United States Department of State - Diplomatic Security Service, U.S. Government
End of Watch: Wednesday, December 21, 1988
Age: 31
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Terrorist attack
Date of Incident: December 21, 1988
Weapon Used: Explosives; Bomb
Suspect Info: Deceased
Special Agent Daniel O'Connor, Special Agent Ronald Lariviere, and Assistant Deputy Director Michael Bernstein, of the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Special Investigations, were killed when a terrorist's bomb destroyed the commercial aircraft they were traveling in while returning to the United States from Europe.
A total of 259 people on the plane and 11 people on the ground were killed when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. The investigation that followed lead to strong sanctions against Libya and the arrest of two Libyan nationals. One suspect was convicted of murder while the second was acquitted.
On July 25, 2009, the suspect applied for, and was later granted compassionate release from the United Kingdom, on the basis that he had terminal prostate cancer. On August 20, 2009, he was released from prison and traveled to Libya the same day. He died in Libya in 2012.