Posted on 10/09/2005 8:56:49 AM PDT by MizSterious
Father apologizes for son's actions
By Nolan Clay and Ty McMahan
The Oklahoman
The father of a University of Oklahoma student who died in a bombing has apologized for the actions of his son.
"I truly hang my head," the father, Joel Hinrichs Jr., said from Colorado Springs, Colo.
Joel "Joe" Henry Hinrichs III, an engineering student, died Oct. 1 when a bomb went off outside the football stadium during the second quarter of OU's night game against Kansas State.
The FBI and OU are treating the bombing as a suicide by a troubled loner, rather than a failed terrorist attack.
"I feel obligated to apologize to everyone whose inconvenience has increased, or had worse things happen to them, due to Joe III," the father told The Oklahoman.
He said he wanted to specifically apologize to the Muslim students who were shackled and questioned during the investigation, apartment residents who had to be evacuated, and "the hundreds of thousands of future OU sporting event attendees who will now endure even more rigorous, restrictive search and carry restrictions."
The dead student, 21, was remembered last week as depressed and so mesmerized with bombs that he bought artillery shells on eBay.
Hinrichs started at OU in the fall of 2002 after being a National Merit Scholar at Wasson High School in Colorado Springs.
He was so depressed his second semester at OU that he had trouble going to class and underwent counseling, his father said.
He dropped out in 2003-2004 and worked doing inventories at night, the father said. He returned but lost a scholarship because of his grades.
"Internally, he suffered from both depression and an utter lack of hope in his own future," said the father.
"He could tell that other people were relating around him and even trying to relate to him. He could not relate back. ... My guess is that ... was very close to the root of his problem."
Early warning signs?
The father said his son had been depressed at times in high school, too.
The younger Hinrichs built a bomb out of match heads in an empty tube at age 13 or 14, his father said.
"He was hiding around the corner. It made a loud noise and he brought the broken, open CO2 cartridge to me and had this look of awe in his eyes," he said.
The younger Hinrichs also regularly bought inert artillery shells over eBay, his father said.
"Like all little boys, he has an interest in things that go bang. ... He just took it a little farther than most. ... He showed them to me, 'Look at this, dad,'" he said.
He got in trouble at the end of the eighth grade in Illinois for bringing a 3-foot metal handle to school, The Oklahoman confirmed.
The younger Hinrichs spent six weeks on house arrest, wearing an ankle bracelet, and then spent ninth grade in an alternative school.
Still, there were few outward signs he was suicidal. His last e-mail to his father, Sept. 14, was about his father's offer of a Subaru to drive.
"Does the Subaru get good mileage? I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," the younger Hinrichs wrote.
OU President David Boren described the student as a loner with emotional difficulties and personal problems. Classmates said he was different and had been struggling again with his grades.
"He was really quiet, didn't really interact with any of the other students," said Garrett Jones, a Tulsa junior who had engineering classes with Hinrichs.
Jones, 21, said Hinrichs was different in his manner and clothing.
"He wore this little green vest all the time. It was really weird. ... You could look around in a classroom and be able to pick this guy out that he was a little unusual," Jones said.
Another classmate, junior Andrew House, told the OU student newspaper: "He seemed like he was a nice kid. He didn't seem troubled at all. Some people might have thought he was weird, because he knew a lot about ammunition and stuff like that."
Members of an OU organization of engineers, architects and scientists said Hinrichs was quiet, reserved and not very involved in the group.
"The guy liked guns and ammo and he said something about trying to buy some ammo. That's just what he liked," said Paul Lawson, executive director of the Triangle Fraternity, who visited the OU chapter last week.
At meetings, Hinrichs talked about his struggles and successes in class, a new job, trouble sleeping and a road trip to Las Vegas, according to minutes.
He also talked about "missing ammo," building a catapult and carving a club with a pocket knife, according to minutes.
He had his own Web site. It read: "This is Joe Hinrichs' website. He currently doesn't have anything to put on it, but it does exist and it is here."
Officials have said investigators do not believe the student was trying to get inside the stadium or had any help. His father said the FBI told him his son made the bomb out of hydrogen peroxide, a common disinfectant.
