Not everyone agrees with that statement.
Posted on 10/09/2005 11:22:54 AM PDT by JustaCowgirl
NORMAN - University of Oklahoma officials, the Muslim community, students and others are waiting for the FBI to connect the dots in last week's public suicide of an OU student.
Joel Henry Hinrichs III, 21, was killed Oct. 1 in an explosion that officials say he caused not far from a packed Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
But the dots cannot be connected, at least at this point, said Stephen Sloan, a former University of Oklahoma professor who is alarmed that far-right extremist groups have taken to the Internet with conspiracy theories attempting to link the actions of Hinrichs to the Muslim community of Norman and to the Middle East.
The FBI has provided little information about its investigation but said last week that there is no known link between Hinrichs and terrorist or extremist organizations. But questions linger as to Hinrichs' intent before he died in an explosion while sitting on a park bench in front of the George Lynn Cross microbiology building about 100 yards west of the stadium.
"No doubt there are a lot of questions to be answered," Sloan said. "But it is unfortunately logical to think that he was trying to get into the stadium."
The terrorism expert said the size of the explosion indicates that it was designed to hit more than Hinrichs. He said it seems more than coincidence that this occurred on the Saturday night of a football game.
A student, Adam Smith, related last week that he learned from a ticket taker at Gate 6 on the north side of the football field that a young man had tried to gain entrance. The ticket taker wanted to examine the man's backpack, which prompted the man to sprint away, Smith said he was told.
The FBI reportedly has confirmed that its review of surveillance cameras in the stadium did not reveal that Hinrichs tried to gain entrance. However, OU President David Boren declined at midweek to say whether cameras are mounted at all entrances.
The FBI has kept mum about the explosive that Hinrichs used and declined to comment on reports that large amounts of explosives were in his apartment.
The explosion that killed Hinrichs also burned a large area around the bench. If the explosion had occurred inside the stadium, it could have killed fans, prompting the question of whether that was Hinrichs' intent all along.
A suicide note apparently has not been found. Hinrichs' father, who had conversations with the FBI, told The Associated Press that his son did not leave a suicide note.
Joel Hinrichs Jr. told the Tulsa World that he knew his son was troubled, but he had no idea he wanted to die.
"I would have been there within whatever the speed limit would allow me to be if I had any inclination that he was this unhappy," the father said from his family's home in Colorado Springs the day after the explosion.
It remains unanswered as to whether Hinrichs could have concocted the explosive device on his own, although there are no indications he acted with others.
Those who knew of him -- from his high school teacher in Colorado Springs to fellow engineering students at OU -- said he was typically a loner who sat by himself in the classroom. He was among the National Merit Scholars whom Boren has attracted to the OU campus.
His father told the Colorado Springs Gazette that at an early age, Hinrichs was fascinated with science. At the time of his death, he was a third-year engineering student at OU.
Boren has said it appears this is an "individual suicide," noting that Hinrichs waited until people were inside the stadium before he took his life.
University officials say they have no record of Hinrichs having a season ticket or purchasing one for the OU-Kansas State game.
OU Vice President of Communications Catherine Bishop added, however, that the university has no way of knowing whether Hinrichs could have purchased a ticket from someone outside the stadium, where many people typ ically sell tickets on game day.
Sloan said the public should note the fact that if Hinrichs did try to get into the stadium, he was stopped.
"If Hinrichs was turned away, that is a positive mark in terms of security awareness," he said.
While Hinrichs' individual actions are still being probed, the Islamic community of Norman is on edge, fearful that this troubling event is somehow linked to Muslims.
"Haven't we learned from the bombing of the Murrah Building (in 1995) in Oklahoma City, when the first reports tried to tie the bombing to a foreigner from the Middle East?" Sloan said. "But that proved to be false.
"It is much too early to render a full judgment," said Sloan, who regrets that some people already are convinced this is a conspiracy.
Hinrichs lived at Parkview Apartments, just a few blocks from the mosque of the Islamic Society of Norman. Also fueling the link to some kind of Middle East terrorism is the fact that Hinrichs' roommate, Fazil Cheema, is from Pakistan. Acquaintances of Cheema's say he is not a practicing Muslim and never attends services at the mosque.
Muslims who attend the mosque also say they are not aware that Hinrichs ever set foot in the mosque.
The quest for the truth, however, has been hindered by the fact that Cheema himself has not made himself available to the media since the incident occurred. He has left the apartment where he lived with Hinrichs, although he is still believed to be in Norman.
Acquaintances say that Hinrichs and his roommate have in common the fact that both could be called loners, and possibly ended up as roommates at Parkview because neither of them had other friends, so they were assigned to live together.
Tariq Alzoubi, a Muslim who has been part of the Islamic community in Norman for several years, said when he found out that the individual who died was white and not Middle Eastern, "I was not happy, but I was relieved. Then the issue came up that his roommate might be Pakistani."
