An animal rights group claimed responsibility Wednesday for a
recent attempted bombing of a UCLA faculty member’s home.
According to a press release by the North American Animal
Liberation Press Office, the Animal Liberation Front said it had
placed an “incendiary device” on Lynn Fairbanks’
Bel Air doorstep in retaliation for her involvement in animal
experimentation in UCLA labs.
But the FBI, which is investigating the incident, said in a
statement that the explosive device was mistakenly placed on the
doorstep of the faculty member’s neighbor, a 70-year-old
woman, and the device ultimately failed to ignite.
Fairbanks, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, is
the director of the Center for Primate Neuroethology at the UCLA
Neuropsychiatric Institute. She is also the director of the Vervet
Research Center at the Veterans Administration Greater Los Angeles
Health Care System.
In its statement, the Animal Liberation Front accused Fairbanks
of “breeding monkeys for painful addiction experiments”
including drugs such as ecstasy and cocaine.
“Lynn Fairbanks and those like her who make money off of
addicting primates to drugs … need to stop,” the statement
read. “If the primates could escape from (their) cages they
would do this to Lynn Fairbanks and worse.”
Neither UCLA officials nor a statement released by the FBI
confirmed that Fairbanks was the target of the June 30 attack, and
UCLA officials said the group’s description misrepresented
Fairbanks’ work.
But the FBI added that the device was similar to explosives used
by other animal rights and eco-terrorism groups, and should still
be considered dangerous.
“It is the opinion of arson investigators that if the
device had functioned properly, escape would have been difficult to
impossible, given the hillside location of the house, possibly
resulting in the death of the inhabitants of the residence,”
the statement read.
The FBI has classified the incident as an act of terrorism
because it was intended to further political or social
objectives.
Judy Lin, a UCLA spokeswoman, said the university was concerned
to hear about the attack.
“This is a terrorist attack, and UCLA condemns
that,” she said.
She added that though the FBI is heading the investigation, UCPD
is keeping an eye on the situation because it involves a member of
the UCLA community.
The FBI will conduct its investigation in conjunction with the
Los Angeles Police and Fire Departments, along with other
counter-terrorism groups. Currently, a $10,000 reward is being
offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of
the perpetrators.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the FBI at
(310) 477-6565.