Aum Shinrikyo cult

Seto, Y., Tsunoda, N., Kataoka, M., Tsuge, K., Nagano, T. (2000). Toxicological analysis of victim s blood and crime scene evidence samples in the sarin gas attack caused by the Aum Shinrikyo cult. In Natural and Selected Synthetic Toxins - Biological Implications (A.T. Tu, W. Gaffield, eds), pp. 318-32. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC. 

Sarin was released in commuter trains on three different Tokyo subway lines by the Aum Shinrikyo cult in 1995. Sarin was concealed in lunch boxes and soft-drink containers and placed on subway train floors. It was released as terrorists punctured the containers with umbrellas before leaving the trains. The incident was timed to coincide with rush hour, when trains were packed with commuters. Over 5,500 people were injured in the attack. 

The release of the nerve gas sarin by the Aum Shinrikyo cult in Matsumoto and Tokyo - in June 1994 and March 1995, respectively (see Chapter 13) - alerted the world to the very real chemical threat from terrorist groups. The determination and sophistication of subsequent terrorist attacks, the access such groups seem to have to the necessary funds, expertise and materials and their avowed intent to cause mass casualties and fatalities all emphasise that the possibility of a deliberate chemical release in a civilian setting can no longer be ignored. 

Nozaki et al. (1995) also reported on the treatment of a patient exposed to VX in an attempted murder by the same Aum Shinrikyo cult that released sarin in Matsumoto and the Tokyo subway terrorist attacks. Reportedly, VX was sprayed on the victim s back the man noted impaired vision and then experienced seizures and loss of consciousness. He arrived at the emergency room about 2 h after exposure semi-comatose... 

Radical Palestinian Terror Organizations Aum Shinrikyo Cult... 

Unfortunately, recent examples of possible intent to use are not difficult to find. A laboratory in a safe house of the Red Army Faction in Paris, France, was found to have made quantities of botulinum toxin it is believed that none was used.16 More alarming were the actions of the Aum Shinrikyo cult in Japan in early 1995. In addition to releasing the nerve agent sarin in the Tokyo subway on 18 March 1995, cult members were preparing vast quantities of Clostridium difficile bacterial spores for terrorist use.44 Although possibly not producing large numbers of casualties, the use of even small amounts of... 

In the case of the release of the nerve agent sarin in the subway of Tokyo, Japan, on March 20,1995, the Aum Shinrikyo cult responsible for the attack set up a dunrniy company to purchase the chemical precursors used in the production of the toxin. The facility where the sarin was synthesized escaped zoning and environmental authorities and was discovered only during the investigation of the incident. ... 

The only known human fatality arose when two members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult (now known as Aleph) used VX to assassinate Tadahito Hamaguchi, a former member of their sect, in Osaka in December 1994. They sprinkled VX on his neck, he collapsed, and died 10 days later without recovering consciousness. This was the same cult that used Sarin nerve gas in the Tokyo subway attacks of 1995. 

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