Mark Tapscott interviewed the bus driver who last saw Joel Hinrich alive and also updates us on the discrepencies between the picture shown to Hinrich’s father of the body and what the bus driver saw:

Given the abundance of evidence surrounding Hinrichs’ death that suggests his death was not merely a suicide – contrary to the official explanation from the FBI – it is not surprising that speculation remains rampant about what actually happened at OU and why.

The FBI and the OU administration have been uniquely unhelpful in sorting things out, having pronounced an utter absence of Hinrichs links to any terrorist activity within 48 hours of his death.

Reasonably intelligent people keep looking at the slowly accumulating evidence in the case, however, and continue to think suicide looks like the least reasonable explanation for why Hinrichs died as he did – in an explosion caused by a highly combustible combination of chemicals favored by Middle Eastern terrorists.

One of the least discussed aspects of the Hinrichs case – for understandable reasons, no doubt – concerns the condition of his after detonation. His father was shown photographs of a “headless corpse” by the FBI several weeks after his son’s death.

Hinrichs Senior’s description of the body in the photo he was shown by the FBI seems to conflict with what an FBI investigator was told by a bus driver who saw Hinrichs just seconds before and after his death. The bus driver saw only “the bottom half of a man.”

Then last week the leader of the Norman, Oklahoma, Police Bomb Squad told Tapscott’s Copy Desk that Hinrichs’ body was essentially intact, except for the head and most of both arms, which were destroyed in the explosion.

As gruesome and unpleasant to think about as it is, these apparent discrepancies may be important clues in understanding why Hinrichs acted as he did.

So earlier today, I talked at length with Don Laughlin of Oklahoma City – the bus driver who walked within a few feet behind Hinrichs as the OU student sat on the park bench, then walked past him, thinking he was either asleep or praying.

Laughlin remains adamant about what he saw as he approached from behind Hinrichs on the park bench and when he looked back at it the instant after the explosion, which nearly knocked him to the ground:

“He had his face down, with the backpack beside him on the bench. He wasn’t moving. I thought he was either asleep or praying, so I kept whistling and walked on past him,” Laughlin said.

“I was about 120 paces past him when I heard the explosion. The impact about knocked me down. I saw a big plume of black smoke going up from the bench. At first I thought it was one of the buses,” Laughlin said.

“Then I looked at the bench. At first I thought ‘well, that’s the worst halloween trick ever,’ but then I realized what it was I was looking at,” Laughlin said. He estimated that he looked at Hinrichs body for “five seconds or so” before the reality of what had just happened hit him.

“I walked around him, his arm was dangling off the back of the bench. It just looked like a bag of legs and black goop plastered all over the bench, all over my bus,” Laughlin said.

Asked if he saw a torso, Laughlin said “I didn’t see a body, it was just a bunch of goop. It was starting to get dark and maybe I missed it. I remember so vividly that arm dangling off the back of the bench there.”

The bomb that killed Hinrichs contained two-to-three pounds of triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, an amount sufficient to do a tremendous amount of physical damage had it been detonated inside the nearby football stadium.

Laughlin said there were four or five busses, including his own, parked within a few feet of the park bench and that the immediate area would have had “hundreds of people there after the game.”

He said he was questioned only once by the FBI after he gave his initial statement to the Norman Policy Department. He said he has not heard from officials with the investigation since that lone conversation.

While working in law enforcement I have seen many a gruesome scene, and have seen how some witnesses can be so traumatized by witnessing the scene they will report a very different description of the body or evidence. Most of this is due to psychology that I do not understand fully but I do know every person deals with different events differently. So while this descrepency is interesting, I do not think it adds up to much.

Why the FBI is so adamant about calling this a suicide I cannot explain.

The Pakistani roommate with a ticket to Algeria, the fragmentation supplies found in his apartment along with the additional explosives, the radical Islamic papers found in his apartment, the reports that Hinrich attended the Mosque near his apartment, the very same mosque that Moussaoui attended….all that evidence and still they come to the conclusion it was just some depressed kid wanting to commit suicide by blowing himself up…..Riiiiight.

The Pakistani roommate with a ticket to Algeria, the fragmentation supplies found in his apartment along with the additional explosives, the radical Islamic papers found in his apartment, the reports that Hinrich attended the Mosque near his apartment, the very same mosque that Moussaoui attended….all that evidence and still they come to the conclusion it was just some depressed kid wanting to commit suicide by blowing himself up…..Riiiiight.

UPDATES BELOW

Long time readers may remember my OU Bomber series of posts in which I created a real-time timeline as events unfolded. My whole series of posts can be found here.

A quick rundown on the story from an article last October:

CBN.com ? OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma – Has terrorism returned to the Oklahoma City area? That is what folks in Norman have been asking, ever since a 21-year-old student at the University of Oklahoma killed himself in what some are calling an attempted homicide bombing.

On Saturday, October 1, engineering major Joel Hinrichs detonated a homemade bomb near Memorial Stadium, where 84,000 fans were watching the hometown Sooners take on Kansas State.

That was just a hundred yards from a newly replaced bench ? it was there, just before halftime, that a powerful explosion ripped through the entire area, taking Hinrichs with it.

From the outset, both the FBI and University of Oklahoma President David Boren have insisted that Hinrichs acted alone. They say his death was a random suicide, carried out by a troubled young man, and that Hinrichs had no intention of hurting anyone but himself. But others who have followed the case closely are not so sure.

Mark Tapscott of the Heritage Foundation 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 themself up in proximity, close proximity, to 84,000 people at a football game.?

Tapscott and other online bloggers have questioned Hinrichs? true intentions. They point to his Pakistani Muslim roommate and the location of his apartment?just one block from the Norman Mosque.

It is the same mosque that convicted 9/11 plotter Zacarias Moussaoui attended when he lived in Norman. As for Hinrichs, a spokesman for the mosque told us he had never seen him there.

Now today there is a front page article in the local paper describing how a police bomb expert for the local PD stated he did not believe Hinrich meant to commit suicide: (h/t Michelle Malkin who got it from Tapscott’s Copy Desk)

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.
“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.

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.

So this kid decided he was going to make a fragmentation bomb to commit suicide?

Ok, lets look at the facts here:

• Roommate was a Pakistani
• Hinrich had been seen at the local Mosque, same Mosque that the 20th hijacker, Zacarias Moussaoui, attended.
• Hinrich attempted to buy a large amount of Ammonium Nitrate from a local feed store days earlier
• Evidence that Hinrich was attempting to make a Fragmentation bomb, which is mainly used by suicide bombers to kill other people.
• It has been reported but not confirmed that Hinrich attempted to get into the stadium twice but was turned away
• Radical Muslim material was found in his apartment

And now add the fact this bomb expert believes he did not intend to detonate the bomb where he did and you have the making of a classic suicide bomber.

UPDATE

Mark Tapscott from Tapscott’s Copy Desk interviewed a spokesperson from the local FBI office in Oklahoma:

Gary Johnson, a spokesman for the Oklahoma City office of the FBI, dismissed comments published today by The Daily Oklahoman by Norman Police Sergeant George Mauldin that OU Suicide Bomber Joel Hinrichs killed himself “accidentally” and did not intend the bomb he was carrying to detonate when it did.

“That’s just an individual’s opinion,” Johnson said in an interview with Tapscott’s Copy Desk. Johnson said the FBI stands by its view that Hinrichs was not involved in any terrorist activities.

What a shocker. The FBI sticking to their story and keeping their heads in the sand.

As always Mark is ahead of the curve on this one, he always seems to be the first to get the information out on this case.

Other’s Blogging:

• Generation Why
• A Blog For All

And now add the fact this bomb expert believes he did not intend to detonate the bomb where he did and you have the making of a classic suicide bomber.

Mark Tapscott has discovered an interesting article detailing how 3 Algerians have been arrested in Italy for plotting terrorist attacks inside the US. What makes this news interesting is the fact that they had planned to attack stadiums.

If you recall the name Joel Hinrich then this will click for you. Joel was the “suicide” bomber in Oklahoma who sat outside of a football game and blew himself up. At the time, and to this day, I believe this was more then a suicide. His roommate was Pakistani and just happened to have a ticket to Algeria in his possession. Coincidence?

ROME – Three Algerians arrested in an anti-terrorist operation in southern Italy are suspected of being linked to a planned new series of attacks in the United States, Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said Friday.

The attacks would have targeted ships, stadiums or railway stations in a bid to outdo the September 11, 2001 strikes by Al-Qaeda in New York and Washington which killed some 2,700 people, Pisanu said.

The Algerians, suspected of belonging to a cell established by an Al-Qaeda-linked Algerian extremist organisation, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), were named as Achour Rabah, Tartaq Sami and Yasmine Bouhrama.

The first two were arrested Friday in the Salerno area south of Naples, and in Curingia, in the southern Calabria region, respectively.

Bouhrama, 32, had been in jail in Naples since November 15 in connection with another investigation of the GSPC. He is believed to be the head of the Salerno cell and to have liaised with other cells in Milan, Brescia and Naples.

The three in custody are also alleged to have procured false papers and funds to finance the GSPC, a hardline fundamentalist movement that rejects the Algerian government’s attempt to draw a line under years of Islamist rebellion.

Pisanu said Friday’s swoop was part of a wider operation involving other countries.

Links were uncovered between the GSPC’s Italian activities and groups in Britain, the Italian news agency Ansa reported.

As many of us pointed out when this thing happened the fact that Joel had a huge amount of explosives in his apartment, waaaayyyy beyond what he would need to blow himself us, the fact that his roommate was a Pakistani with a airline ticket to Algeria, the fact that Joel was seen at the mosque around the corner, the same one that Zacarias Moussaoui attended, the fact that radical Islamic material was found in his apartment, the fact that NOONE commits suicide by exploding, and you have to come to the conclusion that this was more then just a suicide bomber.

Now with news that indeed, a stadium attack was planned by Algerians, it’s even more apparent that this was a deliberate attempt to attack our country once again:

Mark Tapscott of the Heritage Foundation 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 themself up in proximity, close proximity, to 84,000 people at a football game.?

Tapscott and other online bloggers have questioned Hinrichs? true intentions. They point to his Pakistani Muslim roommate and the location of his apartment?just one block from the Norman Mosque.

It is the same mosque that convicted 9/11 plotter Zacarias Moussaoui attended when he lived in Norman. As for Hinrichs, a spokesman for the mosque told us he had never seen him there.

I have 12 posts about this subject, check them out along with my liveblogging timeline of the event. Thanks to Tapscott for connecting this information, great work.

Other’s Blogging:

• Generation Why
• Okie On The Lam

As many of us pointed out when this thing happened the fact that Joel had a huge amount of explosives in his apartment, waaaayyyy beyond what he would need to blow himself us, the fact that his roommate was a Pakistani with a airline ticket to Algeria, the fact that Joel was seen at the mosque around the corner, the same one that Zacarias Moussaoui attended, the fact that radical Islamic material was found in his apartment, the fact that NOONE commits suicide by exploding, and you have to come to the conclusion that this was more then just a suicide bomber.

Checkout the below posts if you are not too familiar with this incident:

OCT 1ST, 1920HRS – OCT 4TH, 0359HRS

OCT 5TH, 0444HRS – OCT 5TH, 1935HRS

OCT 5TH, 2004HRS – OCT 8TH, 1104HRS

OCT 9TH, 1122HRS – OCT 15TH, 0750HRS

OCT 16TH, 1102HRS – OCT 26TH, 1800HRS

Plus I have a brief synopsis here.

Michelle Malkin has an update up today that lists some of the material seized from Hinrich’s apartment: (taken from the unsealed court documents, 94 pages of the 350 pages can be found here)

The affidavit of FBI special agent Jennifer Baker provides additional details of the bombing scene (pp. 16-28), including the recovery of a “white sock containing pieces of plastic” and at least “two wires protruding from the sock,” as well as “a screwdriver with a hollow handle and white sock stuffed partially inside the handle,” a “blue opaque ballpoint pen” with a “small razor consistent with an Exacto knife attached to the opposite end from the pen” and a “bullet casing of unknown caliber” attached to it (p. 18). Odd possessions for a depressed loner just trying to end his own singular life.

The documents also confirm local Oklahoma media reports on the presence of TATP, “called the ‘Mother of Satan’ by Islamist extremists,” in Hinrichs’ apartment (p. 90)

The real story in this whole episode is the attempts made by the MSM and the University to sweep the incident under the rug. It’s obvious this was not just a lonely depressed kid wanting to commit suicide.

Some thoughts:

1 -Why did the FBI insist from the beginning that Hinrichs was a lone suicide but then waited nearly two weeks before disclosing the existence of the message allegedly left by Hinrichs on his computer?

2 – Federal policy for several years has been that all explosions are treated as terrorist acts until proven otherwise. Why was the Hinrichs death so quickly pronounced a non-terrorist act?

3 – Recall that Hinrich has attempted to buy a large amount of Ammonium Nitrate a few days prior to this bombing.

4 – Recall that all this bombmaking material detailed above was in his apartment, whom he shared with a Pakistani roommate named Fazal M. Cheema.

5 – Recall that this apartment is located one block away from the local Mosque, the same mosque attended in 2001 by Zacarias Moussaoui

6 – It has been reported but not confirmed that Hinrich tried to enter the stadium twice prior to detonation.

Yeah, just your everyday suicide.

