The FBI’s 20-year search for one of its most wanted terrorists has ended with the arrest of Daniel Andreas San Diego in the United Kingdom. San Diego, 46, was apprehended in a rural area of North Wales after evading capture for over two decades.
A native of Berkeley, California, San Diego is linked to two bombings that took place in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2003. The explosions occurred on the campus of Chiron Corporation in Emeryville, a biotech company, where two bombs detonated within an hour of each other. Security footage from the scene captured San Diego walking near the explosions moments before they occurred.
A month after the initial bombings, San Diego is also believed to have planted a third bomb at Shaklee Corporation’s headquarters in Pleasanton. The FBI quickly launched a domestic terrorism investigation, and San Diego was added to the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist List in 2009, making him the first person suspected of domestic terrorism to receive that designation.
FBI agents lost track of San Diego after he was spotted walking into a BART station in San Francisco in 2003, but his whereabouts remained unknown for the next two decades.
Following his arrest in the U.K., San Diego now faces extradition to the U.S. He appeared in a London courtroom on Tuesday as part of the legal process.
FBI Director Christopher Wray expressed confidence in the agency’s ability to bring criminals to justice, stating, “No matter how long it takes, the FBI will find you and hold you accountable.”
Robert Tripp, the FBI Special Agent in Charge of the San Francisco Office, emphasized the collaboration between federal and international authorities in bringing San Diego to justice.
San Diego’s father, Ed San Diego, a retired city manager, declined to comment on the arrest when briefly contacted by ABC7 News.
The capture of Daniel San Diego concludes a long-running investigation and serves as a reminder that violent extremism will not go unpunished.
