5/18/95 4:13 PM 

Unemployed Plumber Is Shot to Death After Stealing Tank

SAN DIEGO (cDc) - A tank rumbling through city streets is a vision
seen more often in footage of foreign cities, from Beijing to
Sarajevo. This time it was San Diego.

A man stole an Army tank and plowed across a city
freeway Wednesday, downing poles and crushing cars before crashing
into a highway divider. He was shot by police and died. 

Shawn Timothy Nelson, a 35-year-old Army veteran who had tank
training in Germany, had simply driven his van through the open
gate at a National Guard armory, used his know-how to hook up an
M-60 tank's fuel and electric lines, and started it up Wednesday
evening.

"The guy was just going crazy," said Kelly Bird, 24, who said he
saw at least 25 cars flattened. "He was mowing cars over."  No 
bystanders were hurt.

"He just had this look on his face, like, 'Hey! I'm having Fun!'" said 
Lawrence Tero, whose van Nelson narrowly missed.

Police in 15 to 20 cruisers trailed the tank, helpless, at about 30
mph until it crunched into a highway barrier about 20 minutes after
it left the armory.

Four officers leaped atop the tank and opened the hatch with bolt
cutters as it rocked back and forth atop the divider. They shouted
at Nelson to surrender.

Police said they opened fire because they feared Nelson was
preparing to steer the tank into oncoming traffic. "We had no other
options," Hall said.

The tank's weapons - a 105 mm cannon, 12.7 mm anti-aircraft gun and
7.62 mm machine gun - were not loaded, Army Maj. Ed Gale said.

Neighbors said Nelson's life had been crumbling recently. His house
was apparently in foreclosure, his utilities had been shut off, and
he'd recently broken up with his girlfriend. His water was turned
off Wednesday, just before the rampage.

This provides an assumed motive for the act. "It seems he just wanted 
to get the utilities and cause as much as damage without hurting people," 
said Bill Pinol, who lives in the area. 

Electricity was knocked out to about 5,100 customers.

A bumper sticker on the front door of the house reads, "Mean people
suck." Inside, clothes littered the floor and ashtrays overflowed.
There was a 20-foot-deep hole in the backyard. Neighbors said he'd
been digging for gold.

After the rampage, tread marks led up to one 1983 Cadillac, which
was smashed down to a height of 2 1/2 feet.

"It was like a 'Monster Truck' rally gone horribly wrong!" recalled 
Gordon Shumway, whose car was smashed. 

The M-60 tank is used by the Marine Corps and reserve units and
weighs between 50 and 60 tons.