Posted on 07/16/2006 9:04:08 AM PDT by MizSterious
OU death not linked to terrorism
By Nolan Clay
The FBI concluded a University of Oklahoma student who blew himself up last year on campus was not a terrorist, the top agent in Oklahoma says.
"We have no evidence he had a social or political agenda that he was trying to bring attention to," said Salvador Hernandez, the FBI's special agent in charge in Oklahoma.
"We don't consider this terrorism the way we define it," he said. "There would have to be a cause."
Joel "Joe" Henry Hinrichs III, an engineering student, died Oct. 1 when his bomb went off at a campus bench a short distance from an OU night football game.
Fans inside the packed stadium heard the blast during the second quarter of OU's game against Kansas State.
Hernandez spoke about the investigation to the media for the first time last week as he prepares to end his two-year stint in Oklahoma. He has been promoted to a new position with the FBI in Washington.
He disclosed the FBI interviewed more than 200 people during the bombing investigation but never found any evidence that Hinrichs had extremist views or ties to extremist groups.
Hernandez would not speculate whether the student intentionally set off the bomb on the bench as a suicide or if he also had intended to harm others and the bomb went off prematurely.
"None of us can know what was going on in his head," Hernandez told The Oklahoman.
Hernandez described Hinrichs, 21, as a loner who had a longtime interest in explosives.
Hinrichs, who was from Colorado Springs, Colo., was very bright, but his grades had slipped at OU, the agent said. Hinrichs belonged to the Triangle Fraternity, an organization of engineers, but just didn't seem to fit in, the agent said.
Hernandez said agents did not find any conclusive evidence Hinrichs tried to enter the stadium. They found no evidence he bought or tried to buy a football ticket, Hernandez said.
The top agent also said two ticket-takers who saw Hinrichs' photo in the media thought they might have seen him outside the stadium but they could not provide descriptive information when interviewed.
Agents viewed hours and hours of tapes from stadium security cameras but never spotted Hinrichs, Hernandez said.
Agents also turned up no evidence Hinrichs ever went to the mosque near his apartment, Hernandez said.
He said fellow students knew Hinrichs was interested in and had experimented with bombs and they should have reported it to law enforcement.
"People should be more vigilant or more responsible and bring this stuff forward," he said.
Officials said earlier that Hinrichs built the bomb from hydrogen peroxide and acetone. The explosive is known as triacetone triperoxide or TATP.
In the interview with The Oklahoman, Hernandez revealed these new details about the bombing:
Using receipts, agents determined Hinrichs bought the bomb ingredients from local retail stores a few days before. One store had a video camera and agents reviewed the tape from it. Hinrichs was alone.
Agents could not reconstruct much of what Hinrichs did the day of the bombing, a Saturday. They believe he was on the Internet in the morning. They believe about 6:15 p.m. he typed, "None of you are worth living with. You can all kiss my ass," on his apartment computer. They believe he then walked to where he died. The bomb went off about 7:30 p.m.
Hinrichs made a final payment on handlebars for his mountain bike a few days before the bombing.
Hinrichs apparently was carrying the TATP around in a plastic container and could have accidentally set the volatile bomb off by simply opening the container.
The bomb did not go off in Hinrichs' backpack.
FBI agents interviewed some witnesses who live in Europe and had dealt with Hinrichs on eBay, the Internet auction site.
Well, in Norman I think they're trying to "protect" the university's bank accounts (at least partly)--but on the federal level, I think they're afraid some of us might think Islam isn't the "religion of peace" they keep trying to tell us it is.
Exactly. As soon as I saw that picture, I knew. Anyone wanting to read older threads (keyword OUbombing), be sure to look up some of PhiKapMom's accounts of what she saw and heard--she was at the game that day (so very thankful this didn't blow up where/when it was supposed to).
On the opus scale this about a 2, but I'll bump it to an 8 for follow through.
FBI has little or no credibility after these many years of covering up acts of terrorism. And purpetrating others against US citizens. Too much big government with an agenda. I am looking for a long term move out of the country. It will get worse, trust me....
Smart approach.
The Government, these days, does not trust the People either. Fine by me.
Smart approach.
The Government, these days, does not trust the People either. Fine by me.
Simple. A continued false peace here in the USA. The Government does not want us to remember WHO owns this country...
Wot, he's Amish?
Funny, they showed that muslim convert picture ONCE and then (pooff) it was gone. We were left with stories from his daddy and sister telling us he was NOT a muslim (although he was) was the happiest (though he was depressed and apparently kinda blew up), smartest (though he was told to leave OU for a time and apparently played with unstable explosives for a hobby), and bestest boy in all the world that simply was doing an experiment with a cluster of unstable bombs that could have killed over 50,000 people on national TV.
BTW, I saw the videos the bomb squad destroying the bombs on Oklahoma news-- that never existed as per the ATF. You would think that Hinrich didn't kill himself and he's still alive after reading all this coverup BS.
Don't forget the Beltway Sniper. From the Trial:
Malvo testified. He said Muhammad's plan was to use the money to create a community in Canada to train 140 children as terrorists to carry out shooting rampages across the country and destroy the economy by killing 10 people a day.
Duh, why is this not counted as terrorism?
Thanks for the ping Miz. I appreciate it.
The FBI's story hasn't changed at all...
People living miles from where they detonated the unused explosives say their houses shook. It wasn't a "small" amount. Far too much for just one suicide.
Baaa... Baaa... Zzzzz.
According to the FBI and ATF, people actually didn't have houses.
Well, that's the whole point. They don't really care whether we FR types believe it, because this statement assures that the MSM won't look any closer...and the sheep will follow.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.