The Anthrax Attacks: In the Shadow of 9/11 is a documentary on Netflix that tells the true story of the poisoning terror that gripped the United States in 2001, just days after the September 11 terrorist attacks occurred.
Before the world had time to get its heads around what had happened in the US on September 11, a new wave of terror hit the States when letters containing fatal anthrax spores were sent to various locations across the country, sparking panic and prompting an FBI investigation.
But who died in the 2001 Anthrax Attacks and who was behind the deadly mail being sent through the United States Postal Service? Here are all your questions answered...
What were the Anthrax Attacks in 2001?
Just one week after the 9/11 terrorist attacks hit the United States, a new wave of danger hit when letters laced with anthrax started being sent through the mail to Washington, D.C., West Palm Beach, Fla., New York City, and Oxford, Conn.
The spate of attacks occurred between September 18 and October 12, 2001, and soon the investigation into the anthrax attacks became one of the biggest and most complex the FBI had ever undertaken, costing the country billions of dollars to decontaminate offices and buildings affected by the substance.
Who was behind the Anthrax Attacks?
The FBI soon realized that this investigation was one of the biggest in living history and that they would need the help of scientific experts if they were going to get to the bottom of who was sending the contaminated mail. However, once they started talking to the experts they discovered these scientists were exactly the sort of people who had access to this kind of anthrax. Soon their advisors became their prime suspects.
In June 2002, long after the attacks had stopped, Dr. Steven Hatfill was named as a person of interest. Hatfill was a government scientist working in a Fort Derrick, Md., biodefense lab and the FBI searched his home. However, innocent Steven Hatfill was later fully exonerated.
The FBI then turned their attention to another government scientist called Bruce Edwards Ivins, but before he could be charged Ivins took his own life in 2008.
On August 6, 2008, Bruce was officially named the sole suspect for the attacks based on DNA evidence.
Who died in the 2001 Anthrax Attacks?
The first person to die was a man called Bob Stevens who had inhaled lethal anthrax spores. Although this was the first time someone had died from the deadly substance for years, not a lot was made of the fatality until a week later when a letter was mailed to the NBC News offices in New York that contained anthrax. Similar letters were then subsequently sent to the New York Post and two US senators.
Five people died in the anthrax attacks of 2001, including two workers at a postal sorting office in Washington, D.C. However, the number of people affected by the attacks is much higher and 17 people are known to have been affected overall.
Four of the five fatalities from the attacks were directly related to the case, all having opened infected letters or been in the direct firing line of opened letters. However, the fifth death left everyone baffled.
The 94-year-old woman, Ottilie Lundgren, was apparently not connected to the attacks in any way, having no link to the media or politics, and living in a rural community, miles from any of the other victims. Her home and mail tested negative for Anthrax spores and eventually it was decided that Lundgren must have been the sad victim of cross-contaminated mail.
Is there a trailer for The Anthrax Attacks?
Yes, you can watch as the news of the Anthrax Attacks spread around the US, leaving everyone terrified do something as simple as open their mail...
Where can I watch The Anthrax Attacks: In the Shadow of 9/11?
You can watch The Anthrax Attacks: In the Shadow of 9/11 on Netflix worldwide now.
