Campus Alert Archive
UCSB

Isla Vista Burns: UCSB Students Torch Bank of America Branch in Anti-War Riot, Student Later Killed

CAcivil unrestemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On the night of February 25, 1970, several hundred UCSB students set fire to the Bank of America branch in the Isla Vista student community adjacent to campus, burning it to the ground in a riot that followed an anti-Vietnam War rally featuring Chicago Seven defense attorney William Kunstler. A subsequent riot on April 18, 1970, ended with the death of Kevin Moran, 22, a UCSB student shot by a Santa Barbara police officer while helping to extinguish another fire.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
1
Injured
0
Institution
University of California, Santa Barbara
Public R1 · CA
~14,000 students
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTPA System
Approximate reconstruction228 chars
Attention: There is a major fire in Isla Vista. Law enforcement is responding. All students are ordered to return to their residences immediately. Do not go to the Embarcadero del Mar area. Emergency personnel need clear access.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The riot was preceded by an afternoon rally at Harder Stadium featuring William Kunstler, defense attorney in the Chicago Seven trial, who spoke to more than 200 Isla Vista activists
Police arrested Rich Underwood on suspicion of carrying a Molotov cocktail, which was actually a bottle of wine; the arrest inflamed the crowd and triggered escalating confrontations
The Bank of America was targeted in part for its loans to apartheid South Africa; vandals first broke windows before someone inserted a burning trash can inside, starting the fire that consumed the building
UPDATEPA System
Approximate reconstruction238 chars
The fire in Isla Vista has been extinguished. Law enforcement remains present throughout the community. A state of emergency has been declared. Students should remain in their residences. Isla Vista is under a curfew until further notice.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

By the time the fire department and 100 to 150 officers in riot gear arrived, the Bank of America building was already fully engulfed; officers swept the crowd rather than focusing on firefighting
A police car was burned and overturned in front of businesses on Embarcadero del Mar during the riot
Additional riots occurred in Isla Vista on February 26-27 and again in April, making the community the site of a sustained three-month period of unrest unprecedented at any California campus
UPDATEradio
Approximate reconstruction219 chars
A student has been fatally shot in Isla Vista. Law enforcement has declared a curfew for the entire Isla Vista community. All UCSB students must immediately return to campus or their residences. Do not enter Isla Vista.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Kevin Moran, 22, a UCSB student who ran to the scene to help put out a fire, was shot by Santa Barbara City police officer David Gosselin; Moran reportedly shouted 'Don't shoot at us, we're putting the fire out' before being killed
Officer Gosselin was not indicted; a jury acquitted him of all charges on the grounds that the shooting was accidental in the chaos of the riot
A plaque honoring Kevin Moran at Embarcadero Hall reads 'For Social Change, Fair Play, and Peace'; he became a symbol of the costs of the Vietnam-era campus unrest
Context

Background

The Isla Vista riots of 1970 were triggered by a combination of anti-Vietnam War sentiment, opposition to Bank of America's alleged support for apartheid South Africa, and a specific police arrest on February 25 that incensed a crowd already inflamed by a Kunstler speech. The Bank of America branch on Embarcadero del Norte was burned to the ground that night; subsequent riots on February 26-27 were also violent. Then on April 18, a third major riot erupted in which Kevin Moran, a 22-year-old UCSB student, was shot and killed by a Santa Barbara police officer while attempting to help extinguish a fire. Moran had not been protesting. The officer was acquitted. The UCSB A.S. Living History Project has preserved detailed oral histories and timelines of the events. KCSB, the campus radio station, was one of the few real-time communication channels reaching students in Isla Vista; no electronic mass notification system existed at UCSB in 1970. The riots accelerated Isla Vista's political maturation and contributed to the creation of the Isla Vista Municipal Advisory Council and new environmental and student governance structures at UCSB.
Analysis

Key Findings

The Bank of America branch in Isla Vista was burned to the ground on the night of February 25, 1970, in a riot following an anti-war rally featuring Chicago Seven attorney William Kunstler
Kevin Moran, 22, was shot and killed by a Santa Barbara police officer on April 18, 1970, while attempting to help put out a fire during a subsequent riot; the officer was acquitted
No electronic mass notification system existed at UCSB in 1970; KCSB radio and police PA systems were the primary warning mechanisms reaching students in Isla Vista
Three separate riot events occurred in Isla Vista between February 25 and April 18, 1970, making it one of the most sustained periods of campus-adjacent unrest in California history
Outcome
Police made dozens of arrests across the February and April riots. The officer who shot Kevin Moran was acquitted of all charges. The riots accelerated the transformation of Isla Vista's political culture and contributed to the founding of the Associated Students Environmental Affairs Board.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    Bank of America Burning, 1970 - A.S. Living History Project, UC Santa Barbara
    livinghistory.as.ucsb.edu
  2. Official
    Bank Burning, 1970: February 26th Timeline - A.S. Living History Project, UC Santa Barbara
    livinghistory.as.ucsb.edu
  3. Student Paper
    Headline History: Trouble in Paradise - The Isla Vista Riots of 1970 - UCSB Undergraduate Journal of History
    undergradjournal.history.ucsb.edu
  4. Student Paper
    Forty years ago, a mob of students stormed the Bank of America building - The Daily Nexus
    dailynexus.com
  5. News
    Anarchy on the streets: 50 years ago, Isla Vista burned - KCRW
    kcrw.com
Tags
civil-unrestarsonprotestvietnam-erapre-cleryno-alert-system1970historicalcaliforniaisla-vistastudent-killedpolice-shooting
Added June 2026Updated June 2026Via ingestion