
(Credit: Ensign Danny Ewing Jr. /U.S. Navy)
June 14, 1985: TWA Flight 847 from Cairo to San Diego with stops in Athens and Rome, was hijacked and held hostage for 17 days, while being subjected to torture and death threats.
Read more
1984
US Embassy Annex Bombing, Beirut
(Credit: Nancy Wong)
September 20, 1984: A suicide bomber detonates a van full of approximately 3,000 pounds of explosives outside of the US Embassy Annex in Beirut, Lebanon. This was the second attack in less than two years on the US Embassy in Beirut.
Read more
1984
Rajneeshee Bioterror Attack
September 1984: “The Rajneesh cult succeeded with the first documented bioterror incident in the United States. […] Their attack hospitalized 45, caused 751 to fall ill, and would serve as a historical benchmark of bioterrorism in the United States.”
Read more
1983
US Embassy Bombing, Beirut
(Credit: US Army)
April 18, 1983: A suicide bomber crashes a truck into the front of the US Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon before detonating approximately 2,000 pounds of explosives.
Read more
1975
LaGuardia Airport Bombing
December 29, 1975: The LaGuardia Airport bombing, which killed 11 and seriously injured 74, “was the deadliest attack in New York City since the Wall Street bombing of 1920, which killed 38, until the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001.” — Wikipedia
Read more
1970
Dawson’s Field Hijackings
(Credit: Jordanian Press)
September 1970: Four aircraft bound for New York City and one for London, were hijacked by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Read more
1963
Baptist Street Bombing
(Credit: FBI)
September 15, 1963: A dynamite bomb exploded in the back stairwell of the downtown Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The church was well-known as a key civil rights meeting place, so the incident was easily classified as an act of racial hatred.
Read more
1941
Attack on Pearl Harbor
(Credit: Unknown U.S. Navy photographer)
December 7, 1941: Japan launches an attack on Pearl Harbor which goes down as one of the worst attacks on American soil, and catapults the nation into a world war that lasted four years.
Read more
1920
Wall Street Bombing, 1920
(Credit: LOC)
September 16, 1920: A man driving a cart pulled by horse, parked in front of the U.S. Assay Office across from the J. P. Morgan building in the heart of Wall Street. Minutes later, a bomb exploded, devastating the area.
Read more
