In late May and early June 2020, two ambush-style attacks occurred against security personnel and law enforcement officers in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. The attacks left two dead and injured three others.
The attacks began on May 29, when a
drive-by shooting
A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrator(s) to quickly strike their target and flee the scene before ...
occurred in front of a federal courthouse in
Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
, resulting in the death of a security officer contracted with the
Federal Protective Service. Over a week later on June 6,
Santa Cruz County sheriff's deputies were shot at and also attacked with
improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...
s; one of them died as a result.
U.S. Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
sergeant Steven Carrillo was arrested soon after the second attack. A second suspect, Robert Justus, surrendered to authorities five days later. The FBI indicated that Carrillo was associated with the
boogaloo movement
The boogaloo movement, whose adherents are often referred to as boogaloo boys or boogaloo bois, is a loosely organized far-right anti-government extremist movement in the United States. It has also been described as a militia. Adherents say th ...
, a loosely organized American
far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
anti-government
extremist
Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...
movement whose participants say they are preparing for a
Second American Civil War
The "Second American Civil War" is an umbrella term used by academics in order to reclassify historical eras of significant political violence in the history of the United States as a "civil war" or, more commonly, to discuss the potential outbre ...
.
Carrillo used the
George Floyd protests
The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internati ...
as a cover to attack police officers, according to the FBI.
A white van owned by Carrillo contained a ballistic vest with a patch bearing boogaloo symbolism. Carrillo is alleged to have written "boog" and the phrase "I became unreasonable" (a popular
meme
A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...
among boogaloo groups) in his own blood on the hood of a vehicle he hijacked. According to federal authorities, the suspects were motivated by the boogaloo movement's ideology, and allegedly intended to spread its extremist views and start a civil war.
During his arraignment, Carrillo wore a face mask with the words 'We the people,' written in marker, along with initials 'BLM' - for 'Black Lives Matter' - and 'Portland, Kenosha, George Floyd and
Breonna Taylor
Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American woman, was fatally shot in her Louisville, Kentucky apartment on March 13, 2020, when at least seven police officers forced entry into the apartment as part of an investigation into drug dealing op ...
.'
Attacks
Oakland shooting
At around 9:44 pm
PDT on May 29, 2020, an initially unknown assailant (later identified as Carrillo) fired a rifle out of the sliding door of a white van, striking security personnel stationed outside the
Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building
The Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building complex is a federal building complex in Oakland, California, constructed as part of the Oakland City Center redevelopment project. In 1998, the United States Congress passed a bill naming the building for for ...
in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
.
Two
Triple Canopy
Triple Canopy, Inc., is an American private security company that provides integrated security, mission support and risk management services to corporate, government and nonprofit clients. The firm was founded in May 2003 by Army Special Force ...
security officers contracted with the
Federal Protective Service were shot, resulting in the death of David Patrick Underwood and the serious injury to the other. The attack occurred during
George Floyd protests in Oakland, but the two were not related.
Video surveillance later revealed that the van did not have license plates and had been in the area for at least half an hour. A man was seen exiting the driver's seat and walking around for 10 minutes before the attack.
On October 23, 2020, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the District of Minnesota announced they had filed federal charges against another boogaloo adherent and alleged
agent provocateur
An agent provocateur () is a person who commits, or who acts to entice another person to commit, an illegal or rash act or falsely implicate them in partaking in an illegal act, so as to ruin the reputation of, or entice legal action against, the ...
who had traveled from Texas to Minneapolis to participate in a George Floyd protest on May 27–28, 2020. In the indictment, he was alleged to have been in contact with Carrillo via text message, and to have texted Carrillo to instruct him to "go for police buildings".
[ In response, Carrillo allegedly replied, "I did better lol", which prosecutors believe was a reference to killing Underwood blocks away from the unrelated ]Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
protest.[ The man also allegedly asked Carrillo for money, saying he needed "to be in the woods for a bit." Carrillo reportedly provided him with $200 via a cash app.]
Ben Lomond attack
On June 6, 2020, Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Department deputies arrived at Carrillo's residence in Ben Lomond, California
Ben Lomond is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, and also the name of the mountain to the west. The CDP includes the communities of Glen Arbor and Brackney. The population was 6,337 at the 2020 cens ...