Other’s Blogging:

Kuru Lounge
Generation Why
A Blog For All
Tapscotts Copy Desk

The real story in this whole episode is the attempts made by the MSM and the University to sweep the incident under the rug. It’s obvious this was not just a lonely depressed kid wanting to commit suicide.

Continuing my ongoing timeline of this event. For more check these out:

OCT 1ST, 1920HRS – OCT 4TH, 0359HRS

OCT 5TH, 0444HRS – OCT 5TH, 1935HRS

OCT 5TH, 2004HRS – OCT 8TH, 1104HRS

OCT 9TH, 1122HRS – OCT 15TH, 0750HRS

Plus I have a brief synopsis here.

Oct 16th, 1102HRS PST

NORMAN – The University of Oklahoma student who died in an explosion Oct. 1 left a message on his computer that he was going to quit living, his father said.

The FBI read the message to the father Friday, after he came to Oklahoma to clear out his son’s university-owned apartment.

Joel “Joe” Henry Hinrichs III, an engineering student, died when his bomb went off about 100 yards from the packed football stadium during the second quarter of OU’s night game against Kansas State.

Hinrichs, 21, was from Colorado Springs, Colo. He had a reputation as a loner and had struggled at times with his grades. His parents had begun divorce proceedings.

Joel Hinrichs Jr. said he understood investigators found the message on the computer screen when they arrived at the apartment.

“It was a single line of text on his computer,” said the father, who lives in Colorado Springs. “The cursor was still blinking at the end.”

The father said he could not recall the exact wording but said his son used profanity in the message and was obviously very angry. “He wrote he was dissatisfied with the situation and was going to quit living,” the father said.

His description of the message is consistent with the recollection of others who have been briefed about the investigation by the FBI.

No links to terrorist groups
FBI officials have said they may never know whether the student wanted to get inside the stadium. The student did not have a season ticket.

FBI officials also have said the investigation has not found any links between the student and terrorist organizations.

His father said he thinks his son was just committing suicide and never intended to hurt anyone else.

The father said the FBI on Friday showed him the fractured bench where his son was sitting when the bomb exploded and photos of his son’s headless body and a tattered backpack.

The father said when cleaning out the apartment, he learned his son apparently had been having trouble sleeping and had bought Sominex, a sleep aid.

The younger Hinrichs had a long fascination with ammunition and bombs, his relatives and friends said. Inside his bedroom in Norman were several used metal artillery shells — the largest about 2 feet long. He had belts of used brass shell casings, a box of spent bullets and military ammo containers.

He also had items more typical of many college students — textbooks, empty liquor bottles, magazines and a martial arts movie videotape.

The father allowed two reporters from The Oklahoman into the bedroom briefly Thursday.

Bomb experts removed explosive-related materials from the apartment Oct. 2.

Oct 16th, 1543HRS PST

Does “suicide message” close OU bomber case?

If it does, then we can expect to see the FBI and Joint Task Force on Terrorism leaving the case and the U.S. Department of Justice asking the federal court to unseal the search warrant authorities used to begin the investigation of Joel Henry Hinrichs Oct. 1 death.

If the Task Force goes on to other work and the search warrant is unsealed, then it will be difficult not to accept the official explanation that Hinrichs was a lone, disturbed young man who killed himself and had no links to terrorist activities or organizations.

If those two actions don’t quickly occurr, then critics of the official explanation will want answers to these questions raised by The Sunday Daily Oklahoman’s report of a Hinrichs “suicide message:”

* Why did the FBI and Joint Task Force on Terrorism insist virtually from the outset that Hinrichs was a lone suicide, but then waited nearly two weeks before disclosing the existence of the message allegedly left by Hinrichs on his computer?

* How does the FBI know the message was typed on the computer by Hinrichs and not another individual? In the absence of convincing proof that Hinrichs was the author, the message could have been typed by anybody.

* The message was only one sentence long, according to the Oklahoman, but Hinrichs father was unable to remember the wording, which the newspaper said was read to him by the FBI. Why wasn’t he shown a photo of the screen with the message?

In addition, if federal anti-terrorist investigators do not promptly withdraw from the case and the search warrant remains sealed, then critics will also want to know why:

* The standing federal policy for several years has been that all explosions are treated as terrorist acts until proven otherwise, according to former FBI Assistant Director Pat D’Amuro who is now a CNN security analyst. Why was the Hinrichs death so quickly pronounced a non-terrorist act?

* D’Amuro also said during the CNN interview “once it’s determined that it is a terrorist event, the Joint Terrorism Task Force would take primary jurisdiction.” Was such a determination made when the Joint Task Force became the lead agency in the investigation within 48 hours of the incident? If no such determination was made, why was the Joint Task Force brought in as the lead agency?

* D’Amuro further stated in the CNN interview that if authorities decide “it was a lone bomber, it will be turned over to Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.” At no point have authorities indicated the Joint Task Force was withdrawn and replaced by ATF. Why is the standing policy not being followed in the Hinrichs case?

* If Hinrichs was a lone suicide and not a terrorist-related case, what is in the search warrant that cannot be disclosed to the public and the media?

Gotta tell ya, the fact the FBI is just now releasing this information is quite suspicious. The Father had earlier stated that there was no suicide note (Thanks to Jason at Generation Why for reminding me) but now states there was. How can we know that this was left by the bomber and not his Pakistani roommate? If he was gonna commit suicide why would he attempt to buy enough bomb material to blow up wayyyyyyy more then just himself. Why was there more bomb material left in the apartment? Why is the search warrant sealed?

He may indeed have been a loner depressed with the world, who better to recruit into a fanatical group?

Oct 16th, 2015HRS PST

From a article in the Tulsa Times on Oct 4th: (h/t Generation Why)

(Norman, OK) — The University of Oklahoma engineering student who blew himself up didn’t have a political agenda and wasn’t trying to hurt anyone else. Joel Hinrichs (HEIN-ricks) Jr. says his son, Joel Hinrichs the Third, was “checking out” as he put it. Hinrichs says he told the FBI his son was disengaged from politics and says agents told him they did not find a suicide note. Hinrichs used hydrogen peroxide to construct the bomb and had the device strapped to his body when he detonated it. He was sitting on a bench outside the botany-microbiology building, which is about 100 yards from OU’s Memorial Stadium. Thousands of people heard and even felt the blast during the second quarter of Saturday night’s game.

Oct 17th, 1121HRS PST

The father of an OU student who died Oct. 1 when a bomb exploded outside of Oklahoma Memorial Stadium said his son left a very disturbing suicide note on his computer.

Joel Henry Hinrichs Jr. said the FBI showed him evidence that his son Joel acted alone in the explosion and never intended to hurt other people. Hinrichs said he doesn’t remember the exact text.

?The line of text on his computer was short, but it was to the point, very vulgar, and it was a sort of farewell,? Hinrichs said.

Joel ?Joe? Henry Hinrichs III, 21, was a mechanical engineering junior who kept to himself and had a long fascination with ammunition and bomb-making materials, his father said.

?My son was just a disturbed young man, and he felt it was necessary to end his life,? he said. ?I was shown pictures of the bench he was sitting on at the time of the explosion, as well as a backpack and photos of his body.?

Hinrichs was sitting on a bench Oct. 1 outside of George Lynn Cross Hall when the bomb went off.

The blast could be heard during the second quarter of OU-Kansas State University football game where nearly 84,000 spectators were in attendance. The stadium is fewer than 100 yards from Cross hall.

The Chief Medical Examiner?s Office has yet to make a positive identification of the body. DNA tests were performed to determine a positive ID.

FBI officials are still unclear as to Hinrichs? motives for the location he chose, but Hinrichs Jr. said he was upset with some of the media and how the story has turned into a conspiracy theory.

?Joe was sitting on a bench away from the crowded stadium and away from people; it?s as simple as that,? he said. ?People seem to forget that. His intentions were to end his life; he was trying to destroy himself and nothing else. I don?t like the way it has been written, especially if people can?t get the facts right.?

Hinrichs said the Internet stories have bothered him the most.

?The print media have been very accurate with what they are coming out with, no doubt about it,? he said. ?The networks? coverage has been very suspect at best, probably because they get most of their information from the Internet.?

Hinrichs insisted that the stories saying his son was involved with terrorist organizations are simply not true.

The FBI said last week they found no link between Hinrichs and terrorism and that he did not try to enter the stadium or purchase a ticket for the game.

FBI spokesman Gary Johnson and OU President David L. Boren said that no Islamic or Jihadist materials were found during the search of the Parkview Apartments, where Hinrichs lived.

Officials did find bomb-making materials in the apartment and went to a Norman Police Department firing range to detonate the materials.

Hinrichs said he visited Norman on Thursday and Friday to clear out his son?s apartment and met with the FBI and university officials, including Boren.

?I spoke with Boren, and they did everything in their power to make sure my stay was comfortable and expressed their deep concern about my family?s well-being,? he said.

Hinrichs said he wanted to thank OU and will never forget how OU officials have tried to make the situation easier for him and his family.

?My family has been through a rough stretch the past couple of weeks, but we are all doing well,? Hinrichs said.

Oct 26th, 1800hrs PST

CBN.com ? OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma – Has terrorism returned to the Oklahoma City area? That is what folks in Norman have been asking, ever since a 21-year-old student at the University of Oklahoma killed himself in what some are calling an attempted homicide bombing.

On Saturday, October 1, engineering major Joel Hinrichs detonated a homemade bomb near Memorial Stadium, where 84,000 fans were watching the hometown Sooners take on Kansas State.

That was just a hundred yards from a newly replaced bench — it was there, just before halftime, that a powerful explosion ripped through the entire area, taking Hinrichs with it.

From the outset, both the FBI and University of Oklahoma President David Boren have insisted that Hinrichs acted alone. They say his death was a random suicide, carried out by a troubled young man, and that Hinrichs had no intention of hurting anyone but himself. But others who have followed the case closely are not so sure.

Mark Tapscott of the Heritage Foundation 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 themself up in proximity, close proximity, to 84,000 people at a football game.?

Tapscott and other online bloggers have questioned Hinrichs’ true intentions. They point to his Pakistani Muslim roommate and the location of his apartment–just one block from the Norman Mosque.

It is the same mosque that convicted 9/11 plotter Zacarias Moussaoui attended when he lived in Norman. As for Hinrichs, a spokesman for the mosque told us he had never seen him there.

?The first time we’ve seen his picture is when the news and the media put his pictures in the papers and on TV. Other than that, we’ve never seen him here,? stated Mohamed Elyazgi, a spokesman for the Norman Mosque.

But in a CBN exclusive, a former neighbor of the mosque, who wishes to remain anonymous, told us she did see Hinrichs there–not once, but several times.

?I did see Joel on several occasions outside of the mosque, actually, in the parking lot of the mosque,? the neighbor said. ?It wasn’t in the yard, it wasn’t behind the fence, it was always in the parking lot when I would see him. And there was one time when I passed him, actually, on the sidewalk. As soon as I saw the picture of Joel Hinrichs on TV, not the clean-shaven one, but the one with the beard, I knew immediately that that was the gentleman I had seen on several occasions.?

Hinrichs’ father says his son never would have converted to Islam, and that young Joel was no terrorist. Joel Hinrichs Sr. declared, ?My pride is under challenge somewhat, by the fact that he took his life. But in terms of a terrorist, a terrorist is somebody who tries to scare other people. And there was nobody around when Joel did what he did.?

But the FBI has admitted that it still is not sure whether Hinrichs tried to enter Memorial Stadium.

And why did Hinrichs attempt to buy ammonium nitrate fertilizer at a local feed store just days before killing himself? That is the same deadly material Timothy McVeigh used to blow up the Oklahoma City Federal Building in 1995.

?We don’t have a lot of people who come in and actually specifically state that they need ammonium nitrate,? Dustin Ellison of Ellison Feed & Seed said. ?When it’s used in that terminology now, it’s kind of…it just catches your attention when somebody asks for that.?

Oklahoma Congressman Tom Cole understands the concerns surrounding Hinrichs’ death. But he is confident that the FBI’s findings are correct, and that Hinrichs only meant to harm himself.

Rep. Cole stated, ?We do have a person that has a long documented history of having a very troubled past. It’s a person that had been isolated, who seemed a little bit odd. Who, according to his brother, had frequently been teased and tormented as a young person by fellow students. Sort of classic loner, who didn’t fit in.?

Law enforcement authorities found additional explosives during a search of Hinrichs? apartment. Some news outlets have reported they also found jihadist literature. The FBI denies this claim.

But anyone looking to dig deeper will not have much luck–the Department Of Justice has sealed the search warrant for Hinrichs’ apartment.

Although it has grabbed most of the attention, Hinrichs’ suicide is not the only troubling incident to take place on America’s college campuses these past few weeks.

At UCLA, authorities discovered what they called “an improvised explosive device.” Near the University of California’s San Diego campus, authorities found a homemade chemical lab in the bathroom of a student’s apartment. The student killed himself as police attempted to enter the residence.

At Prairie View A & M in Texas, a student was arrested when authorities found bombmaking materials in his dorm room. He is also charged with trying to buy a handgun with counterfeit money.

And at Georgia Tech, in what officials now say was a prank, a student planted three explosive devices on campus.

As for the University of Oklahoma, it has tightened security at all home games in the wake of Hinrichs’ death.

