A California train engineer has been arrested after the FBI says he purposely derailed a train in an attempted attack against the USNS Mercy hospital ship.

Federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that Eduardo Moreno, 44, was arrested and charged with one count of train wrecking after they claim he ran a train off its tracks on Tuesday, causing it to break through barriers and land about 250 yards from the coronavirus relief ship. No one was injured in the incident.

Authorities said Moreno admitted to the plot and said he wanted to “wake people up” because he believed the ship, which has 1,000 hospital beds, was part of an insidious government plot. He allegedly said he hoped the derailment would receive media attention.

The hospital ship began boarding patients without COVID-19 on Sunday, with the hope of alleviating the strain on hospitals in Los Angeles that are dealing with an influx of coronavirus cases and deaths.



The locomotive crashed through a series of barriers before coming to rest more than 250 yards from the U.S. Navy Hospital Ship Mercy. (Mark J. Terrill/AP)



After allegedly derailing the train, prosecutors said Moreno attempted to flee before being spotted by a California Highway Patrol officer who apprehended him. The officer said Moreno said, “You only get this chance once. The whole world is watching. I had to. People don’t know what’s going on here. Now, they will.”

Although the derailed train didn’t damage the ship and came to rest against a chain-link fence, a fuel spill prompted officials to engage in a hazardous materials cleanup.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Port of Los Angeles Police are running the investigation. Moreno is expected to appear in federal court on Wednesday and faces up to 20 years in prison.