FEAR RIDES THE YELLOW BUS There were a series of phone calls and one letter to various police departments from October 14th/15th 1969 to December 19th 1969 from the "Zodiac Killer". The phone call to Santa Rosa on October 14th/15th 1969 (almost certainly Zodiac) was likely delivered to the Santa Rosa Police Department, who had recently moved into the newly constructed Civic Center at 100 Santa Rosa Avenue on June 10th 1969.
This phone call came within two days of the mailing of the Paul Stine letter on October 13th 1969, threatening to place bombs on various school buses, which resulted in an immediate response from the district's transportation director. Three weeks later, on November 5th 1969, somebody claiming to be the Zodiac Killer rang the Martinez Police Department at 30 minutes past midnight, stating "There's going to be a shooting at 1234 Bush Street", before immediately hanging up the receiver. The caller was continuing his threats on school teacher Daniel Williams, who had received several malicious and sinister phone calls over the previous two weeks, including an attempt on his life using arsenic. Two weeks after the Martinez Police Department phone call, on November 21st 1969, a "Zodiac" letter was mailed to the San Jose Police Department targeting a woman, which police took extremely seriously by instigating 24-hour protection on the "widow". Four weeks later, on December 19th 1969, a phone call to the San Jose Highway Patrol by the "Zodiac Killer" threatened "I am going to kill five of you officers and a family of five between now and Monday". This call came three days after the then unpublished Fairfield letter promising to kill numerous police officers.
This phone call came within two days of the mailing of the Paul Stine letter on October 13th 1969, threatening to place bombs on various school buses, which resulted in an immediate response from the district's transportation director. Three weeks later, on November 5th 1969, somebody claiming to be the Zodiac Killer rang the Martinez Police Department at 30 minutes past midnight, stating "There's going to be a shooting at 1234 Bush Street", before immediately hanging up the receiver. The caller was continuing his threats on school teacher Daniel Williams, who had received several malicious and sinister phone calls over the previous two weeks, including an attempt on his life using arsenic. Two weeks after the Martinez Police Department phone call, on November 21st 1969, a "Zodiac" letter was mailed to the San Jose Police Department targeting a woman, which police took extremely seriously by instigating 24-hour protection on the "widow". Four weeks later, on December 19th 1969, a phone call to the San Jose Highway Patrol by the "Zodiac Killer" threatened "I am going to kill five of you officers and a family of five between now and Monday". This call came three days after the then unpublished Fairfield letter promising to kill numerous police officers.
However, as far as we know, only one specific bomb threat was ever issued by the real Zodiac Killer outside of San Francisco. His November 9th 1969, April 20th 1970, April 28th 1970, June 26th 1970 and July 26th 1970 communications were all delivered to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The Santa Rosa bomb threat on schoolchildren on October 14th/15th 1969 was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle on October 21st 1969 in an article entitled Fear Rides the Yellow Bus, which stated "A climate of fear hangs over the Napa Valley. The fear is over "Zodiac" and his terrifying boast to "wipe out a school bus. The district encompasses an area of Southern Napa County of 229 square miles. Sixty-four bright yellow buses travel the county roadways each day - often into areas where houses are a couple of miles apart. The vehicles go a total of 4,000 miles daily in and from elementary schools, three junior highs and one senior high school. Even before starting on its routes each vehicle has undergone a thorough check to make sure a bomb isn't aboard. Someone hinting he might be Zodiac has telephoned such a threat in Santa Rosa. The man responsible for the safety of the students who ride the buses is Fred Sowash, the district's transportation director. Since last Wednesday, when he learned of Zodiac's threat, Sowash has been devoting 18 to 20 hours a day to blunt it"
The Santa Rosa bomb threat on schoolchildren on October 14th/15th 1969 was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle on October 21st 1969 in an article entitled Fear Rides the Yellow Bus, which stated "A climate of fear hangs over the Napa Valley. The fear is over "Zodiac" and his terrifying boast to "wipe out a school bus. The district encompasses an area of Southern Napa County of 229 square miles. Sixty-four bright yellow buses travel the county roadways each day - often into areas where houses are a couple of miles apart. The vehicles go a total of 4,000 miles daily in and from elementary schools, three junior highs and one senior high school. Even before starting on its routes each vehicle has undergone a thorough check to make sure a bomb isn't aboard. Someone hinting he might be Zodiac has telephoned such a threat in Santa Rosa. The man responsible for the safety of the students who ride the buses is Fred Sowash, the district's transportation director. Since last Wednesday, when he learned of Zodiac's threat, Sowash has been devoting 18 to 20 hours a day to blunt it"
When the Zodiac Killer aimed his threat at Santa Rosa in October 1969, this was the only confirmed bomb threat outside of San Francisco by the murderer of five. But is this actually true, when we consider that seven months later, on Friday, May 8th 1970, somebody issued two false bomb threats to the recently opened K-Mart department store at 3771 Cleveland Avenue in Santa Rosa? These malicious phone calls came 10 days after the Zodiac Killer's "Dragon" card arrived at the San Francisco Chronicle and stated "I hope you enjoy yourselves when I have my blast".