The Oklahoma City Memorial is a daily reminder of the deadly effects of domestic terrorism. And for many here, questions still linger about Hinrichs’ death. Was it just a lone suicide? Or was it part of a larger conspiracy to bring terrorism back to America’s heartland?

He may indeed have been a loner depressed with the world, who better to recruit into a fanatical group?

Iawhawk from A Blog For All blogged a bit about the Oklahoma bombing with some great thoughts:

Mark Tapscott’s appearance on CNN definitely raises some interesting points that relate directly on to how the Hinrichs investigation is proceeding and how various officials are portraying the situation.

Which brings us to what may be a significant development coming out of the CNN segment. Pat DeMuro (SP?), the former FBI agent who was in the New York studio with Aaron Brown tonight, described an agreement when the FBI was reorganized a few years back that all explosions would be presumed to be terrorist acts until proven otherwise.

But in this case the presumption virtually from the outset has been that it was not a terrorist act, so Boren, who was Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee when he retired from politics in 1994, needs to come clean about why the FBI’s policy of presuming a terrorist link was junked so quickly in the Hinrichs investigation.

Also significant: At the end, DeMuro made it clear that he “is not saying this wasn’t a terrorist act.” So far, his former colleagues in the FBI in Oklahoma are insisting they have no evidence that it was a terrorist act, but others in the law enforcement community are beginning to strain at having to toe such an obviously flawed official line.

It would seem that the folks down in Georgia were on the same page as the ‘official line,’ which is to treat all incidents involving explosives be presumed terrorist acts until proven otherwise. That protocol does not appear to be followed in the Hinrichs’ case, despite the fact that there are unanswered questions about motive, methods, and background.

[...]Asking questions about media reports isn’t making conspriacy theories. It’s called getting to the bottom of the situation. It’s about getting the facts straight on a story.

Damn right. As many of you know I have been blogging a ongoing timeline of any news or information that comes out about the bombing here:

OCT 1ST, 1920HRS – OCT 4TH, 0359HRS

OCT 5TH, 0444HRS – OCT 5TH, 1935HRS

OCT 5TH, 2004HRS – OCT 8TH, 1104HRS

OCT 9TH, 1122HRS – PRESENT

Plus I have a brief synopsis here.

The attempt’s made by the Media, FBI, & Boren to sweep this under the rug when there are many many suspicious facts about this case is interesting. Why did Hinrich have a large amount of explosives in his apartment? You do not need a large amount to kill only yourself. How about his Pakistani roommate? Why was there a plane ticket to Algeria found in the apartment? Is it just a coincidence that Norman was the town where many of the 9/11 terrorist stayed and learned?

19. In or about early July 2000, Mohammed Atta (#11) and Marwan al-Shehhi (#175) visited the Airman Flight School in Norman, Oklahoma.

34. On or about September 29, 2000, ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI contacted Airman Flight School in Norman, Oklahoma using an e-mail account he set up on September 6 with an internet service provider in Malaysia.

45. On or about February 26, 2001, ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI opened a bank account in Norman, Oklahoma, depositing approximately $32,000 cash.

46. Between on or about February 26, 2001, and on or about May 29, 2001, ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI attended the Airman Flight School in Norman, Oklahoma, ending his classes early.

48. In or about March 2001, ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI joined a gym in Norman, Oklahoma.

53. In or about June 2001, in Norman, Oklahoma, ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI made inquiries about starting a crop dusting company.

65. Between on or about July 29 and August 2, 2001, in Norman, Oklahoma, ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI made several telephone calls from public telephones to a number in Duesseldorf, Germany (?German Telephone # 2?).

Did Hinrich visit the Mosque that was around the corner from his apartment. Is it true the apartment complex he lived in had mostly Middle Eastern men living there? Is it true that he had Jihad paperwork and pamphlets in his apartment?

Lots of stuff don’t add up here and the whitewash by those involved is quite suspicious.

This is a continuation of the Oklahoma Bombing timeline I have updated on since it occurred on Oct 1st. Check out the earlier posts here:

OCT 1ST, 1920HRS – OCT 4TH, 359HRS

OCT 5TH, 0444HRS – OCT 5TH, 1935HRS

OCT 5TH, 2004HRS – OCT 8TH, 1104HRS

10/9 1122HRS PST

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.

Oct 10th, 1638HRS PST

Speaking of his car, federal investigators gave it the once-over but then left it in the parking lot of the apartment complex where Hinrichs lived with three or four Muslim students. By the way, the Muslim Students Association office is across the street from the apartment complex, as is the mosque attended by alleged 9/11 ?20th hijacker? Zacarias Moussaoui while he was attending a local flight school.

just returned from campus.

If his car was an old beat-up blue Lincoln Town Car, then it is still in the parking lot. It has one of the roofs that was not metal on the outside but kind of a leather like material — I cannot think what they are called.

As for video cameras, I found what looks to be a new one installed at the SE corner of the end zone where students enter and also a new one in the parking garage as you leave — at least they look new as they are black and around here black turns into grayish looking with the dirt blowing around. Could not find any at Gate 1; Gate 2 had one but it was pointed at the back of the ticket office not the gate; Gate 3 and 7 — couldn’t find any but will go back tomorrow to see if walking around I can see more. Very few people around campus this afternoon and frankly didn’t want to stand out.

Looks to me like the video surveillance in the stadium was for ticket offices where they would have money and tickets not for the gates. The student gate definitely has one today — all nice and new looking.

Can confirm a lot of ME students in Parkview Apartments that love to stare. Parking lot is pretty full at the Islamic Center.

End of my report from OU!

Oct 10th, 1515HRS PST

Has there been more happening at the University of Oklahoma than hazing and all-nighters? The blogosphere, led by Michelle Malkin, has been chronicling the suspicious explosion at the University of Oklahoma just over a week ago, and wondering why the big media doesn?t appear interested.

According to most reports, Joel Hinrichs III was a young man with a history of depression who used a homemade explosive device to commit suicide just 100 yards or so from the school?s football stadium, which was filled with over 80,000 people at the time. Officials were quick to call the incident a suicide, but rumors and reports of Hinrichs? attempts to buy large quantities of ammonium nitrate and ties to the Muslim community have raised a lot of questions and the answers thus far are not forthcoming.

The Oklahoma Daily, OU?s independent campus paper, lays blame on the FBI today for the confusion:

Remember, the FBI has commandeered this investigation. In doing so and by not telling anyone anything, they are only allowing the events of Oct. 2 to be misinterpreted over and over by people who are firm in believing something that is false and terribly dangerous.

For example, unsubstantiated claims that Hinrichs had been frequenting the Norman mosque have managed to seep onto television news broadcasts even though everyone we have contacted at the mosque says Hinrichs was never seen there.

So who is lying? Inherently, people should perceive the unfounded news broadcasts as the liars, but that doesn?t always happen. And even if only one person sees and believes such a report there or online, word of mouth can transmit that ?truth? to hundreds or thousands within a matter of days.

Which is why it is undeniably the duty of the FBI to break its unctuous vow of silence and talk to somebody. The longer the feds delay in doing so, the more they become equally responsible for misinformed social reactions as the hacks who started these rumors in the first place.

Many, Malkin included, have wondered where the MSM is on this story. As the Oklahoma Daily editorial notes, local television has covered it and a quick Google search turns up (sometimes conflicting) reports in local and regional newspapers but no major media outlets appear to have picked up the story yet. We asked CBS News national editor Bill Felling, who told us the network is looking into the story. Let?s hope so, it?s one worth airing, whatever the facts are.

Oct 10th, 1847HRS PST

There is a new camera already installed at Gate 10 (I thought it was Gate 9 but checked today when I was on campus for something else). Anyone familiar with OK knows we have a lot of wind that blows around dirt and anything black and shiny doesn’t stay that way for long that is why I assume this is a new camera at Gate 10. I did see video cameras focused on the back of the ticket books but at Gate 1 — absolutely nothing and I mean nothing. I could not find any cameras on the gates except for Gate 10 which looked to be new along with the one now in the parking garage as you leave.

I did see a white truck working around Gate 7 and 8 when I drove by today — the kind that installs satellite dishes, etc.

I could be wrong but I had someone with me today and they observed the same thing so we could both be wrong.

Oct 11th, 0645HRS PST

Ten days have passed since a 21-year-old University of Oklahoma engineering student was killed when a bomb he was carrying exploded 100 yards from the stadium where Oklahoma and Kansas State were playing football before a crowd of 84,000 ? and there are still more questions than answers to exactly What? and Why?

As The Oklahoman said in its October 9 edition, the explosion ?left Oklahomans wondering whether it was an individual suicide or if it was intended to be an act of terrorism targeting football fans October 1.?

There is evidence the student, Joel Hinrichs III of Colorado, was a loner with a history of depression. However, it is still a mystery why officials were so quick to call it a suicide — before a thorough investigation could be initiated.

The explosion occurred about 7:30 p.m., during the second quarter of the KSU-OU game. During the fourth quarter OU President David Boren informed the media that a student had apparently committed suicide by blowing himself up near the stadium. He asked fans at the stadium to remain calm and said no one was in danger.

How could he have been so sure? The FBI was just then starting interviews with some of Hinrichs? neighbors and acquaintances. And the FBI?s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is said to be in charge, would not have had time to arrive in Norman.

It?s also a mystery why the mainstream media outside Oklahoma has pretty much ignored the incident.

Days later the news media was obsessed with the story of a possible terror threat in New York City; and cable news outlets spent far too much time on a bomb threat that briefly closed the Washington Monument. But there was almost nothing about an actual bombing ? just 100 yards outside a college stadium full of people ? that could have been a terrorism incident gone awry. Did newspaper editors and TV news producers ? usually inquiring minds ? buy into Boren?s quick dismissal of the event as just a troubled youth?s suicide and ensuing FBI statements that investigators had found no evidence to prove it was something other than a suicide?

My inquiring mind wonders if Boren, a former U. S. Senator with great political skills, sought to cool media interest and keep reporters and cameras out of Norman. Remember: His announcement came barely 90 minutes after the incident.

I first heard about the incident late Saturday, October 1, when it was a ?breaking news? item on FOX News.

The report said a bomb exploded near OU?s stadium during a football game. There was a brief video showing police cars with lights flashing and an area cordoned off by yellow police tape.

I later checked the Omaha World-Herald?s online edition and found no mention of the incident. If over the next few days it was listed in the index for online OWH stories I missed it; it was not listed as a ?headline? story.

FOX never mentioned it again. I forgot about it until October 4, when a Washington D.C. website reported the FBI was investigating the bombing.

The website questioned why Boren was passing it off as a suicide.

The next day a second Washington website reported the bombing after being e-mailed reports from Oklahoma media. It felt a lot of information was contradictory and wondered why the eastern media wasn?t on to the story. That was when I started to prepare the story that ran October 7 here in StatePaper.com [To access that column, click here.]

Let?s go back to the beginning.

A longtime, good friend of mine and his wife, who reside in Oklahoma, were at the OU-KSU game. Their seats are in the northwest corner of the stadium, just ten rows up from the field. During the second quarter there was what my friend, Jim, called a ?loud boom?. He said it ?seemed like everyone in the stadium turned and looked in the direction of that noise. He said people seated near them all assumed it was thunder since early evening showers had been forecast.

Jim said police officers were moving toward the exits, but that fans didn?t pay any attention since officers often move around as they deal with unruly fans or medical emergencies.

As the second half began and people returned from concession stands and restrooms, word spread that police had sealed off exits on the stadium?s west side, although they opened at the end of the game.

There was apparently no public address announcement. Jim said he learned about the explosion during the fourth quarter while listening to play-by-play on his radio headsets, and Boren?s statement was reported.

It?s assumed word spread through the stadium as fans with radios informed people sitting around them. Jim said an area on the west side of the stadium was still cordoned off when they walked to their car after the game. There was little news about the explosion that night.

There have been conflicting reports about the explosion. One, which I repeated in my October 7 article, said the bomb was made of TATP, supposedly the same material used in the London subway bombings. I don?t know what TATP is, but The Oklahoman has since quoted the youth?s father, Joel Hinrichs Jr., of Colorado Springs, as saying the FBI told him the bomb was made of hydrogen peroxide. Some reports, upon which I based my story, quoted witnesses as saying Hinrichs was carrying a large backpack. Still another report said the explosives were strapped to his body. We won?t know for sure until the FBI or local coroner releases more information.

A bus driver told authorities, according to media reports, that shortly before the explosion he saw a young man fitting Hiurichs? description stretched out on a bus stop bench staring into space.

Oklahoma media quoted witnesses who claimed they saw Hinrichs attempt to enter the stadium and run from the area when security guards tried to check his backpack, a report I included in my October 7 story.

OU now says the FBI reviewed security camera tapes from the stadium gates and ?found nothing to indicate Hinrichs tried to enter?. Although no one said it did, the university has also said it did not sell an OU-KSU game ticket to Hinrichs.

The university also said it ?had heard nothing to indicate? Hinrichs attempted to buy a ticket from scalpers outside the stadium. None of that, of course, means Hinrichs did not have a ticket to the game.

According to The Oklahoman, Norman Police confirmed that on September 26 Hinrichs attempted to buy aluminum nitrate from a Norman feed store. Aluminum nitrate was used in the bombs at the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995 and the World Trade Center in 1993. Hinrichs? comments to the store?s manager raised the suspicions of an off-duty police officer who was in the store and overheard the conversation. He wrote down the license plate number on Hinrichs? car. Hinrichs died before a formal investigation could be made.

