| 2005 University Of Oklahoma Bombing |
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INITIAL EVENTS The explosion happened shortly before halftime of a football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the Kansas State Wildcats, where over 84,000 people were in attendance. Although the explosion was heard and felt inside the stadium — with the west side of the stadium literally shaking — no announcements were made to alert the crowd. The explosion was reported as being heard up to five miles away. {Link without Title} During the third and fourth quarters of play, announcements were made for bus drivers to leave the stadium and meet at the northwest corner of the Asp Avenue Parking Facility, but no reason was given for these announcements. EXPLOSIVE DEVICE In a press conference university president (TATP), a derivative of various household products including hydrogen peroxide. TATP is an extremely unstable compound, and will sometimes detonate spontaneously. There were also reports of a second device being found and a controlled detonation taking place at approximately 9:00PM. {Link without Title} It was likely a backpack or bag. RESPONSIBLE PARTY In a press conference on October 2 , 2005 , university President David L. Boren identified Joel Henry Hinrichs III , 21, an engineering student at OU, as responsible for the bombing. Hinrichs was originally from remarked, "There are about 30,000 suicides in America, unfortunately, every year. And you can go back a decade, and you will not find a single one of those suicides who blew themselves up in proximity, close proximity, to 84,000 people at a football game." {Link without Title} Hinrichs was a member of Triangle Fraternity . Hinrichs' father said that Joel had "recently moved out of the fraternity house because "he didn't bond, didn't relate well to the other fraternity members." In the chapter meeting following the bombing the members of his fraternity were asked to direct all questions and comments to one member of their fraternity and not to discuss anything with the media, this was advised in hopes of limiting rumors and other theories. {Link without Title} According to local media, Hinrichs had even bigger plans originally, as he had tried to buy in 1995 . It was later revealed that a Norman off-duty police officer overheard the conversation between the feedstore owner and Hinrichs. The officer followed Hinrichs out of the store and checked Hinrichs' licence plate. The officer then started an investigation when his shift started. That investigation was still in progress when the bomb went off. {Link without Title} Hinrichs had a Pakistani student roommate and there are rumors that Hinrichs was an Islamic convert and attended the Norman mosque where Zacharias Moussaoui had previously attended. (However Ashraf Hussein, the president of the Muslim Student Association at OU, has denied that Hinrichs attended mosque in Norman.[http://www.channeloklahoma.com/news/5063479/detail.html]) The mosque in question is near the apartment in which Hinrichs lived before his suicide. There have also been claims that investigators found Islam ic Jihad material in Hinrichs' apartment. The local congressman, Tom Cole (R-OK), said he asked the FBI about the jihadist material and was told that absolutely none was found. There are also reports that Hinrichs tried to enter the stadium and was denied entry after refusing to be searched. Hinrichs was not a student season ticket holder. Cole indicated that the FBI told him "We may never know" if Hinrichs really did have plans to enter the stadium. The FBI had no evidence either way. Cole also said that the FBI told him that Hinrichs' family and friends claim that Hinrichs has long been fascinated with bombs and ammunition. {Link without Title} Mr. Hinrichs left a Suicide Note on his Computer that was found when investigators entered his apartment. According to his father, the note was angry and used Profanity . {Link without Title} AFTERMATH Following the game, the South Oval region of the campus was marked as off-limits with crime scene tape. As of the following day, these areas were off limits to the general public, but the majority of campus re-opened as of 4:00 PM CDT October 2 , 2005 , with the exception of the area where a bench once stood outside of George Lynn Cross hall. Additionally, Parkview apartment complex, which is just to the east of campus and south of the Duck Pond, as well as the Ashley Square apartment complex were partially evacuated at approximately 7:00 AM on Sunday, October 2 , 2005 , and finally left on Monday morning. There was concern that there might be explosives in an apartment, as well as vehicular explosives in the parking lots of either apartment complex. A search of Hinrichs' apartment did, in fact, yield a substantial amount of explosive materials, according to authorities. However it is likely that the materials found were deactivated military munitions, which Hinrichs was fond of collecting. Around 9:30 PM CDT on October 2 , 2005 , a series of explosions was heard in the Norman area. These were later to be confirmed by the Norman police department as controlled detonations of materials found in the suspect's apartment. These detonations took place at the Norman Police Department shooting range which is located near campus. In an open letter to the university community released on , 2005 , Boren asked people not to rush to judgement as to the motive behind the bombing. ''Most of the news media, including our own OU Daily, and most citizens have responded very responsibly. Unfortunately, there are always a few who do not. Among the core beliefs which define us as Americans and which define us as members of the OU family from all backgrounds is a respect for others. We believe that we should not judge others or jump to conclusions about others on the basis of color, race, gender, economic status, or freely exercised religious beliefs. To rush to judge others or make assumptions about them on that basis is nothing short of prejudice. It has no place in America and it certainly has no place at the University of Oklahoma.'' Boren went on to remind people about the rush to judgment after the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing where there was a rush to assume that there was a Middle Eastern link to the bombing. Boren explains, "He happened to have had a roommate, who didn't live in the same room but in the room next door, who was from Pakistan. Immediately, the word spread that he was tied to Al-Qaeda, that there were other students that were involved, that there were tickets to Islamic countries that were found, air tickets, and other things." The FBI then briefed him and let him know there were no such materials. It was not certain who Boren was referring to, however it is notable to mention similar speculations from the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing where the terrorist was also incorrectly labeled as Middle Eastern. He goes on to defend the fact that it was an incident only intended to harm himself. "Well, the more we looked into the situation, the more it appeared to be an individual incident. He was seated by himself, he was away from the crowd, he had not attempted to enter the stadium." He continues his statement explaining to the public that they looked over every single tape they had rolling that night, all of which gave them every opportunity to know exactly who attempts to enter their stadium on any given night, and they all defended his opinion that Hinrichs did not attempt to enter the building. "As we all now know, the person responsible was not someone from the Middle East but was Timothy McVeigh and at least one other American who assisted him," the statement read. "We can only hope that all of us, including some media outlets, would have learned from that recent rush to incorrect conclusions." After the incident police officers led Hinrichs' roommate, Fazal M. Cheema, and three other Muslim students from a party for further investigations. Since then many Muslim students and community members are fearful of others reactions. The students said at first they were relieved that the event was an individual suicide; however, rumors of Muslim terrorist ties make them more susceptible to discrimination. One member of the Muslim Student Association stated, "I fear for my security now because of all this speculation." However this matter escalated past speculation when the police and federal agents in charge of the investigation handcuffed and held at gunpoint an Oklahoma University instructor from Egypt along with various others of foreign descent. On October 17 , 2005 , Season Ticket holders received a letter from President Boren warning of increased security starting with the next home game after bombing, OU vs. Baylor , which took place on October 22 , 2005 . These increased Security measures include more Security Cameras and X-ray devices. Fans were told to arrive earlier than they would have. {Link without Title} NOTES |
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