1995 San Diego tank rampage

Nelson was a native Californian and United States Army veteran with unusual habits that drew the attention of his neighbors.

On May 17, he stole a 57.3-tonne (56.4-long-ton; 63.2-short-ton) tank from the local California Army National Guard armory and drove it around for six miles (9.7 km), crushing cars and infrastructure in his path—though without injuring anyone.

The tank crashed and was partially disabled, and San Diego police forced it open before shooting and killing Nelson.

[3] He attended James Madison High School—where he was a sophomore during the 1975–1976 academic year,[4] grew up in Clairemont, San Diego, and later married Suzy Hellman in 1984.

He spent nighttime hours mowing his lawn and digging for gold in a 20-foot (6.1 m) backyard pit, his property was covered in machine detritus and garbage, and police had visited nine times in 1994–95 "on calls ranging from reports of domestic violence to a complaint that Nelson's van had been stolen."

Unemployed,[8] his house on Willamette Avenue[9] was being foreclosed upon, his utilities had been shut off,[8] an eviction notice had been served, and he had recently broken up with a girlfriend.

"[11] Over a distance of six miles (9.7 km),[3] he struck bridges, a bus bench, fire hydrants, traffic lights,[2] 40 cars[7]—crushing some down to a height of 2+1⁄2 feet (0.76 m), and utility poles, leaving some 5100 households without electricity.

"[3] The district attorney of San Diego County later ruled the shooting was justified because, had he freed the tank, Nelson could have injured or killed people.

[14] In the following years, the uncertainty of Nelson's motives led to commentators projecting their theories onto his actions: "a saga about the middle class under siege; a fable about the emasculation of American men; a warning about what happens when ex-servicemen, lacking foreign enemies and domestic opportunities, bring the war home.

[9] The Guard confirmed that vehicles entering the armory grounds were not checked (despite heightened security after the recent Oklahoma City bombing).

[2] By November 1996, the Guard had improved security and awareness at its armories, and moved all its tanks to either Fort Irwin or Camp Roberts.