So far, the FBI has not identified the type of explosives found in Hinrichs? apartment.

FBI agents questioned Hinrichs? neighbors shortly after the October 1 explosion and searched his apartment on October 2, removing the cache of explosives and what The Oklahoman called ?other material?. Hinrichs? building and three neighboring buildings in the university-owned apartment complex were cordoned off by police until the explosives were removed.

An Internet news magazine is reporting that the search warrant used to search Hinrichs? apartment has been sealed by a federal court at the request of the U.S. Department of Justice. If true, that raises serious questions.

The magazine quotes a Bob Troester, identified as an assistant U.S. attorney in Oklahoma City, as saying to a reporter: ?You can draw whatever you like. We don?t comment on any sealed indictment.? The magazine wonders what he meant. Did he simply misspeak, meaning to say ?warrant?? If he did mean there?s a ?sealed indictment? that would mean that living people are about to be charged with a crime.

Speculation is running wild in Oklahoma (and at some Internet websites) that Hinrichs was involved with Muslim students from foreign countries, that he probably did intend to blow himself up inside the stadium but was deterred by the presence of security guards, that after leaving the stadium he either detonated the bomb to kill himself or it went off accidentally.

Hinrichs? roommate, first reported to be a Pakistani, which I included in my October 7 story, has also been identified as a Palestinian. He and three other Muslim students were taken into custody shortly after the explosion. They were questioned and released.

I also wrote October 7 that an Oklahoma City television station reported that Hinrichs had been attending the same Norman mosque attended by convicted 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui. However, a number of Muslim students and an Arab professor have since denied ever seeing Hinrichs at the mosque.

The day after the explosion, the FBI said it ?has no information that suggests that there is any additional threat posed by others related to this incident.?

The FBI said on October 4 that it ?had found no known link between Hinrichs and any terrorist or extremist organization or activities.? On October 6 OU President Boren said authorities ?have so far found no evidence of a conspiracy? and cautioned the university community against ?any rush to judgment based on race, religion, gender or ethnicity.?

Joel Hinrichs Jr. said his son had been treated previously for severe depression and dropped out of OU in 2003-2004. Classmates said the young man was a loner, dressed strangely and seemed concerned recently about his grades.

The dead student?s father added that his son had a fascination with explosives; that at the age of 13 or 14 made a bomb out of match heads and a tube. He also used to buy artillery shells on ebay.

However, Hinrichs Jr. also told The Oklahoman he had not observed any suicidal tendencies in his son. In fact, he added, in the last e-mail he received from his son on September 14, the young man anticipated getting a Subaru the elder Hinrichs was offering to him.

We may never know for sure what happened. Or why.

Suicide usually occurs in private, but Oklahoma mental health professionals are now wondering if Hinrichs was motivated to bring attention to his death.

I have a theory ? well, actually a question in my mind.

If Hinrichs was a convert to Islam and associated with militant Muslim extremists in a terrorist attack at a Midwest university, it would not take the FBI very long to put the pieces together. Because of his roommate, Hinrichs was likely acquainted with Muslim students, some of whom could have had ties to a terrorist group. I wonder if they knew about his interest ? and apparent expertise — in explosives; and if they learned he was depressed and suicidal, whether they might have befriended the troubled youth, who had trouble making friends, and manipulated him into committing suicide in a big way ? inside a crowded football stadium. I wonder if, as he approached the stadium, his conscience caused him to have second thoughts, he turned away, stretched out on the bus bench to think it over, and either killed himself or died when the bomb detonated accidentally.

The FBI left itself a lot of wiggle room by simply saying it has ?not found anything? or ?has no evidence? that it might have been more than a suicide.

Even Boren has backed off from his initial insistence that it was an ?individual suicide? and, because Oklahoma law allows only a coroner to make that determination, later clarified his statement to ?individual death?. And, as noted above, Boren has urged the university community to remain calm and not rush to judgment, as he recognizes the investigation has not been completed.

Meanwhile, the university announced that security will be increased at its football stadium.

Oct 11th, 1203HRS PST

Just heard on 930AM out of OKC that MSM are now here in the local area looking to do stories on this as they are even finding the silence defeaning.

Oct 12th, 0635HRS PST

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Tom Cole said Tuesday that the FBI told him there is no indication anyone else was involved in the apparent suicide bombing that took the life of University of Oklahoma student Joel Henry Hinrichs III earlier this month.

Citing a point of frustration expressed by law enforcement, the Oklahoma Republican said, the agent who briefed him on the investigation questioned why no one with knowledge of Hinrichs’ lengthy interest in explosives had ever contacted the bureau or some other agency.

“That is illegal activity,” Cole said. “It is not like having a firearm and being a hunter.”

No situation involving the making of a bomb even for private use is legal, he said, adding the agent clearly thought public awareness should be increased on that issue.

A two-term member of Congress whose district includes OU, Cole said he asked for an FBI briefing on the case that has generated an unusual amount of attention from those inside and outside the university community.

“No. 1, we don’t have any reason to believe this was anything other than an individual suicide,” Cole said, again quoting the FBI agent.

“We feel pretty good that there is not terrorist activity.”

Cole said the FBI, while still careful about ruling certain things in or out in the ongoing investigation, said law enforcement has looked at the 21-year-old student’s phone records, e-mails and personal records.

“They checked out every acquaintance they could find,” he said, including his roommate.

“He didn’t have a lot of friends.”

No evidence such as jihadist material has been found linking Hinrichs to others, Cole said.

“There is no indication he was acting in concert with anybody,” he said.

Asked if Hinrichs had left a suicide note, Cole said the FBI told him “there was no note.”

One of the questions that continues to generate speculation involved the timing and location of the bombing, which occurred close to a packed Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

Cole said the FBI has not come up with a reason why Hinrichs picked that location and time for the bombing, adding, however, that that area is the first place that offers a place to sit down near the stadium.

As to the ongoing speculation that Hinrichs had attempted to enter the stadium only to be turned away by security, Cole said the FBI briefer conceded “honestly, we don’t know,” but added no confirmation of those reports has been found.

He said the FBI also cannot confirm the path Hinrichs took right before the bombing.

The FBI, the congressman said, praised the reaction of the local community, including those in the Islamic community, law enforcement and OU President David Boren.

Cole said he was told members of the Islamic community “went above and beyond” to cooperate with the investigation and no connection to the local mosque has been found.

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., received an FBI briefing on the incident last week.

Danny Finnerty, special assistant to Inhofe, said the senator also received assurances that Hinrichs was acting alone when he killed himself.

Finnerty said the FBI also told Inhofe it could not confirm reports Hinrichs had attempted to enter the stadium.

Oct 12th, 0945HRS PST

Now, many of my readers wonder why the MSM won’t touch the strange and troubling story of the University of Oklahoma bomber, Joel Henry Hinrichs III. On Oct. 1, Hinrichs died on a park bench outside the school’s packed football stadium when a homemade bomb in his possession exploded. The Justice Department has sealed a search warrant in the case. The university’s president, David Boren, is pooh-poohing local media and Internet blog reports of possible jihadist influences on Hinrichs. The dead bomber was, we are being told, simply a depressed and troubled young man with “no known ties” to terrorism.

Never mind that, according to local news reporters, the bomb-making material found in Hinrichs’ apartment was triacetone triperoxide — the explosive chemical of choice of shoe bomber Richard Reid and the London 7/7 subway bombers.

Never mind the local police department’s confirmation that Hinrichs had attempted to buy ammonium nitrate a few days before his death.

Never mind the concerns of Oklahoma University student journalist Rachael Kahne, who told me this week in a call for the media’s help:

“I’ve been working on this story since the night it happened, and have been stonewalled at every turn. . . . Minutes after the explosion, police busted into a student’s apartment and arrested four Muslim students who were there for a small gathering (the president of the Muslim Student Association assures me this was in no way a “party”). Among those arrested [and later released] was Fazal Cheema, Joel Henry Hinrichs’ Pakistani roommate. I was baffled when I heard this. I didn’t know how police would be able to identify who Hinrichs was, where he lived, who his roommate was, and then find where his roommate was in a matter of minutes. Something isn’t adding up, and I’ve been wracking my brain for the past week trying to figure out what happened here. OU isn’t saying anything more than the typical PR spin, and the FBI won’t talk.”

Nothing to see here. Move along. Islam is a peaceful religion. Stop asking so many damned questions.

Oct 12th, 1200HRS PST

Imagine a man with a bomb strapped to his body making his way into a packed football stadium, reaching his seat and blowing himself up. There would be a heavy death toll in what would be the first successful terrorist act on U.S. soil since 9-11.

Jolting us back to memories of the Oklahoma City bombing, this would obviously be a massive headline in our ongoing war on terror. One would think attention would be heightened even further if such a story were to occur again in Oklahoma.

Well, there’s reason to believe it nearly happened, and it was indeed in Oklahoma, making the paltry coverage of the story unfathomable.

On Oct. 1, as the Oklahoma Sooners hosted Kansas State in front of 84,000 fans, University of Oklahoma student Joel Hinrichs III blew himself up outside the stadium.

There is evidence that he sought to enter the game and was turned away by security after refusing to allow his backpack to be searched. Some minutes later, that backpack, containing the chosen explosive of shoe bomber Richard Reid and the London subway bombers, exploded, killing Mr. Hinrichs as he sat on a bench.

There have been some dutiful print and broadcast accounts of this event, all leaning heavily on the favored establishment take ? that this was a troubled young man who sought only to kill himself, simply doing so in an offbeat way.

Oh, really?

Well, what if the young man had a Pakistani roommate? What if he had been spending time at the Islamic Center of Norman, Okla., once frequented by “20th hijacker” Zacarias Moussaoui? What if the warrant used in the search of the bomber’s apartment had been sealed by federal authorities?

What if explosives had been found in that apartment? What if the young man had tried to purchase ammonium nitrate, the chosen explosive of Tim McVeigh, at a Norman feed store days earlier?

That’s a lot of what ifs, and they range from the confirmed to the unconfirmed. But the parts we do know ? the Pakistani roommate, the attempted fertilizer purchase, the veil of secrecy around the investigation ? should be enough to cast doubt on the simplistic “troubled young man” theory favored by, among others, OU’s nervous president, David Boren.

Mr. Hinrichs’ father told me his son was not the type to join radical causes and would not want to hurt anyone. But his son’s chosen method ? blowing himself up in a public place ? would seem to cast doubt on his concern for his fellow man.

As for the terrorist angle, Mr. Hinrichs is now the subject of understandably intense scrutiny, virtually none of it from the mainstream media. You might think the story fizzled because there was, in fact, no death beyond the bomber. True enough, but I’d suggest that if a raid revealed some radical plan to bomb an abortion clinic anywhere in America, the suspects would be household names by nightfall without a single fuse lit.

Something about the nature of this event has swallowed almost whole the normal curiosity one would expect from the usual sources.

Is it political, because acknowledging a terror threat on our soil might bolster President Bush’s war logic? Is it economic, out of fear of scaring people away from football games? Is it geographic snobbery because it didn’t happen on either coast? Or is it a PC fear of seeming to lunge toward a jihadist angle?

Whatever the reason, hunting for details of this shocking story puts you in some offbeat company.

Jayna Davis is a writer who has spent years documenting what she asserts is an Islamic connection to the Oklahoma City bombing. She has a fan in Douglas Hagmann, director of an outfit called the Northeastern Intelligence Network, whose Web site (homelandsecurityus.com) has a conspiracy geek vibe that might spark scoffing.

But the fact of the matter is that these people are breaking fresh news on this story that only later winds up in more conventional news outlets.

I’m not calling for a leap to the conclusion that Mr. Hinrichs was another in a series of Caucasians pressed into service by terror cells for their undercover value. But it seems equally unwise to shrug dismissively at the possibility.

Oct 12th, 1539HRS PST

I do believe this Cheema character is involved up to his ears. I also believe that Cheemas’s statements he is an athiest is BS and a smoke screen.

Just thought I’d clarify a bit about the atheist statment. This was stated by a man by the name of Tariq Alzoubi… He also stated that Cheema “MIGHT” be Pakistani. That raised questions in my mind whether Tariq really knew Cheema well at all… I too think it’s a smoke screen and Tariq apparently has some motives to keeping this quiet as well…

I found some interesting stuff out about Tariq Alzoubi in a google search last night.

1.) He is a semi-weekly columnist for the OU paper.
2.) He was the “co-composer” of a student website at OU about the middle east situation (mostly gulf war) – a “joke?” on the page mentions another “co-composer” of the pages at the site is listed as “Mohamed Jihad”.
3.) He wrote an opinion piece re: Al-Jazeera that has been re-published on the “Friends of Al-Jazeera” website.
4.) He also wrote a recent (9/13/05) Letter to the Editor of the Arab Times in which he talks about the “West” “pushing us around”.

All of these things raises questions in my mind over whether he indeed knew Cheema well enough to really speak to his religious feelings, or whether he is a self-appointed spokesperson and is attempting to create a smokescreen as Americanexpat pointed out. I personally believe he may be the author of the most recent editorial published by OU which contained heavy spin, accused journalists of being hack and lying, etc… See this FR Thread: The FBI Needs to Start Talking (OU Spin Alert)

You can see links to all of these things in the Comprehensive Summary at my blog. The section on Tariq is the second to last section on the page which is very long. Better to scroll all the way down and go up to see it.

