Case Closed | #2

San Diego’s 1995 Tank Rampage

The time a man snapped and went on a rampage in a stolen tank.

Of Misdeeds and Mysteries
9 min readDec 7, 2018

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People can snap over any set of circumstances, and decide to get revenge when they feel like they have been wronged, though not everyone goes to such lengths as one man did one infamous day in San Diego, California, in 1995.

One such person who took that a step further on May 17, 1995, when a man named Shawn Nelson, a U.S. Army veteran and unemployed plumber, stole an M60A3 Patton tank from the United States National Guard Armory in San Diego, California. Over the course of his rampage, of which was caught on live television, he left the destruction of many cars, fire hydrants, and even an RV vehicle in his wake.

Background

Before he stole the tank and went on his infamous rampage, Nelson was a U.S. Army veteran who went about his life like anyone else, but his infamous crime proved what could happen when an ordinary person gets pushed too far towards the edge.

Born on August 21, 1959, Nelson’s spiral downward began in 1990, when he got hospitalized for both neck and back injuries he sustained from a motorcycle accident.

He later sued the hospital for $1.6 million, citing negligence, assault, battery, and…

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Of Misdeeds and Mysteries

Writer of true crime, unsolved mysteries, and marvels of history. Lover of movies, books, cats, and anime.