Best way to kill a ton of people?

[OttoVonBismarck]

So this is basically morbid thought processes spun off by the Newtown killing and all the reading and such I've done about spree killings and etc over the years. I'm curious, presuming the following:

1. Lone actor.
2. No NBCs.

What is the best, most reliable means of killing a huge number of people.

Thoughts that come to mind:

1. Large building bombing. Still just as effective as it was in Oklahoma City, but the super-easy to make fertilizer bomb would be harder to get the materials for these days without attracting undue attention. There is much better security in re vehicles parking near Federal buildings now, but I can name a dozen highly populated corporate office buildings where that isn't true.

Downsides: Sometimes even well put together bombs don't detonate, sometimes they are slightly imperfect and detonate with much less force than is required.

2. Aerial Tramways. I'd think the Roosevelt Island Tramway, being a type of aerial cable car, could be easily destroyed with explosives. If you planned it to detonate when they were at or near maximum capacity and took out both cars (I believe there are only two that run at the same time), it would kill 200+ guaranteed.

Downsides: I don't know how easy it would be to plant a bomb in such a public place unnoticed.

3. Large incendiary device a megachurch. So megachurches sometimes have crowds of 15,000+ in attendance at one time, and churches aren't high security areas. You could probably plant something or just open the doors and wheel something down the aisles in the middle of a Joel Osteen screed and kill a huge number of people, not just from the initial detonation but it would cause a huge fire and mad panic and chaos would lead to many trampling deaths.

Downsides: Possibly earn the wrath of God.

[Tamas]

great, now the FBI will be all over the forum

[OttoVonBismarck]

Naw, I work for the government and we talk about this shit all the time in disaster recovery, emergency management and etc meetings where we go over a long list of implausible scenarios and how we'd respond to them. (In theory, the actual response would be ineptitude and stupidity regardless of whatever plan we spend 60 man hours talking about and 300 man hours designing.)

[Eddie Teach]

great, now the FBI will be all over the forum

Will probably create red flags for your work visa application.

[MadImmortalMan]

Lock all the theater doors and get Great White to play.

[OttoVonBismarck]

Non-mainstream idea: Spread disinformation that common childhood vaccines are harmful. I wonder how many people have already died to that foolishness? And I don't know that it even involved a true criminal act (maybe a civil suit, though?)

[Ed Anger]

Non-mainstream idea: Spread disinformation that common childhood vaccines are harmful. I wonder how many people have already died to that foolishness? And I don't know that it even involved a true criminal act (maybe a civil suit, though?)

Jenny McCarthy has that one covered.

[PDH]

All McDonalds now free.

[sbr]

Lock all the theater doors and get Great White to play.

[Ed Anger]

All McDonalds now free.

With the McRib out? Goodbye black people. 

[11B4V]

All McDonalds now free.

With the McRib out? Goodbye black people. 

Yea, what's up with that? Those thing are nasty.

[lustindarkness]

Well placed explosives on a dam with populated areas downriver.
Well placed explosives of a bridge or tunnel at rush hour.
Chemical/Biological attack could be nasty also.

[Scipio]

Put a 400 lb fattie on an already overload 2000 lb rated Otis elevator.

[Legbiter]

Sugar, wheat, HFCS and rancid vegetable oils in everything via agricultural subsidies.

[Iormlund]

It's much easier to kill indirectly. Less spectacular to be sure and thus fortunately less attractive to those who seek to make a statement, but a lot safer as well. Let's just say that there are certain services on which millions rely. Take those out in the right circumstances and tens of thousands will die.