Tariq was interviewed by several papers and has given his statements about this situation to the media. IMHO he is not someone they should be talking to seeing the apparent views he holds…

Oct 13th, 1004HRS PST

When a junior at the University of Oklahoma blew himself up 100 yards away from a packed football stadium on Oct. 1, the 85,000 fans inside remained calm despite the loud explosion.

But the calm has given way to anxiety, as the college town of Norman, Okla., has struggled to separate fact from fiction in the apparent suicide of Joel Henry Hinrichs III.

Several bloggers have jumped to try to connect the dots in the case and speculate that the 21-year-old Mr. Hinrichs was a suicide bomber under the influence of Islam. The blog reports, in turn, have influenced local news coverage of the young man’s violent death.

From the start, the case was prime territory for bloggers. The conservative blog Little Green Footballs titled one post “Jihad at the University of Oklahoma?” and wrote, “The story of the suicide bomber at the University of Oklahoma football stadium, determinedly ignored by mainstream media, is beginning to get interesting….”

Several facts about the case fed the speculation: Suicides committed with bombs are rare, as are those committed in public near a crowded event. Mr. Hinrichs (pronounced HIN-ricks) had a Pakistani roommate. They shared an apartment one block away from the only mosque in Norman — the same mosque attended in 2001 by Zacarias Moussaoui, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to helping plan the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In some photographs, Mr. Hinrichs can be seen with a scraggly beard.

Adding to community concern was the revelation that two days before he blew himself up, Mr. Hinrichs visited a feed store and inquired about buying ammonium nitrate — the same chemical Timothy McVeigh put in the bomb he used in 1995 to blow up the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City, 20 miles to the north. An off-duty Norman police officer, overhearing Mr. Hinrichs’s conversation in the store, ran a check on his license plate and found no cause for alarm.

To that unsettling set of facts, blogs and local Oklahoma TV stations added several apparent inaccuracies, including: that Mr. Hinrichs was a Muslim and visited the mosque frequently; that he tried to enter the stadium twice but was rebuffed; that he had a one-way airplane ticket to Algeria; that there were nails in the bomb and that Islamic extremist literature was found in his apartment.

None of these claims are true: Mr. Hinrichs’s family, university officials and the Federal Bureau of Investigation say Mr. Hinrichs suffered from depression, and the explosion was an isolated event.

The FBI’s investigation is nearly complete. On Oct. 4, the FBI issued a statement saying, “At this time, there is no known link between Hinrichs and any terrorist or extremist organization(s) or activities.”

In an interview, David L. Boren, president of the University of Oklahoma and the former senator who was chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that while most news reports have been responsible, there has been a “feeding frenzy of false rumors” on blogs and in some local TV stations. On Friday, he said in a letter to students and staff that investigators had found “no evidence of a conspiracy involving others which creates an ongoing threat to our OU community.”

Joe Hinrichs, Joel’s father, has appeared on TV and radio talk shows in an effort to clear his son’s name. In an interview, he said he is disgusted by what the bloggers and talk shows are saying. “They’re sensationalists by trade,” he said. “This blog stuff is just smoke. It’s bilge.”

Mr. Hinrichs said he was aware that Joel, an engineering student from Colorado Springs, Colo., had sought counseling for depression. He said he didn’t know whether his son was taking any medication.

Joel wasn’t a Muslim and wasn’t under anyone’s sway, Mr. Hinrichs says. Raised by a Lutheran father and a mother who is a Jehovah’s Witness, Joel had no interest in either denomination, his father said. “He was very curious,” Mr. Hinrichs said. “But he was very skeptical and about as impressionable as a tree stump.”

As for the beard, his father, who also is bearded, said, “He’s looked like Abe Lincoln since high school.”

Bloggers haven’t been put off by any disputing of their claims. Among the bloggers who have weighed in on the event are Michelle Malkin, a conservative syndicated newspaper columnist and author of a book “In Defense of Internment: The Case for Racial Profiling in World War II and the War on Terror”; Power Line, the blog known for discrediting documents that CBS News relied on for a report questioning President Bush’s military record, and the blog Tapscott’s Copy Desk, written by Mark Tapscott, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Media and Public Policy.

Mr. Tapscott maintains that Mr. Hinrichs’s death was more than a simple suicide. In an interview, he said, “To me, the more likely scenario, given the crucial pieces of evidence, is that he did indeed have some kind of link to some kind of terrorism deal.”

Ms. Malkin said blogs were doing the work that the mainstream media failed to do. “People are gathering information that they can’t find out from their local or national newspapers and bringing it to readers,” she said in an interview. “The mainstream media does us all a disservice when it bends over backward to whitewash radical Islam out of the news.”

Many of the bloggers who have commented on the case said they were made suspicious by the involvement of the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force in the investigation, as well as by the authorities’ swift dismissal of a terrorist connection. “It leads me to believe that there’s some sort of concerted effort to keep this quiet as long as possible,” says Jason Smith, a legal consultant outside Houston who blogs as Texas Rainmaker.

Conflicting official statements in the aftermath of the blast heightened anxiety in the shaken university town. Hours after the explosion, OU’s Mr. Boren issued a statement saying the university was “apparently dealing with an individual suicide.”

That same statement also said a second device had been found at the scene, but the university later rescinded that assertion. In fact, authorities did find, in Mr. Hinrichs’s bedroom, additional explosive material. They detonated them at the police firing range the next day, jolting the city again.

Local television news shows also were helping spread the bloggers’ theories. In one three-minute segment called “Blog Spot,” on the local CBS affiliate, News 9 KWTV, an anchor read several theories. “The blogs are also watching our coverage and asking questions about it,” the anchor said.

On Wednesday, Oct. 5, KWTV correspondent Tamara Pratt reported that Mr. Hinrichs had spent “much of his time at the Norman mosque,” and that investigators had seized an airline ticket to Algeria in Hinrichs’s apartment.

Mr. Boren said that Mr. Hinrichs isn’t known ever to have visited the Norman mosque. And while investigators did find an airplane ticket to Algeria, it wasn’t in Mr. Hinrichs’s apartment, but rather in one belonging to an international student, Mr. Boren said.

Brian Eckert, News 9′s managing editor, said the channel doesn’t use blogs as sources in reporting and stands by Ms. Pratt’s report.

Oct 13th, 1545HRS PST

NORMAN – A University of Oklahoma instructor from Egypt said he and others of foreign descent were handcuffed at gunpoint and questioned after the OU bomb blast Oct. 1, but added he is not bitter.

“Not at all. I understand. They explained. But if they keep coming back — that’s something else,” Hossam Barakat said. “Because I’m not guilty in any way.”

Barakat, 37, blames unfortunate timing.

The roommate of the student killed by the explosion just happened to wander into an apartment where he and four or five others were visiting.

Also arrested was Pakistani student Fazal M. Cheema, the roommate of the student who apparently killed himself with a bomb, Joel “Joe” Henry Hinrichs III. Cheema took a polygraph test and later was released, The Oklahoman has learned.

The others do not wish to be identified or interviewed, Barakat said. He described them as either born abroad or Americans of Middle Eastern descent but said he does not believe they were targeted because of nationality or religion.

“It wasn’t toward the Muslim community. It was just because of Cheema,” Barakat said. “I can understand. He’s the roommate.”

Roommate visited

The others came under suspicion because Cheema had stopped by an apartment where they were talking around midnight Oct. 1, Barakat said.

“Cheema always come to this apartment. That night, he just walk in,” Barakat said.

In addition, one of the men in the apartment was a visiting professor from Algeria who had his suitcases packed and was ready to leave the country on an airplane the following day, Barakat said.

“I understand, absolutely, that something had happened and we needed to cooperate. If this had happened in any other country, they would have done it the same way.”

Hinrichs, an engineering student, has tentatively been identified as the student who died Oct. 1 in an explosion on a campus bench about 100 yards from OU’s packed football stadium. Investigators believe he blew himself up.

Investigators found identification on the body, but the state medical examiner is awaiting DNA test results for a positive identification.

Salvador Hernandez, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Oklahoma City office, told a congressman Tuesday the investigation into the explosion is continuing, but so far it appears to be “an individual act.”

Barakat, who lives in the same university apartment complex as Hinrichs, said that hours after the bomb blast, he went to another apartment in the complex to say goodbye to the Algerian friend who was scheduled to fly out of the United States the next day. Later, Cheema dropped in unexpectedly, staying only a few minutes.

When Cheema left, the commotion began.

Outside, guests heard yelling, Barakat said.

“We heard someone said, ‘Put your hands up! Put your hands up!’ And someone looked from the window and seen that Cheema got arrested,” he said.

Because Cheema has a hearing impairment, he did not respond immediately to the police order to stop.

“That’s why they got mad and started to yell and flashed in his eyes and got guns,” Barakat said.

Barakat said he started to leave his friend’s apartment to go home about 15 minutes later, but an officer pulled a gun and ordered him back inside.

“We knew that they are investigating this thing but I didn’t know that we are under house arrest. That didn’t come to our mind,” Barakat said.

Hours passed as the group waited in the apartment.

“We are terrified. We were sitting waiting for them to come at any time,” Barakat said.

About 4:05 a.m., police telephoned the apartment and told the group to come out the front door, one at a time, hands up, he said.

As they arrived outside, they were ordered to kneel and put their hands behind their heads so they could be handcuffed. Barakat said they were separated at that point and questioned individually.

“They asked if I knew Joel,” Barakat said. “I said, ‘No.’ They kept asking over and over, ‘Do you have bombs, guns or knives?’”

Barakat said he did not.

About 5:30 a.m. Sunday, all were released to go home except Cheema, who was put up in a motel overnight because FBI agents wanted him to take a polygraph the next day, Barakat said.

The apartment where they had been was among those evacuated so officers could remove explosive material from Hinrichs’ home, so the group went to Barakat’s apartment, which was outside the evacuation area. Exhausted, they fell asleep, some on the floor, he said.

An FBI agent called again about 8:45 a.m. Oct. 2, saying agents wanted to talk to them some more, Barakat said.

Later that morning, the agents arrived but instead of questioning them at Barakat’s apartment as expected, they took them to an FBI office in Oklahoma City, where they spent the day watching football on television with an equal number of FBI agents.

The agents brought in chicken for lunch and pizza for dinner and joked with the men. But they also accompanied them to the rest room, Barakat said.

Eventually, an immigration officer arrived and questioned each person individually to make sure they were in the country legally, he said.

“He make a copy of everything I have in my wallet — everything except the cash,” he said.

Later, FBI agents separated the group again and asked more questions: Where have you been? What have you been doing? Do you know any radical person in the Islamic community? Did you ever see anyone taking anything out of Hinrichs’ apartment in a garbage bag?

Barakat said he answered “no” to the last two questions.

About 10:30 p.m., an FBI agent finally told them it was all over and thanked them for their assistance. Barakat said the FBI agents were polite and professional throughout the investigation, but he also said Norman police were “very aggressive, very mean.”

Oct 15, 0030HRS PST

This article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal sets out to debunk speculation about whether Joel Hinrichs, the University of Oklahoma student who blew himself up outside the Oklahoma football stadium, may have intended a terrorist attack. It fails. The Journal cites a number of blogs, including us, who have talked about the OU incident. (We discussed it here, here, and here.) The reporters interviewed several bloggers for their story, but didn’t make any attempt to contact us.

The Journal’s article acknowledges the features of the story that have led many to wonder whether there was more going on here than a tragic case of suicide by a depressed college student:

Several facts about the case fed the speculation: Suicides committed with bombs are rare, as are those committed in public near a crowded event. Mr. Hinrichs … had a Pakistani roommate. They shared an apartment one block away from the only mosque in Norman — the same mosque attended in 2001 by Zacarias Moussaoui, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to helping plan the 9/11 terrorist attacks. ***

Adding to community concern was the revelation that two days before he blew himself up, Mr. Hinrichs visited a feed store and inquired about buying ammonium nitrate — the same chemical Timothy McVeigh put in the bomb he used in 1995 to blow up the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City, 20 miles to the north.

But the Journal goes on to dismiss these troublesome facts, and to assure its readers that there is nothing to the Hinrichs story:

To that unsettling set of facts, blogs and local Oklahoma TV stations added several apparent inaccuracies, including: that Mr. Hinrichs was a Muslim and visited the mosque frequently; that he tried to enter the stadium twice but was rebuffed; that he had a one-way airplane ticket to Algeria; that there were nails in the bomb and that Islamic extremist literature was found in his apartment.

None of these claims are true: Mr. Hinrichs’s family, university officials and the Federal Bureau of Investigation say Mr. Hinrichs suffered from depression, and the explosion was an isolated event.

The FBI’s investigation is nearly complete. On Oct. 4, the FBI issued a statement saying, “At this time, there is no known link between Hinrichs and any terrorist or extremist organization(s) or activities.”

The Journal seems to be making a logical leap here. It is very likely true that Hinrichs had no connection to any terrorist or extremist organization; I wrote here that:

I assume that Hinrichs was, at most, a “free-lance Islamic terrorist,” like the D.C. snipers of three years ago, not an al Qaeda operative.

