Andrew Joseph Stack, 53, an unemployed software engineer from Austin, Texas, intentionally flew a Piper Cherokee into the Austin branch of the IRS this morning at 9:40 a.m. Stack apparently had a beef with the Internal Revenue Service and resorted to an anger-fueled suicide mission, according to news reports.
Nineteen people of 190 who work in the IRS building were injured in the plane crash. The crash caused a massive fire. Two people have yet to be identified from the debris, and reports claim these two are not doing well.
The Wall Street Journal reported the following on Stack:
“In the 3,200-word manifesto, posted on the Web site Embeddedart.com, the author, who identified himself as “Joe Stack,” described himself as a recently married, struggling, contract software engineer who left Los Angeles, where he couldn’t find work, but didn’t have much better luck in Austin. The author complained bitterly about the IRS, blaming the agency for eroding his retirement savings and causing him financial troubles for years.Because of his expenses and lack of income, Mr. Stack wrote, he didn’t file a tax return, prompting an IRS audit that cost him $10,000. … “I would only hope that by striking a nerve that stimulates the inevitable double standard, knee-jerk government reaction that results in more stupid draconian restrictions people wake up and begin to see the pompous political thugs and their mindless minions for what they are,” the author wrote. “Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let’s try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well,” he wrote in conclusion, signing the posting, “Joe Stack (1956-2010).”“
