‘Unabomber’ sent Boeing pipe bomb in 1985

Theodore “Ted” Kacynski, who was also known as the Unabomber, reportedly died in his prison cell Saturday morning, according to the Associated Press.

Kacynski had been serving four life sentences, plus 30 years, after pleading guilty to mailing bombs that caused 16 explosions that killed three people and maimed 23 between 1978 and 1995.

His targets included universities and airlines across the country, including Dulles International Airport, the University of Michigan, Yale, and the University of California at Berkley.

He also sent a pipe bomb to a Boeing parts fabricating complex in Auburn on June 13, 1985.

According to the News Tribune, a Boeing spokesperson said the device had been found by two custodial supervisory workers who were suspicious of a package they saw in a mailroom.

Another Boeing spokesperson said a 1-inch pipe that was connected to batteries in a box was found just before noon that day.

About 30 workers were evacuated and the Auburn police were called, who called the county bomb squad.

A “bomb blanket” was placed on top of the device and it was transported to a muddy pit nearby. It was detonated at about 5:30 p.m.

The Boeing spokesperson said they were not aware, at the time, of any threat in connection to the bomb.

Five months later, Kacynski would mail a package to a professor at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where it detonated, injuring two people.