But the question whether Hinrichs was part of a terrorist cell is entirely different from the question whether he intended mass murder. There are two intractable facts that suggest that there was more going on here than an “individual suicide.” The Journal acknowledges both facts, but fails to deal with them. The first fact is that additional explosives were found in Hinrichs’ apartment:

In fact, authorities did find, in Mr. Hinrichs’s bedroom, additional explosive material. They detonated them at the police firing range the next day, jolting the city again.

Given that Hinrichs had enough explosives left in his apartment to “jolt the city,” isn’t it reasonable to wonder whether more was going on here than an “individual suicide”?

The second problematic, and undisputed, fact is that two days before his death, Hinrichs tried to buy a load of fertilizer at a feed store–the same material that Timothy McVeigh used to blow up the federal building in Oklahoma City. I suppose it is possible that someone could commit suicide by detonating a truckful of fertilizer, but I’ve never heard of it, and it certainly would be a roundabout way to do away with oneself. It is, on the other hand, a common method of committing a terrorist bombing.

So the Journal’s assurance that there is no story here is profoundly unconvincing. Especially so, in view of the fact that the paper gives no explanation of how it knows that “none of these claims are true.” In particular, it has been reported that Hinrichs, or someone like him, tried to enter the stadium but fled when a gate worker wanted to search his backpack. We have no idea whether these reports are accurate. I assume the FBI has investigated them. But the quote cited by the Journal for the proposition that “none of these claims are true” sheds no light at all on these important facts. The FBI simply said, on October 4, “At this time, there is no known link between Hinrichs and any terrorist or extremist organization(s) or activities.”

As we have said before, we have no independent knowledge of Joel Hinrichs. We don’t know whether he was a free-lance terrorist, part of an extremist group, or just a depressed student. But it simply won’t do to cite bland, “no known link” statements by the FBI as an excuse to sweep all questions under the rug. It is important to know whether Hinrichs intended a spectacular terrorist attack at an Oklahoma football game. If he did, it is important to know whether he was inspired by extremist ideology, and it is important to know whether he was part of an extremist group that is still operating. The answers to these questions may be No, No and No. But at this point, we have no reason to believe that the authorities actually know the answers. And the Journal’s effort to stifle discussion of the subject is unworthy of that newspaper.

Speaking for myself, I’m still waiting for an explanation of why Hinrichs wanted that load of fertilizer.

Oct 15th, 0253HRS PST

Republican Congressman Tom Cole speaking on Hannity & Colmes on Fox News about OU Bomber [oubombing, normanbombing]

Following is a transcript from OCT 14 2005 9:18 ET

Lead-In, Alan Colmes: ?An OK students suicide has set off a fire storm of debate whether this incident was part of a larger terror plot, we?ll talk to a congressman whose determined to get answers.? [Photo of Hinrich Head to waist with beard, Green shirt, blue jeans and what appears to be a cloth with blk criss cross patter w/White squares over a rock].

OCT 14 2005 9:22 ET

Lead-In, Sean Hannity: ?A University of OK student blew himself up near a packed football stadium. Now was this a simple suicide or was it an attempted terrorist attack. Why isn?t it getting more media attention? We?re going to ask a congressman whose determined to get answers tonight.?

OCT 14 2005 9:31 ET

Colmes: ?…but first University of Oklahoma [OK] student, Joel Hinrich[s] blew himself up just 100 yards away from the school?s packed football stadium on October first. Since then there have been a series of allegations about his motives and his crime.

Was he part of a larger terror plot, was it just an isolated incident?

Joining us now, OK Congressman who is demanding answers, Representative Tom Cole.
Thank you sir for being with us tonight.

Are we jumping to conclusions…?

Tom Cole: ?Good to be with you.? [American flag on lapel]

Colmes: ?…based on the fact that he had a Pakistani roommate and that he may have gone to buy some kind of explosion [verify if he said explosive]. Is there a little bit of paranoia or racism in jumping in to believe that this person might have other motives other than a lone suicide??

Tom Cole: ?Well I, I think its wise to be cautious. You know we did have [Zacarias] Moussaoui in OK, the so called 20th hi-jacker, Nicholas Berg, the individual who was brutally murdered the past year, and, of course, had the largest incident of domestic terrorism with the OK city bombing, so I think there?s probably a heightened sensitivity…?

[Fox Facts: FBI is Conducting Probe into University of Oklahoma Bombing]

?…but, frankly I think the law enforcement officials here have done an excellent job and, uh, I got a great briefing by the special agent in charge; Hernandez and everything so far appears to indicate this was indeed an isolated incident, a very lonely and troubled young man who, uh had had a a rather disturbed adolescence and early childhood, and frankly resulted in a suicide, we don?t find any evidence of all, of a terrorist activity or any any plots. [??] for the Islamic community?

[Fox Facts: 10/1: Student Died After Bomb Exploded at Football Stadium. Video footage of what appears to be a trooper? directing traffic past Yellow taped off area]

Colmes: I know you spoke with the F.B.I. He had a Pakistani roommate. He did suffer from depression as we found out. Also University of OK Instructor from Egypt was hand-cuffed at gunpoint and the roommate, the Pakistani roommate detained.

Again is this just being cautious and careful in a world of terrorism or are we too quick to make that connection because anyone connected with someone of foreign descent of certain countries and the possibility of terrorism.?

[Fox facts: Joel Hinrichs III was an Engineering Student]

Cole: ?Well I think you ought to be careful. But I think actually the law enforcement people have been cautious and careful and there?s been no allegation of of inappropriate activity uh uh from um people that were detained. And frankly they deserve high marks. They were enormously cooperative. People here have been very helpful. The law enforcement I think responded quickly and professionally both locally and the federal officials as well.

And their on top of it. They?ve looked at it. Everyday that goes by, they?re more and more certain that this was indeed an isolated incident and uh, is being treated as such, so I frankly I think by and large people deserve high marks for the manner in which it?s being handled.?

[Fox facts: FBI: Found No Indication That Hinrichs had Links to Terrorists. Bomb Went Off About 100 Yards from the Football Stadium. Bomb Went Off During Second Quarter of Football Game. 85,000 Fans were Attending Oklahoma-Kansas State Game]

Hannity: ?Hey Congressman, I want to talk specifically about conflicting reports that he [Hinrich] and his roommate [Fazal] Cheema, that they did attend this particular Mosque which was one block away from their house [apartment]. There was a local TV station and correspondent that said he [Hinrich] spent much of his time there, but that is being disputed by other people.

Do we know the answer to it, cause this is the one according to the Wall Street Journal said the Mosque that was attended by [Zacarias] Moussaoui that would be an an important pertinent fact in some peoples mind, and would it be in your mind, and what do you know about it??

[Fox facts: Officials removed Explosive Materials from Hinrich?s Apt. FBI Questioned Hinrichs? Pakistani-National Roommate]

Cole: ?Well again I I could understand people being concerned and cautious but the reality is we don?t have any indication that he ever attended the Mosque, quite the opposite, there?s just, there?s no ?Jahidist? material uh in the apartment. The fact that he had a Pakistani roommate does indeed seem to be coincidental.

Just simply ah people looking for a way to cut their housing costs together. They weren?t close. They weren?t friends. Uh, we have no note that was left to indicate that, and there?s just simply no indication this was anything other than a suicide.?

?Again I could understand why people try and look at this an jump to conclusions quickly. But a…?

[Fox facts: Hinrichs? Apt is Near Mosque Attended by Z. Moussaoui]

Hannity: ?Well, Congressman, but he blew himself up a hundred, he blew himself up a hundred yards away from a football stadium packed with 85 thousand people, it is beyond rare the person that commits suicide with a bomb, uh,?

[Fox facts: Hinrichs Purchased Same Explosive Used by McVeigh and Richard Reid]

Cole: ?Oh extrodinarily rare.?

Hannity: ?Should it not raise suspicion and concern? I mean that seems logical to me??

Cole: ?Well I think concern, yes, and uh, this is an individual frankly that had a history of dealing with explosives back to the time he was a teenager, throughout his adolescence and I think that is worth noting and the F.B.I. actually made that point to me that it?s unfortunate, that?s an illegal activity that people don?t report it. They were a little bit amazed that this individual, troubled young man, had been handling explosives…?

Hannity: ?Yeah?

Cole: ?…for literally years and nobody had bothered to bring it to the attention of the authorities. Again no evidence of conspiracy. No evidence of, of any kind of involvement and frankly I?d point out normally when you have a terrorist incident, people are racing to claim credit for it as a terrorist incident.?

Colmes: ?Congressman we…?

Cole: ?Again we had a great cooperation from our Islamic community here. I don?t think there is any reason for concern.?

Colmes: ?…we thank you very much for being here. Thank you for your time.?

Cole: ?You bet.?
End 9:36 PM

Oct 15th, 0750HRS PST

Mark Tapscott’s appearance on CNN definitely raises some interesting points that relate directly on to how the Hinrichs investigation is proceeding and how various officials are portraying the situation.

Which brings us to what may be a significant development coming out of the CNN segment. Pat DeMuro (SP?), the former FBI agent who was in the New York studio with Aaron Brown tonight, described an agreement when the FBI was reorganized a few years back that all explosions would be presumed to be terrorist acts until proven otherwise.

But in this case the presumption virtually from the outset has been that it was not a terrorist act, so Boren, who was Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee when he retired from politics in 1994, needs to come clean about why the FBI’s policy of presuming a terrorist link was junked so quickly in the Hinrichs investigation.

Also significant: At the end, DeMuro made it clear that he “is not saying this wasn’t a terrorist act.” So far, his former colleagues in the FBI in Oklahoma are insisting they have no evidence that it was a terrorist act, but others in the law enforcement community are beginning to strain at having to toe such an obviously flawed official line.

It would seem that the folks down in Georgia were on the same page as the ‘official line,’ which is to treat all incidents involving explosives be presumed terrorist acts until proven otherwise. That protocol does not appear to be followed in the Hinrichs’ case, despite the fact that there are unanswered questions about motive, methods, and background.

It would seem that the OU President Boren has jumped to a conclusion despite the lack of evidence to support or deny the assertion. He’s stated that this was not a terrorist act, but rather the act of a depressed student. Do we really know enough about Hinrichs’ background to make that statement?

The one thing I don’t quite get is the lack of a suicide note. Did investigators find one? What did it say? Or, was it a martyr’s letter – similar to ones found after the scores of suicide bombings around the world.

We simply don’t know.

And Mark is joined by Powerline and Rusty of the Jawa Report in taking apart the WSJ article about Hinrichs. Rusty notes:

They simply cite the University of Oklahoma President David Boren’s assurances that it was not terrorism–statements he began to make before the investigation had even begun–the protests of Hinrichs’ father that his son was not a Muslim, and a single FBI statement in an ongoing investigation.

There are simply too many questions about Hinrichs to make blanket assertions so early on in the investigation as Boren did.

Asking questions about media reports isn’t making conspriacy theories. It’s called getting to the bottom of the situation. It’s about getting the facts straight on a story. It’s about pushing the media to cover a story with major significance if the facts do corroborate a working theory that Hinrichs was a suicide bomber looking to kill football fans during or after the OU football game or to confirm that Hinrichs was in fact a loner and depressed when he took his life using the unique method of high explosives.

While I have been posting my timeline of events regarding this bombing I realized it has become quite large and difficult to wrap your head around just the basic’s of this event. So I decided I would write a quick rundown, a cheater if you will:

OCT 1ST, 1920HRS – Bomb exploded outside the OU/Kansas State football game. Those people who were at the game reported that it was a loud blast.

2 – Bomber identified as Joel Henry Hinrichs III from Colorado Springs, a student at OU.

3- Unsubstantiated reports that the bomber had a ticket to the game and attempted to enter the stadium. As of this moment this information is hearsay. One person was interviewed by the news who told the reporter that another ticket checker had told him that a guy had run away when he attempted to check his backpack.

4- Police blew up another package of some kind, later reported that it did not contain explosives.

5- FBI searched the bombers apartment and found a large amount of exposives, which they later blew up at the local PD’s test range. Rumors of Islamic Jihad litature found in his apartment

6- Bomber lived with a Pakistani roommate named Fazal M. Cheema, who has not been heard from since the first night. Local news channel reports that he has been relocated. They also reported that there was a plane ticket found in the apartment under his name, destination – Algeria.

7- FBI took the bench the bomber was sitting on and put it into evidence for examination.

8- A few news outlets report that the device the bomber used was TATP

A new terrorist explosive, triacetone triperoxide (TATP), has recently appeared as a weapon in the Middle East. TATP has been used by suicide bombers in Israel, and was chosen as a detonator in 2001 by the thwarted ?shoe bomber? Richard Reid. It can be as or more powerful than military analogs. TATP is one of the most sensitive explosives known, being extremely sensitive to impact, temperature change and friction.

The explosives found in his apartment was also TATP.

9- The Norman Mosque is located very close to where the bomber lived, with reports that the bombers roommate has been seen inside. Unsubstantiated reports that the bomber was also seen at the Mosque. This same Mosque has been the subject of surveillence by the FBI in the past.

10- A local feed store owner reports that the bomber attempted to buy a large amount of Ammonium Nitrate a few days before the bombing. A off-duty Norman police officer was inside the store at the time and overheard the conversation. He wrote the person’s license plate down and filled out a intelligence report.

11- The search warrant issued for the bombers apartment has been sealed.

12- Still no MSM coverage.

