OU bombing accidental, experts say

NORMAN - A Norman police bomb expert said Tuesday he does not believe University of Oklahoma student Joel Henry Hinrichs III committed suicide by blowing himself up outside a packed football stadium.

Mauldin said Hinrichs, 21, an engineering student, had two to three pounds of triacetone triperoxide, commonly known as TATP, in a backpack in his lap when it exploded Oct. 1.

When asked if he believed Hinrichs meant to enter the stadium with the explosives, Mauldin replied, "I don't believe he intended for an explosion to occur at that spot (on the park bench)."

"Some of us will forever wonder what he (Hinrichs) was doing at that time, at that place," Police Chief Phil Cotten said.

Hinrichs was sitting on a park bench 173 yards from the OU stadium during the second quarter of OU's night game against Kansas State when the TATP inside his backpack detonated.

"Someone saw him fiddling with it (the backpack) shortly before the explosion occurred. I think he got cocky, and it went off," Mauldin said.

Mauldin and Cotten briefed Norman City Council members about the explosion and their agency's investigation in a conference before Tuesday night's council meeting.

The FBI has said in the past its investigation did not uncover any links between the student and terrorist organizations. They have said they may never know whether the student wanted to get inside the stadium.

The student's father, Joel Hinrichs Jr., has said his son intended to kill only himself.

Mauldin, head of the Norman bomb unit, said investigators detonated at the scene the remains of Hinrichs' backpack, which contained wires, a battery and a circuit board.

Graphic photos of Hinrichs' headless body still upright on the park bench next to a tattered backpack were shown to the council.

Mauldin said investigators found "quite a bit more" explosive material inside Hinrichs' Parkview apartment on Sooner Drive, southeast of Lindsey Street and Stinson Drive.

A pint-size Tupperware container on a counter was filled with TATP Hinrichs had manufactured, Mauldin said.

A pill bottle packed with TATP with a fuse stuck in it was found behind a computer, he said.

The FBI reported in November that 0.4 pound of TATP was found inside Hinrichs' apartment. TATP is the most unstable explosive known and is "the explosive of choice" in the Middle East, Mauldin said. "It is so volatile, even a small amount on the tip of a finger will explode if it comes within 8 inches of a match," Mauldin said.

Investigators also found a quantity of acetone and hydrogen, components necessary for manufacturing TATP, inside the student's apartment.

"We found evidence of him compressing TATP, which is foolhardy, given its properties," Mauldin said.

Making TATP is a seven-step process, Mauldin said, with the substance becoming explosive after three steps.

Bomb squad officers used great care in removing the material from Hinrichs' apartment for fear it would explode, Mauldin said.

"And we wanted to get it out of there quickly. The longer TATP sits, the more likely (it is) to explode spontaneously," he said.

Officers also removed "a lot" of military rounds, many of them live, and pieces of metal from the student's apartment, Mauldin said.

Metal fragments often are added to explosives to make them more deadly, he said.

The explosives Hinrichs had outside the stadium were pure, with no fragmentation added, Mauldin said.

However, he said, the student kept careful notes of experimentation with explosives in the weeks leading up to the Oct. 1 blast.

Notes indicated Hinrichs experimented with adding fragmentation to explosives as if "he were trying to make a damaging product," Mauldin said.

Most of Hinrichs' experiments occurred at Red Rock Canyon, according to the notes.

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THE OU BOMBER: CASE NOT CLOSED

By Michelle Malkin · March 01, 2006 12:15 PM

So much for the lonely, depressed young student theory to explain how University of Oklahoma Joel Hinrichs found himself blown to bits on a park bench outside the packed campus football stadium last fall. The Daily Oklahoman reports on A1 today:

A Norman police bomb expert said Tuesday he does not believe University of Oklahoma student Joel Henry Hinrichs III committed suicide by blowing himself up outside a packed football stadium.
"I believe he accidentally blew himself up," Sgt. George Mauldin said.
Mauldin said Hinrichs, 21, an engineering student, had two to three pounds of triacetone triperoxide, commonly known as TATP, in a backpack in his lap when it exploded Oct. 1.
When asked if he believed Hinrichs meant to enter the stadium with the explosives, Mauldin replied, "I don't believe he intended for an explosion to occur at that spot (on the park bench)."
"Some of us will forever wonder what he (Hinrichs) was doing at that time, at that place," Police Chief Phil Cotten said.
Hinrichs was sitting on a park bench 173 yards from the OU stadium during the second quarter of OU's night game against Kansas State when the TATP inside his backpack detonated.
"Someone saw him fiddling with it (the backpack) shortly before the explosion occurred. I think he got cocky, and it went off," Mauldin said.

Hat tip: Mark Tapscott, who writes:

Within hours of Hinrichs death, the FBI's Joint Task Force on Terrorism took over the investigation of the incident. Soon thereafter, both FBI officials and University of Oklahoma President David Boren said Hinrichs had no known terrorist connections and intended only to kill himself.
Despite the official denials, there was substantial evidence at the time of Hinrichs death and in the days thereafter as more was learned about his background and actions during the final year of his life that suggested to others the distinct possibility that Hinrichs was involved in some way with a terrorist activity.

Jason Smith:

So what "spot" was he intending to detonate? That's the million dollar question. He had 2 to 3 pounds of TATP, "the most unstable explosive known and the explosive of choice in the Middle East". Even a small amount can cause an explosion. 2 to 3 pounds. That's quite a bit of "mother of satan" for a lonely kid to use when he decides to "just quit living".

Think the Wall Street Journal and others who bought the despondent suicide theory will follow up?

Flashback WSJ: "Hours after the explosion, OU's Mr. Boren issued a statement saying the university was 'apparently dealing with an individual suicide.'"

Flashback Cathy Young: "According to the authorities, there is no indication that Hinrichs was anything more than a depressed, troubled young man.... Tom Cole (R-Okla.) has also said that the FBI has assured him that Hinrichs's act was an individual suicide."

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