Jayna Davis was on KSFO in San Francisco with two different talk hosts this week end, pushing her "Third Terrorist" paperback and talking about this new mystery in great detail. Intensely interesting!!!
Well said! (The whole thing, not just the part above). That is the danger. We are strong and powerful because we are free. When the government starts lying to protect itself, or individuals within it do so, we are less free, and thus less powerful and less able to defend ourselves.
Tactically, the terrorists work through the cracks. You can't have police and military everywhere, but the people *are* everywhere. They must be their own defense, starting with being the eyes and ears for the professional security types, but not ending there by any means.
Well said! (The whole thing, not just the part above). That is the danger. We are strong and powerful because we are free. When the government starts lying to protect itself, or individuals within it do so, we are less free, and thus less powerful and less able to defend ourselves.
Tactically, the terrorists work through the cracks. You can't have police and military everywhere, but the people *are* everywhere. They must be their own defense, starting with being the eyes and ears for the professional security types, but not ending there by any means.
Vinyl - but it's called a Brougham. Pronounced "Brom" except in some circles where it was called a "Bro - Ham" by Bro Hams.
I forgot about the following story that the medical examiner now thinks the guy may have been killed by anthrax -- another Norman connection story that was covered up:
Another witness bites the dust
I hope you weren't too obvious.
I can't figure out why the FBI and crew didn't confiscate the car, especially if one reporter said that an inventory list was left on the seat. Any ideas? Maybe the FBI is leaving it there to help push the official story that this was just some crazed kit bent on suicide.
Check out the story in #105 that I just remembered about -- another cover-up -- this time connected to the Clintons.
Fortunately my son's friend who shares an office with him lives in the next complex and next drive. I pretended I had turned in the wrong driveway and fortunately he was home so I had him get in the car with me and drove him to my son's right past those people so my son could drive him back! :) Talk about the hair on the back of my neck standing up -- all I could think of was to get out of there ASAP.
I was hoping you didn't go alone and was thinking along the lines that you need to have a student in the car with you as a cover.
Oh, daddy apologized? Well then, never mind.
Thank you for all your hardwork, LibertyRocks. I'll sure check out your blog. I'm not quite sure what to make of the OU bombing, but am just as curious as you are about it. :) chena
Interesting. Will probably go on a 'google quest' for the rest of the night now..lol.thanks alot!
BUT...where is the anthrax connection? Can you help make it simple for me? My husband is fashioning a new tin foil hat right now..he said my current one is looking old and tired...lol!!
I just read your blog, and LibertyRocks, YOU ROCK! What would we do without people like you. Thank you so much. I've bookmarked your site for future reference. :) chena
Wow, now I can fool my friends and family when I'm feeling the need to say a blue word. LOL And now I'm heading for the online dictionary to find out what "circumlocution" means. I think I get the gist of it, but I'll look it up and praise myself for learning a few new words today. LOL
"I can't figure out why the FBI and crew didn't confiscate the car, especially if one reporter said that an inventory list was left on the seat. Any ideas? Maybe the FBI is leaving it there to help push the official story that this was just some crazed kit bent on suicide."
One can only hope and pray that they are watching it to see if anyone suspicious goes near it. Next thing we will hear is that PKM is the prime suspect...lol. Kidding aside..they need to impound that car ASAP before the 'integrity' of the scene is compromised anymore. I can not friggin believe this..can any of you?
I remember the large parts of this story and always wondered how it came out, because JC was somehow connected (not in a bad way--maybe one of these crooks tried to blackmail him when he was on the OCC?).
After the anthrax cases on the east coast, some people who treated Miller originally said he exhibited similar symptoms and some people think he was sent anthrax which killed him because they had no idea what he had at the time.
I didn't even know "caca" was a Spanish word. All this time, I thought it was what kids said when they were avoiding the "s" word.
More of the Clinton Downside Legacy? I don't think I'd ever heard about this particular one, thanks for posting this.
When JC was at OCC, they tried to set him up -- they played some tapes in one of the races for Congress -- his opponent that got really dirty with the tapes is now the Vice Chairman of OK RATs -- Ben Odom.
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