Originally from Jordan and Saudi Arabia, Alzoubi said Muslims have been on edge when something like this happens ever since Sept. 11, 2001.
"Before 9-11, I knew 30 Saudi students at OU; all but two of them left," he said.
"My only concern in all of this is that we stay away from collective punishment for something bad that happened here," he said.
Mick Hinton (405) 528-2465 mick.hinton@tulsaworld.com
Yes, he does seem to contradict himself several times in that article. I think part of the reason might be that the reporter was trying to 'direct' him with slanted questions during that interview, and he stubbornly refused to say exactly what the reporter wanted.
Our own Liberty Rocks has a succinct executive summary right here:
And whatever you do, please don't try to draw logical conclusions and questions from those facts. If you do, you're a right-wing extremist fer sure.
I hadn't noticed that. It would make sense (hypothetically, of course,) that if a group was planning an attack on a stadium, it would be useful to have someone working at the athletic dept.
Really very well done. Thank you for taking the time to assemble this information. Much appreciated.
Yes, it would. I find it more than coincidental.
Liberty Rocks has noted this fact in the summary backhoe posted.
Actually, DC, I needed to be more specific...
Cheema, the Pakistani room mate, worked for the Football stadium.
Not everyone agrees with that statement.
LOL
FYI
he would drive within the speed limit
**
I notice that too. How very strange to put it that way.
hmmmmm.....odd that the article didn't mention all the explosives removed from the depressed students apt. Did they belong to the roomie? I know I'm just being a hysterical right wing nutcase, but why were explosives in that apt?
"he would drive within the speed limit"
Trying hard to sound like what he believes a "law and order" conservative type would sound like. But, from the overwrought apology to Muslims, to the weirdly detached relationship he had with his son, to the Subaru, which is an iconic leftie-mobile, this guy's not conservative. And, you've got to wonder why it's important for him to appear to be.
Too much of a smokescreen for there not to be something very interesting there, as far as the father is concerned, don't you think?
Is he still in the country? I think I heard that there were two other room mates, if true what about them?
"Hinrich's Pakistani room mate, Cheema, worked for the Athletic Dept.
Is he still in the country? I think I heard that there were two other room mates, if true what about them?"
These are the details that keep conflicting. As far as I know, the FBI is keeping mum on the whereabouts of Cheema.
I have never seen any cameras at OU except at the Art Museum, Museum of Natural History and at the Bizell Library for the priceless collections. I know for a fact they are not in the parking garages.
He was a loner, yet was on the debate team and got along famously at least within that circle.
Dad, stated he had received emails and everything was fine.
Dad, said he blow himself up in an open area so no one else could be hurt. (I know, WTF?)
More explosive materials in the home that took hours and hours to take out...unless you think they took all the furniture for dusting and fit it into that lovely small explosive trailer cylinder several times.
When he took a year off... did he travel? Or just go to therapy at Goddard?
Search warrant has been sealed by the DOJ. Move along... nothing to see here.
Boren seemed to know who it was pretty fast, what I what give to have a school official know every student and what his state of mind was within hours.
The beard was inspired by Abraham Lincoln?
He lived in the frat house for a few months then left his frat to move in with the Paki roommate... hmmm, maybe it was less social... you think. BTW, he has been relocated after his arrest along with two others and release... where? Well he had the tickets to Algeria there in the apt... who knows.
Why does a private person stage a public death (I'll just show them...nah), why is it it happened right before halftime (when the students leave the stadium and return later), why has dad known since 12 (?), this kid liked to blow things up and didn't do anything? Funny how none of his friends on OK tv knew anything about it (one mentioned ammo, that doesn't make me feel better). Why is there no account of suspension or reprimand of him through school, if he liked explosives that much... you wouldn't be able to check it and keep it down... when you had all those goodies in lab and could impress and make friends.
I know paragraphs are my friend.
There were a lot of deaths in that area days before (I know tin-foil hat lamp is on)... I'm wondering if they always have that level of incidents in the area.
Here, have a link (generic, have many more):
http://www.channeloklahoma.com/news/5058347/detail.html
P.S. Feel free to listen to the dispatcher audio 4 and after, the first three are calls to report. Ciao
Hi PhiKap,
"The FBI reportedly has confirmed that its review of surveillance cameras in the stadium did not reveal that Hinrichs tried to gain entrance."
Just what the heck is going on here?
No videos in the parking garage? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that where one of the bombs was found?
You left out Boren's ties to intelligence.
The roomie(s) didn't know he was building bombs so it is not their 500 lbs of bombing material so must belong to Joel. (sarcasm)
This see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil approach by Boren is getting on my nerves and the media lapdogs are going right along with the bravo sierra being spread around here.
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