, ten miles north of the city of Santa Cruz. In response, Carrillo allegedly fired at the deputies with an AR-15 style rifle
An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation d ...
, seriously injuring one deputy and killing Sheriff Sergeant Damon Gutzwiller. Two nearby California Highway Patrol officers responded to the scene, and were met with gunfire, wounding one officer. Deputies and officers were also attacked with improvised explosive devices. During the shootout, Carrillo was hit and fled on foot to a nearby highway where he hijacked
Hijacking may refer to:
Common usage
Computing and technology
* Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth
* Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand
* Browser hijacking
* Clickjacking (including ''like ...
a car. He abandoned the car minutes later. According to the criminal complaint against him, Carrillo scrawled messages in his own blood on the hijacked car that said "I became unreasonable", "stop the duopoly", and "Boog". Carrillo tried to take another car from where it was parked at a home, but was restrained by the homeowner and another civilian. Carrillo was arrested in connection with the attack.
Perpetrator and accused
Steven Carrillo is a 32-year-old Air Force staff sergeant from Ben Lomond, California
Ben Lomond is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, and also the name of the mountain to the west. The CDP includes the communities of Glen Arbor and Brackney. The population was 6,337 at the 2020 cens ...
, who began serving since 2009. He was on active duty at Travis Air Force Base
Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command (AMC), located three miles (5 km) east of the central business district of the city of Fairfield, in Solano County, Californi ...
near Fairfield, California, as an airman in the Phoenix Ravens program, a special unit tasked with guarding American military personnel and aircraft at unsecure foreign airfields. He had worked at the base since 2018, though he had served in Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
for four months in 2019. A former friend of Carrillo's told ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
that Carrillo identified as a libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
.
Robert A. Justus Jr. is a 30-year-old man from Millbrae, California
Millbrae is a city located in northern San Mateo County, California, United States. To its northeast is San Francisco International Airport, San Bruno is on its northwest, and Burlingame on its southeast. It is bordered by San Andreas Lake to ...
.
Investigation
By June 2, 2020, investigators believed the attackers were targeting uniformed officers. An abandoned white van that held firearms, ammunition, and bomb-making equipment contained evidence that led to Carrillo's home in Ben Lomond. A ballistic vest found in the white van bore a patch with the boogaloo symbols of Hawaiian-style print and igloos. At his home he opened fire on officers, was shot in the process, fled on foot, and hijacked a nearby car. He was later found and arrested, bleeding from his hip. According to an official from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevent ...
(ATF), a homemade machine gun with a silencer was used in the shootings. The weapon was a "ghost gun
A privately made firearm (''also referred to as a ghost gun, homemade firearm, or eighty-percenter)'' is a firearm that is produced by a private individual rather than a corporate or government entity. The term is used mostly in the United State ...
" and did not have a serial number.
Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security
The deputy secretary of homeland security is the chief operating officer of the United States Department of Homeland Security, with responsibility for managing day-to-day operations. The department has over 208,000 employees and an annual budge ...
Ken Cuccinelli
Kenneth Thomas Cuccinelli II ( ; born July 30, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, ...
described the Oakland shooting as an "act of domestic terrorism
Domestic terrorism or homegrown terrorism is a form of terrorism in which victims "within a country are targeted by a perpetrator with the same citizenship" as the victims.Gary M. Jackson, ''Predicting Malicious Behavior: Tools and Techniques ...
". The FBI announced on June 16 that Steven Carrillo was associated with the boogaloo movement
The boogaloo movement, whose adherents are often referred to as boogaloo boys or boogaloo bois, is a loosely organized far-right anti-government extremist movement in the United States. It has also been described as a militia. Adherents say th ...
and that he and Justus had deliberately chosen the night of protests in Oakland for cover for the May 29 attack. The FBI agent-in-charge of the investigation stated, "There is no evidence that these men had any intention to join the demonstration in Oakland. They came to Oakland to kill cops." Beforehand, Carrillo posted on Facebook, "Go to the riots and support our own cause. Show them the real targets" and "Use their anger to fuel our fire. Think outside the box. We have mobs of angry people to use to our advantage." The attack took place several blocks from a protest at Oakland City Hall
Oakland City Hall is the seat of government for the city of Oakland, California. The current building was completed in 1914, and replaced a prior building that stood on what is now Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. Standing at the height of , it was the first ...