If this was a hoaxer phoning the Santa Rosa K-Mart on May 8th 1970, then they chose the only city beyond San Francisco that the Zodiac Killer had previously threatened by bomb, seven months earlier. If the Zodiac Killer had called the Santa Rosa Police Department at 100 Santa Rosa Avenue on October 14th/15th 1969, then this hoaxer on May 8th 1970. would have issued these following threats just 3 miles north of the police department, alongside Highway 101, linking San Francisco. The Santa Rosa Police Department was 500 meters east of Highway 101, while the K-Mart on Cleveland Avenue was only 120 meters west of Highway 101.
The question we have to ask is, did a hoaxer pretending to be the Zodiac Killer choose Santa Rosa again by sheer fortune, did they select this city by virtue of one newspaper article in the San Francisco Chronicle seven months earlier, or was it the real Zodiac Killer targeting this location once again, who may have shot at a school bus in Santa Rosa on October 17th 1969?
Regardless of the threats to target schoolchildren with bullets and bombs, investigators were skeptical of the female bus driver's claim as they could find no evidence of any bullets striking the bus. One would have thought that a Santa Rosa telephone threat from the Zodiac Killer directed at school buses, followed by a woman driving a school bus in Santa Rosa reporting what she described as "a loud shot", would have stimulated less skepticism Especially when you consider that the female bus driver in Santa Rosa reported this story before any knowledge of the Santa Rosa bus bomb threat had been published in the newspapers. It seemed that Fred Sowash took it seriously when he learned of the threat on October 14th or 15th 1969, because he devoted 18 to 20 hours a day to minimize the possibilty of an attack. However, despite his commitment, it appeared that no police vehicles were trailing this woman's school bus on October 17th 1969 as it approached Yulupa Elementary School in Santa Rosa, amidst the Zodiac Killer's threats to shoot out the front tires of a school bus and "pick off the kiddies as they come bouncing out" on October 13th 1969 , and the direct threat to Santa Rosa less than 48 hours later.
If this was a hoaxer phoning the Santa Rosa K-Mart on May 8th 1970, then they chose the only city beyond San Francisco that the Zodiac Killer had previously threatened by bomb, seven months earlier. If the Zodiac Killer had called the Santa Rosa Police Department at 100 Santa Rosa Avenue on October 14th/15th 1969, then this hoaxer on May 8th 1970. would have issued these following threats just 3 miles north of the police department, alongside Highway 101, linking San Francisco. The Santa Rosa Police Department was 500 meters east of Highway 101, while the K-Mart on Cleveland Avenue was only 120 meters west of Highway 101.
The question we have to ask is, did a hoaxer pretending to be the Zodiac Killer choose Santa Rosa again by sheer fortune, did they select this city by virtue of one newspaper article in the San Francisco Chronicle seven months earlier, or was it the real Zodiac Killer targeting this location once again, who may have shot at a school bus in Santa Rosa on October 17th 1969?
Regardless of the threats to target schoolchildren with bullets and bombs, investigators were skeptical of the female bus driver's claim as they could find no evidence of any bullets striking the bus. One would have thought that a Santa Rosa telephone threat from the Zodiac Killer directed at school buses, followed by a woman driving a school bus in Santa Rosa reporting what she described as "a loud shot", would have stimulated less skepticism Especially when you consider that the female bus driver in Santa Rosa reported this story before any knowledge of the Santa Rosa bus bomb threat had been published in the newspapers. It seemed that Fred Sowash took it seriously when he learned of the threat on October 14th or 15th 1969, because he devoted 18 to 20 hours a day to minimize the possibilty of an attack. However, despite his commitment, it appeared that no police vehicles were trailing this woman's school bus on October 17th 1969 as it approached Yulupa Elementary School in Santa Rosa, amidst the Zodiac Killer's threats to shoot out the front tires of a school bus and "pick off the kiddies as they come bouncing out" on October 13th 1969 , and the direct threat to Santa Rosa less than 48 hours later.
THE K-MART AT CLEVELAND AVENUE IN 1970
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