I do not believe this is a kid wanting to kill himself. If that was the case why would he have a large amount of explosives in his apartment? Why do it outside of a football game? Why do it with a bomb?

I still believe there will be forthcoming arrests in this case.

Check out the below timelines:

OCT 2ND, 1920HRS – OCT 4TH, 2359HRS

OCT 5TH, 0444HRS – OCT 5TH, 1935HRS

OCT 5TH, 2004HRS – OCT 7TH, 1424HRS

Blogger’s helping to get the attention of the MSM:

Darleen’s Place, Gateway Pundit, Wizbang, Jihad Watch, Gates of Vienna, Narcisstic Views, Small Town Veteran, Okie on the Lam, A Blog For All, The Politburo Diktat, The New Editor, Bloggleddy Gook, Deep Down In Texas, BlancoBrawler, Moonbat Central, The Baltimore Reporter, The Counterterrorism Blog, Michelle Malkin, & Baldilocks.

WTF!

EAST CHICAGO — A bomb squad used a robot to blow up a car loaded with explosives causing a blast felt by residents three blocks away.

The Lake County sheriff said the car was little more than a twisted piece of steel after the Porter County Bomb Squad’s robot shot water under extremely high pressure at it to detonate the explosives Wednesday night. Police also arrested a man who told them the explosives were in the car.

The incident began just before 7:30 p.m., when East Chicago police were notified of a man and woman fighting in a car pulled off the side of Cline Avenue in the city just east of Gary.

City police called an ambulance to take the woman to a hospital to treat her injuries, Lake County Sheriff Rogelio Dominguez said. She was released later Wednesday night.

When police took the man, whose name was not released, into custody, he told them there was a bomb in the car.

A Lake County bomb-sniffing dog later indicated there were explosives in the car, Dominguez said.

Police closed the southbound lanes of Cline Avenue and blocked traffic at all interstate ramps leading to Cline.

The roadway remained closed late Wednesday while investigators inspected the scene, and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was called to investigate.

The sheriff said his detectives were preparing to interview the man in custody and were not yet sure of the motive for the bomb.

10/5 2004HRS PST

New developments…. Norman police now admitting they knew the psycho tried to buy AN. (last wed)

Reporters now asking police why nothing was done

Reshowing the interview of guy in the feed store. He says again that the off duty officer got the license plate etc.

Intelligence report was filled out after the explosion happened.

Sounds like the police are starting to take some heat….

10/5 2006HRS PST

ISLAMIC TERRORISTS IN THE U.S. HEARTLAND ALLEGED TO BE COMPLICIT, REPORTEDLY “USED” HINRICHS

By Douglas J. Hagmann, Director

5 October 2005; 00:15 AM EDT: According to confidential sources close to the University of Oklahoma bombing probe, HINRICHS was just one of several others involved in a much larger, much more sinister and pre-planned terrorist plot in the war of Islamic terrorists versus the West in a bombing plot designed to kill innocent Americans, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the details of the investigation but speaking on the condition of anonymity.

In a story that received virtually no media attention since the Saturday
lone suicide bombing” at the O.U. football stadium packed with 84,000 fans, details are emerging that a larger-scale Islamic terrorist operation was to revisit Americas heartland for the second time in a decade. Initially, the reports were conflicting, than were manipulated to downplay the threat posed to the backbone of Americana to avoid piercing the false veil of security due to the
apparent lack of any successful Islamic terrorist attacks on U.S. soil since
9/11.

The Northeast Intelligence Network has received exclusive information from reliable law enforcement sources that the explosion that killed 21 year-old O.U. student Joel Henry HINRICHS III was to be much larger and was part of a much more deadly planned attack targeting the fans in the packed stadium. In the style reminiscent of the blast at the Murrah building that killed 171 people on 19 April 1995, it was also confirmed that HINRICHS attempted to purchase a large quantity of the fertilizer ammonium nitrate, the very same compound that was used in the Ryder truck bomb just miles from where the Murrah building once stood, and a favorite bomb component used by Middle Eastern terrorists.

It appears that HINRICHS was part of a larger plan that included members of an Islamic terrorist cell based in and around the Norman and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma area. As a Caucasian, it was much easier for him to obtain the materials needed to create a large bomb, act in concert with members of the local terrorist cell, and strike when relative calm was the word of the day, stated this source.

The source added:
Federal authorities are investigating HINRICHS roommates, friends and companions, some from Pakistan, who were on a watch list of potential terrorists in that area. Sources of funding and financing are also under investigation, and arrests are very possible. Thankfully, more than a few things went wrong, but the failed plan left HINRICHS holding the bag in the end  literally, added this source.
Otherwise, we could have had a bombing on the scale of Oklahoma City in
1995.

10/5 2052HRS PST

Pictures of the Norman Mosque posted at Free Republic

10/5 2256HRS PST

NORMAN, Okla. — The president of an OU student organization said he believes Joel Henry Hinrichs III was neither a Muslim nor a visitor to local mosques.

Ashraf Hussein, the president of OUs Muslim Student Association, also confirmed that up to seven people were either questioned or detained regarding the bombing death of Hinrichs, a 21-year-old engineering student.

Hinrichs died Saturday night after a bomb he was supposedly carrying exploded while he sat on a bench next to George Lynn Cross Hall, about 100 yards from Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, where 84,000 people were watching a college football game.

While the incident and its investigation have spurred plenty of rumor and speculation, authorities have consistently maintained that there is no evidence Hinrichs belonged to an extremist organization.

On Tuesday, the owner of a Norman feed store acknowledged that Hinrichs came into Ellison Feed & Seed last week to inquire about ammonium nitrate fertilizer, which was an ingredient in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. However, Dustin Ellison said Hinrichs wasnt able to explain what he might want with the ammonium nitrate.

10/5 2357HRS PST

NORMAN – Police here last week missed a chance to investigate a University of Oklahoma student three days before he apparently blew himself up Saturday outside the universitys packed football stadium, The Oklahoman has confirmed.

Joel
Joe Henry Hinrichs III raised the suspicions of a Norman feed store manager and an off-duty Norman police officer Sept. 28 when he tried to buy the type of fertilizer used in the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.

The off-duty officer, who just happened to be in the store, was concerned enough about Hinrichs demeanor that he jotted down his license tag number and called the police department to check his identity, officials said.

Normal protocol is for that officer to submit an intelligence report when he comes back on duty, said Lt. Tom Easley, spokesman for the Norman Police Department.
My understanding is that when the officer did return to work, he did submit one,
but that was after the fact.

The bomb had already gone off.

Hinrichs, 21, is believed to have died in an explosion about 7:30 p.m. Saturday on a campus bench about 100 yards from Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Investigators are treating the death as a suicide. He was a junior engineering major.

Easley declined to release the intelligence report or name the officer who filed it, saying intelligence reports are confidential. A copy of the report was turned over the FBI, he said.

Dustin Ellison, general manager of Ellison Feed & Seed, said Hinrichs came to his store about 4 p.m. Sept. 28 and said he was looking for a particular kind of fertilizer called ammonium nitrate.

I told him I didnt have that, said Ellison, 25.

Ellison said he became suspicious when the young man couldnt answer the most simple questions, such as how much he wanted or what he planned to do with it.

I asked if he was trying to green up his yard, and he said, Something like that, Ellison said.

Hinrichs was wearing blue jeans, a T-shirt and a light green vest with a number of pockets on each side when he visited the store, Ellison said.

All the pockets were full, Ellison said, adding that he saw what appeared to be a wire with headphones attached protruding from one pocket.

I dont have any reason to believe it was anything other than that, he said.

Ellison said Hinrichs was alone and calm throughout his visit.

Hinrichs drove off in a blue Lincoln Towncar, Ellison said.

Ellison said FBI agents came by his store Sunday and he identified Hinrichs from photos.

Easley, the Norman police spokesman, said he is skeptical police could have stopped the bombing, even if they immediately had begun investigating when the officer first called in the license number.

Seventy-two hours on a piece of intelligence like that, I dont know what we could have done anyway, he said.

Officers could have used the tag number to get an address and then checked to see whether it was current, Easley said.

If they could identify a current address, they could have tried to question him, but that doesnt mean Hinrichs would have had to answer, he said.

Intelligence reports normally are forwarded to the police departments special operations unit, which categorizes them and decides what to do next, Easley said.

The unit deals mostly with drug investigations, so the information probably would have been forwarded to counter-terrorism officials to evaluate, he said.

Hinrichs Towncar remained outside his Norman apartment Wednesday.

The FBI apparently collected 13 plastic bottles, one car title and one insurance form from the car, according to paperwork on the front seat.

There also was a large atlas and several road maps on the front seat.

Cesar Robledo, Hinrichs next-door neighbor, said FBI agents questioned him about Hinrichs personality and habits, but didnt ask about his religion or any materials he may have taken into the house.

We always say, What do they do over there They dont talk to us, so we dont know, said Robledo, 22.
We have no idea whats on that side of the wall.

10/6 0606HRS PST

[These two items attributed to an email from a "state detective" - but in the guys first-person account, he says that Dustin Ellison is "my bosss son" - seems to me like Mr Ellison Sr probably owns the Feed&Seed store, but I suppose he *could* be some kind of state trooper officer AND own the seed store]

.”A customer came in Ellisons and asked about purchasing Ammonium Nitrate fertilizer. He asked Dustin how many bags he had…Dustin said 22 bags. The guy said he would take ALL OF IT.”

.”They found around 400 pounds of explosives in Mr. Hinrichs car and over 1,000 pounds in his apartment on campus.”

[This one from the same alleged email supposedly extracted from an FBI agent by Dustin Ellison while being interviewed]

.”Mr. Hinrich had been going to the Mosque around the corner from the apartment complex and had grown a beard and wearing a turban.”

10/6 0610HRS PST

Three Muslims living in the same apartment complex as Joel Hinrichs III, who died Saturday night in an apparent suicide explosion on campus, were handcuffed and questioned by law enforcement officers, the president of the Islamic Society of Norman said Wednesday.

Ashraf Hussein, a University of Oklahoma junior, said he learned of the handcuffing incident by talking to the three students.

“This has become a story about the Muslims,” said Hussein, who is distressed by the aftermath of the weekend tragedy.

Hinrichs roommate, Fazil M. Cheema, who is from Pakistan, was questioned by police earlier but apparently was not handcuffed.

Hussein said he chose not to reveal the names of the three Muslims, who were not Pakistanis. Hussein said Cheema was not a regular at the Islamic Center and that he was sure he had never seen Hinrichs there.

Hussein said he received a phone message from one of the three men who were questioned at the apartment building by law enforcement officers late Saturday or early Sunday. He said the officers apparently were FBI agents because the investigation had been turned over to that agency.

The Islamic Society president said he thought officers were probably being overly cautious about a possible Mideast connection, which Hussein said is unsettling to him.

FBI spokesman Gary Johnson declined any comment on the case Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Catherine Bishop, OU vice president of communications, said Wednesday that she has not been able to ascertain that any students had been handcuffed. Bishop said the school has done “everything we could to verify that arrests of students had occurred, but we havent found anything. This is not something we would keep from the public.”

Bishop said OU officials have spent considerable time tracking down rumors about Hinrichs death.

Several students who live at Parkview Apartments, where Hinrichs lived, were questioned, she said, but, to her knowledge, they were not detained or arrested.

Hussein said he did not know Cheema, who has moved out of Parkview Apartments and has located elsewhere in Norman. Cheema could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

A device attached to Hinrichs body exploded, killing the 21-year-old as he sat on a park bench about 100 yards from Memorial Stadium, where 80,000 fans were watching the OU-Kansas State football game.

10/6 1230HRS PST

Channel 9 news in OKC ran a story about bloggers covering the bombing. Flopping Aces was the featured blog mentioned at the end of the story. Check it out here: 

Flopping Aces is also mentioned in this segment.

10/6 1249HRS PST

This appears to be a letter written by the bombers father in Feb regarding the wackjob Ward Churchill:

Double standard rules speech at Boulder campus

University of Colorado faculty members are defending Ward Churchills right to free speech (Colleagues defend beleaguered CU prof, Metro, Feb. 2). Evidently they wish to ignore the difference between his right to say whatever he wants (a useful starting definition of free speech) and his entitlement to a professional position of trust.

Let someone with a visible position in business or government make a statement one-tenth as laughably jejune, hackneyed, insular, provincial and downright stupid, and the giant sucking sound that follows is the poor devils job/career imploding.

Yet at the university, where we send our brightest minds to learn critical thinking skills, we see a double standard predicated on confusing the freedom offered to all with a contrived immunity actively denied to every other occupation. Does tenure rightly need to protect provocative speech Of course it does. Does academia need, therefore, to be
Caesars wife, vigilant and above suspicion when it polices its own ranks Again, yes. Thats not Calpurnia we see up there, rearranging her smock and daring us to take note.

Was it that long ago that CUs football coach was made to sit in the corner and suffer a major time-out, dunce cap glued to his head, for making one off-the-cuff, unguarded remark about a rape victims poor performance as a kicker Ah, but thats different. Football is commercial speech, rather than ideological idiocy; in Boulder one is profane, the other sacred.

Joe Hinrichs

Colorado Springs

Sounds about right. Looks like the father has a good head on his shoulders.

10/6 1710HRS PST

NORMAN – Police here last week missed a chance to investigate a University of Oklahoma student three days before he apparently blew himself up Saturday outside the universitys packed football stadium, The Oklahoman has confirmed.