. A former friend of Carrillo's told interviewers, "Excessive use of force on unarmed civilians — that was a huge thing for him... It was a mental tipping point for him." The hijacked car had "boog", "I became unreasonable", and "stop the duopoly" written in Carrillo's blood on the vehicle's hood. "I became unreasonable" is a popular phrase in boogaloo memes, and is a quote from Marvin Heemeyer
Marvin John Heemeyer (October 28, 1951 – June 4, 2004) was an American automobile muffler repair shop owner who, following a dispute with town officials, demolished numerous buildings with a modified bulldozer in Granby, Colorado, on June 4, ...
, the perpetrator of the 2004 "Killdozer" rampage in which he demolished several buildings over a zoning dispute. "Stop the duopoly" is also a popular fixation among boogaloo adherents, referring to the dominance of the Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
and Democratic parties in American politics.
Authorities linked the crimes to the boogaloo movement and said the men used recent demonstrations against racial injustice as a cover to attack law enforcement. The FBI agent in charge of the investigation said in a news conference that the suspects did not appear to intend to join the protests, saying, "They came to Oakland to kill cops."
Using a search warrant, the FBI investigated posts from Carrillo's Facebook account posted between May 28 and 29. One message read, "It's on our coast now, this needs to be nationwide. It's a great opportunity to target the specialty soup bois." (According to the FBI, "soup bois" may refer to federal law enforcement agents.) Another read, "Its kicking off now and if its not kicking off in your hood then start it. Show them the targets."
Justus was declared a suspect in the Oakland shooting and placed under FBI surveillance. He turned himself in at the federal building in San Francisco five days after Carrillo's arrest.
Prosecution
Carrillo's murder prosecution, guilty plea, and sentencing
Carrillo was charged with 19 felonies, including murder and attempted murder. The charges carried lying in wait
In criminal law, lying in wait refers to the act of hiding and waiting for an individual with the intent to kill or inflict serious bodily harm to that person. Because lying in wait involves premeditation, some jurisdictions have established that ...
enhancements. Carrillo's lawyer said that his client was "left deeply shaken" by the suicide of his wife in 2018 and had experienced a traumatic brain injury
A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity (ranging from mild traumatic brain injury TBI/concussionto severe traumatic b ...
in 2009. Federal prosecutors opted not to seek a death sentence. On August 27, 2020, Carrillo pleaded not guilty to the murder charge for the sergeant killed in Santa Cruz. Preliminary hearings for charges related to the Oakland shooting were slated for December 2020 but postponed to March 2021 because of the ongoing case around the attack in Ben Lomond
Ben Lomond (Scottish Gaelic: Beinn Laomainn, 'Beacon Mountain'), , is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands. Situated on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, it is the most southerly of the Munros. Ben Lomond lies within the Ben Lomond National Me ...
, in which a Santa Cruz County deputy sheriff was slain and others were injured.[Steven Carrillo Sentenced to 41 Years in Prison for Murder and Attempted Murder for Role in Drive-By Shooting at Federal Courthouse in Oakland]
U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida (June 3, 2022).
In February 2022, Carrillo pleaded guilty to killing Underwood and the attempted murder of the other officer. He admitted that he visited Facebook the day before the shooting to ask if anyone was "down to boog", connecting with the man who drove the van from which Carrillo fired 19 rounds from a homemade AR-15. The defense and prosecution agreed to recommend to the court a sentence of 41 years in prison for the drive-by shooting at the Oakland federal courthouse, which was handed down by the court in June 2022.[ On June 28, 2022, Carrillo pleaded guilty to the murder of Damon Gutzwiller. On August 26, 2022, Carrillo was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for Gutzwiller's murder.
