A train engineer was arrested Tuesday after he tried to crash his locomotive into the USNS Mercy, the Navy hospital ship treating non-coronavirus patients at the Port of Los Angeles.
Eduardo Moreno, 44, was taken into custody by a California Highway Patrol officer after he tried to flee the scene of the intentionally derailed train.
ABC News reports: The locomotive crashed through a series of barriers and fences before coming to rest about 250 yards from the U.S. Navy Hospital Ship Mercy on Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a release. … Moreno allegedly told officers and FBI investigators that he deliberately derailed the train because he was suspicious of the Mercy's intentions and thought it was actually part of a government takeover, the complaint said. “Moreno stated that he acted alone and had not pre-planned the attempted attack,” according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Central District of California. “While admitting to intentionally derailing and crashing the train, he said he knew it would bring media attention and ‘people could see for themselves,' referring to the Mercy.” In an interview with FBI agents, Moreno stated that “he did it out of the desire to ‘wake people up,'” according to the complaint.
reports:
