On the morning of May 13, 2014 our officers responded to a report of a chemical attack on the Santa Cruz
area Social Security Administration Office at 169 Walnut Avenue.
The attack involved a person breaking the windows to the office and
pouring a caustic chemical mixture of chlorine bleach and ammonia into the
building.
At the risk of sounding like Cliff from Cheers
This combination produces an
initial reaction of hydrochloric acid:
NaOCl → NaOH + HOCl
HOCl → HCl + O
With a secondary reaction creating
chloramine gas:
NaOCl + 2HCl → Cl2 + NaCl + H2O
2NH3 + Cl2 → 2NH2Cl
Exposure to this mixture
is potentially lethal.
Emergency medical crews responded to assist employees exposed to the gas
and the building was evacuated.
Our investigation led to the identification of the suspect as:
Joseph Anton
Loris – 70 years old, Transient
This morning (May 20, 2014), Detectives located and arrested Mr. Loris
at approximately 11:00 AM. He was
arrested near the intersection of Riverside Avenue and Third Street in Santa
Cruz.
Mr. Loris was interviewed by detectives where he went on an
anti-government rant, but fell short of confessing to the crime.
Detectives used images from video evidence to help identify Mr. Loris
as the suspect in this case. Here are some of the images we used:
To help you match it up a little, here is the profile shot from his booking photo:
Turns out, Mr. Loris recently had his car towed by our traffic team. He was quickly recognized by our officers. Great team work by our detectives and patrol teams on this one!
Because the
attack involved a Federal facility, detectives worked closely with the FBI and
the Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Office during the investigation.
Mr. Loris was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail on charges of (1)
Burglary, (2) Assault with a Deadly Weapon, and (3) Felony Vandalism. Mr. Loris’ previous contact with the police
department consists mostly of traffic violations.