]
Of Justus
Justus is facing charges of aiding and abetting
Aiding and abetting is a legal doctrine related to the guilt of someone who aids or abets (encourages, incites) another person in the commission of a crime (or in another's suicide). It exists in a number of different countries and generally allo ...
murder and aiding and abetting attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Reaction
Several conservative commentators inaccurately linked the shootings to those who were protesting the murder of George Floyd
On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's n ...
at the time. Media Matters for America
Media Matters for America (MMfA) is a politically left-leaning 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization and media watchdog group. MMfA was founded in 2004 by journalist and political activist David Brock as a counterweight to the conservative Media Res ...
, a left-wing organization that monitors right-wing media, characterized right-wing coverage of Underwood's death as an attempt to "discredit the wider Black Lives Matter protests". Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
anchor Eric Shawn
Eric Shawn is an American television news anchor and reporter for the Fox News, based in Manhattan alongside co-anchor Arthel Neville.
Early life and education
Shawn is the son of Gilbert Shawn and Melba Rae, an actress best known for her long ...
spoke of the George Floyd protests, saying "we have been under attack from domestic terrorists," then reported Underwood's killing. Sean Hannity
Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of ''The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commentar ...
asserted Underwood was "murdered by rioters". On June 1, then-President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
repeated the claim in a speech about the protests, saying, "A federal officer in California, an African American enforcement hero, was shot and killed. These are not acts of peaceful protest. These are acts of domestic terror."
During his August 2020 speech at the Republican National Convention, then-Vice President Mike Pence
Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...
falsely implied that Underwood had been killed by radical leftist activists. Rebecca Kaplan
Rebecca Dawn Kaplan (born September 17, 1970) is a Canadian-born American attorney and politician who has served as an at-large member of the Oakland City Council since 2009. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Born and raised in Ontario, ...
, the City Councilmember At-Large for Oakland, California, denounced Pence's statement, saying, "Mr. Underwood's tragic murder was not part of any demonstration, but an act of a violent, armed white supremacist... Pence's lies attempt to discredit important movements for social justice, and to move blame away from violent white supremacist murder."[
]
See also
* List of homicides in California
This is a list of notable homicides in California. This list includes notable homicides committed in the U.S. state of California that have a Wikipedia article on the killing, the killer, or the victim. It is divided into four subject areas as fo ...
*2009 shootings of Oakland police officers
Four police officers in Oakland, California, were fatally shot on March 21, 2009, by Lovelle Mixon, a convicted felon wanted on a no-bail warrant for a parole violation. Mixon shot and killed two police officers of the Oakland Police Department d ...
*2013 shooting of Santa Cruz police officers
On February 26, 2013, Santa Cruz Police Department officers Sergeant Loran Baker and Detective Elizabeth Butler were shot and killed during an investigation. After a short interaction regarding an allegation and a negotiation to be placed under a ...
*George Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul
Local protests over the murder of George Floyd (sometimes called the Minneapolis riots or Minneapolis uprising) began on May 26, 2020, and quickly inspired a global protest movement against police brutality and racial inequality. The initial ...
*Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot
On October 8, 2020, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced the arrests of 13 men suspected of orchestrating a domestic terror plot to kidnap American politician Gretchen Whitmer, the Governor of Michigan, and otherwise using ...
*Christopher Dorner shootings and manhunt
Christopher Jordan Dorner (June 4, 1979 – February 12, 2013) was a former officer of the Los Angeles Police Department who, beginning on February 3, 2013, committed a series of shootings in Orange County, Los Angeles County, Riverside County ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boogaloo murders, 2020
2020 in California
2020 murders in the United States
2020s in Oakland, California
American police officers killed in the line of duty
Assassinated police officers
Anti-police violence in the United States
Attacks in the United States in 2020
Boogaloo movement
Criminal duos
Crimes in Oakland, California
Deaths by firearm in California
Drive-by shootings
History of Alameda County, California
History of Santa Cruz County, California
History of the San Francisco Bay Area
History of the Monterey Bay Area
Law enforcement in California
June 2020 crimes in the United States
June 2020 events in the United States
May 2020 crimes in the United States
May 2020 events in the United States
Spree shootings in the United States
Terrorist incidents in California
Terrorist incidents in the United States in 2020