Joel
Joe Henry Hinrichs III raised the suspicions of a Norman feed store manager and an off-duty Norman police officer Sept. 28 when he tried to buy the type of fertilizer used in the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.

The off-duty officer, who just happened to be in the store, was concerned enough about Hinrichs demeanor that he jotted down his license tag number and called the police department to check his identity, officials said.

Normal protocol is for that officer to submit an intelligence report when he comes back on duty, said Lt. Tom Easley, spokesman for the Norman Police Department.
My understanding is that when the officer did return to work, he did submit
one, but that was after the fact.

The bomb had already gone off.

10/6 1940HRS PST

Dear OU Students, Faculty, and Staff,

I want to thank you again for your responsible and constructive reaction to the tragic event which occurred last Saturday evening. I appreciate the concern which many of you have expressed for the family and friends of the deceased.

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.

Unfortunately, we have seen examples of a rush to react in a manner not in keeping with our values in recent history. A reading of some media reports and comments from individuals made at the time of the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City is enlightening. Some quickly rushed to the conclusion that the bomber must have been a Middle Eastern terrorist. There were video shots of international students on Oklahoma campuses shown on news broadcasts as this speculation was reported. 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. We can only hope that all of us, including some media outlets, would have learned from that recent rush to incorrect conclusions.

I have been assured that law enforcement officials including federal officers have found no evidence of a conspiracy involving others which creates an ongoing threat to our OU community. They have kept me informed of the steps being taken in their investigation. You can be assured that if I receive any information to the contrary, I will immediately inform you and take steps to protect our community.

In fact, national law enforcement statistics compiled confirm that we have a low per capita crime rate. OU has long been dedicated to the safety of our students.

Thank you again for your help and understanding. Thank you for reaching out to the members of our OU family who have come from nations all over the world to let them know that they are valued and respected on this campus.

Rushing to judgments on the basis of race, religion, gender, or ethnicity, is not the OU or American way.

Sincerely,

David L. Boren OU President

10/6 1945HRS PST

Jayna Davis spoke with the US Attorney General today (10/06) and requested a copy of the search warrant for Hinrichs apartment. USAG said the file was sealed. When pressed as to why the files were sealed if it was a lone suicide she said he was uncomfortable. She said she pressed him for an answer and only then would he admit to an ongoing investigation.

10/6 2211HRS PST

Channel 11 KKTV out of Colorado Springs is reporting tonight that it was a “Remote-Controlled Device on his back”. Reported the blast could be heard for miles.

Im having trouble accessing the rest of the video. It stalls at about 1:20 into the video and continues without sound for me and the video doesnt play through getting a frame by frame advance like visual… the information posted above is reported in the first part.

The video report which is a 5:30 news broadcast with reporters Erica Brown and Eric Singer can be found in the “Featured Video” section on the right-hand side of this page:http://www.kktv.com. The title of the video itself is “Suicide Bomber Was From Colorado Springs”.

10/7 0313HRS PST

Not more than 100 yards from the Oklahoma-Kansas State football game on Saturday, OU student Joel Henry Hinrichs III, 21, blew himself up in what was initially believed to be a simple suicide. While his decision to kill himself seemed to match a personality friends and family describe as detached and strange, disturbing facts are beginning to emerge suggesting that Mr. Hinrichs had more sinister designs, like perhaps taking a few of the 84,000 nearby fans with him. Despite the absence of a suicide note, there is little doubt the troubled student intended to kill himself. His bizarre method, however, is more reminiscent of suicide bombers than suicidal students. For instance, at least one of the bomb components he used — triacetone triperoxide — was the same homemade substance used by Richard Reid, the so-called Shoe Bomber. The stuff is highly unstable. It can detonate if merely dropped, and experts say it can even explode spontaneously. The obvious questions arise: Why would someone choose to kill himself with this stuff, nicknamed the “Mother of Satan” by Islamists, if suicide were his sole purpose Did Mr. Hinrichs intend for the bombs to go off when they did, so close to a packed stadium Also, why carry it out as if in imitation of a suicide bomber Suicidal people of Mr. Hinrichs age, it is true, have a tendency for the dramatic, and perhaps that was Mr. Hinrichs only purpose here — to go out in such a way as to be remembered. But that still leaves open the question as to how he learned to make bombs in the first place.

(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com …

10/7 0420HRS PST

Just moments before Joel Henry Hinrichs III was blown up by the bomb attached to his body, he was approached by a man who tried to engage him in conversation. Hinrichs didnt respond and an instant later he was dead.

The individual who last saw Hinrichs released this statement to Tapscotts Copy Desk this morning. His identity and credibility have been established but at his request we are withholding his identity:

“There is a verse in the Bible found in Proverbs 3:5-6 It says:
Trust in the Lord with all thy heart and lean not on thy own understanding,
In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy path.

“Saturday night I walked out of the OU stadium with about three minutes left on the clock bringing the game to the half. I am a part-time driver for a bus company and decided to go back to the bus.

“Prior to leaving the game, I sat on a cart and chatted with one of the security guards and would catch a glimpse of the game on the Big screen at the South end of the field. When I decided to leave, I stopped and talked to a very tall gate keeper and another young lady who was also a security officer. I shared with them how great a part God has played in my life.

“From there, I proceeded to the Bus parking area. As I walked up to the buses, I stopped behind a gentleman sitting on the bench at the end of the last bus. I was looking for someone to talk to because that is just who I am.

“He appeared to me to be asleep, so I decided not to share with him about the beautiful new bus I was driving. It was then I made my way toward my bus. While walking, I heard another bus with its engine running and so I decided to see if I could find another driver.

“After taking just a few more steps, I was hit from behind with a huge concussion. It didnt knock me down but it did push me forward. When I turned around, I saw a huge plume of smoke rising from what seemed to me to be coming from the back of the last bus, so I immediately ran to see if there was any danger of a fire.

“When I got to the bus, I found nothing that indicated the bus had exploded. It was only after I turned around that I saw what had really happened. I have been instructed by the FBI not to give out any details of what I saw.

“At the time of the explosion, my ears were ringing and I was somewhat dazed at what had happened but I felt the young man was aware of my presence. It wasnt until Monday of the next week that the Lord revealed to me how he knew I was there.

“While mowing my yard, I was whistling a song our church choir had sung a few weeks back. The song was Great is the Lord. At that moment, I realized how truly God had directed my path. If I had not been whistling, this young man would have never known I was behind him. The last thing he heard was me whistling this tune.

“I dont know anything about this young man but this one thing I know, he was aware of my presence and for what ever reason chose not to harm me. There are a lot of unanswered questions and I have probably said more than the FBI wanted me to say but that is the rest of the story. It is not important to know who I am, but it is very important to understand Proverbs 3:5-6.

“There have been a lot of people trying to find out who I am and again that is not important but telling the story just as it is written is. If you print this article, I ask you to print it in its entirety.”

You can view the statement here.

10/7 0704HRS PST

NORMAN — An incident related by a ticket taker at Saturdays OU-Kansas State game raises questions about whether a student who died in a suicide explosion tried to gain entrance to Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

But University of Oklahoma officials continue to deny that Joel Henry Hinrichs III tried to enter the stadium before dying about 100 yards away.

OU student Adam Smith said Thursday that he was approached as he was leaving the stadium Saturday by a ticket taker from Gate 6 who wanted to know what had happened.

Smith said he told the gate worker that there had apparently been an explosion outside the stadium and someone had been blown up.

“He gave me a wide-eyed look, and said: Oh, thats really strange, ” Smith said. The ticket taker recounted that a young man who looked strange and was wearing a backpack that looked full tried to get into the stadium.

However, when he was asked to open his backpack, “the guy didnt say a word and sprinted away,” Smith said he was told.

Vice President of Communications Catherine Bishop said OU officials have “been assured that there is no validity to the Gate 6 rumor.” Bishop said the story has been checked out by the universitys athletic department.

Meanwhile, the FBI continued to have no new comments on the case Thursday.

Hinrichs, a 21-year-old, third-year engineering student described by his father as a loner and a depressed and troubled son, died Saturday in what officials have called a suicide explosion that occurred during the second quarter of the OU-Kansas State football game. The explosion was sizeable enough to leave a large burned-out area surrounding a park bench in front of a campus building, prompting concern from the public about what would have happened if the blast had occurred inside the stadium amid a crowd of 84,000 fans.

Hinrichs roommate was Fazil Cheema, a student from Pakistan. Law enforcement officials late Saturday came to the Parkview Apartments complex where the pair lived, located Cheema at a neighboring apartment, then interviewed him and about a half-dozen others, who are Muslims. However, spokesmen for the local Muslim community say Cheema himself is not a practicing Muslim.

An OU instructor in Arab languages whose native country is Egypt said Thursday that he was among the small group of Muslims handcuffed by Norman police and led to FBI agents, who questioned him for about two hours early Sunday morning.

Instructor Hossam Barakat said Norman police were “really aggressive,” but FBI agents were polite and apologized for having to interview Barakat and the others gathered at one of the units of Parkview Apartments.

Hinrichs and Cheema lived in a nearby unit, and Cheema was at the neighboring apartment when police arrived. Cheema has moved from the Parkview Apartments to another apartment in Norman, acquaintances say, but Cheema cannot be reached.

Barakat and others are concerned that the OU explosion could be unfairly connected to the Muslim community. Barakat said he does not know Cheema very well. Members of the Islamic Society of Norman say that Cheema is not a Muslim and does not attend the mosque.

“Cheema was an atheist who was angry with God because he had lost much of his hearing,” said Tariq Alzoubi, who noted many international students especially from the Mideast region are reluctant to talk about the case.

The Muslims who practice at the Islamic Society of Norman emphasize that they have never seen Hinrichs at the mosque.

In a letter being sent to students and parents, OU President David Boren said he has been “assured that law enforcement officials including federal officers have found no evidence of a conspiracy involving others which creates an ongoing threat to our community.”

“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,” Boren said in the letter made public Thursday.

Mick Hinton (405) 528-2465 mick.hinton@tulsaworld.com

10/7 0801HRS PST

October 07, 2005 Indictment Forthcoming in Oklahoma Bombing

An attorney for the Justice Department made an unusual statement today about the possibility of forthcoming arrests in the Oklahoma suicide-bombing case.

Last Saturday, Joel Henry Hinrichs III blew himself up outside of a University of Oklahoma football game. The FBI quickly stated that there was no evidence of a wider conspiracy.

However, WND reports this today (via Reaganites Unite):

The warrant used to execute a search of Oklahoma University bomber Joel “Henry” Hinrichs IIIs apartment, where an undetermined amount of explosives were found, has been sealed by a federal court at the request of the Justice Department.

A sealed warrant on top of the fact that the investigation is being led by the FBIs joint terrorism task-force may be an indication that the FBI is considering the possibility of a wider conspiracy after all.

10/7 1124HRS PST

Oklahoma bombing search warrant sealed Justice Department requests action in case of jihad students suicide Posted: October 7, 2005

By Jayna Davis and Jon Dougherty  2005 WorldNetDaily.com

The warrant used to execute a search of Oklahoma University bomber Joel “Henry” Hinrichs IIIs apartment, where an undetermined amount of explosives were found, has been sealed by a federal court at the request of the Justice Department.

…Bob Troester, first assistance U.S. attorney in Oklahoma City, said the department requested the warrant be sealed, but declined to elaborate when asked why it was necessary to do so given previous media reports that a depressed Hinrichs acted alone and on a whim.

“You can draw whatever assumption you like,” he said. “We dont comment on any sealed indictments.”

Troester also said he could not divulge details about what items were found inside Hinrichs home, and he could not say if or when the warrant would be unsealed at some point in the future.

The attorney did confirm the incident was still “currently being investigated,” but again declined to provide any specifics.

As WorldNetDaily reported, investigators say they also found “Islamic jihad” material in Hinrichs apartment when they searched it. Hinrichs, it turns out, attended a mosque near his university-owned apartment  the same one attended by Zacharias Moussaoui, the only person charged in connection with the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Fertilizer buy goes awry

In another development, the feed-store owner who refused to sell Hinrichs fertilizer that can be used to fashion explosives says an off-duty Norman, Okla., police officer witnessed the attempted transaction.

Dustin Ellison, proprietor of Ellison Seed and Feed in Norman said the officer was standing no more than “two to three feet away” from him and Hinrichs when the former OU student attempted to buy ammonium nitrate  a principle ingredient in the bomb that destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City April 19, 1995  Sept. 29, just two days before committing suicide.

Ellison also told WND he informed Hinrichs the store didnt carry any ammonium nitrate and then asked Hinrichs why he needed it. The store owner says the OU junior, who was majoring in mechanical engineering, became visibly nervous, close-mouthed and stammering.

Ellison said the off-duty officer, who overheard his entire conversation with Hinrichs, proceeded to follow the OU student outside when he abruptly left the feed store, copied down his license plate number, then called it in on his cell phone to see if Hinrichs had any outstanding arrest warrants or was tied to other criminal activity.

The off-duty officer told dispatchers Hinrichs appeared “very suspicious” and that he had just attempted to “buy ammonium nitrate,” Ellison said.

Lt. Tom Easley, Norman Police Department public information officer, confirmed that the officer  whom he did not name  was indeed inside the feed store and was a witness to the conversation between the store owner and Hinrichs.

He also confirmed the officer ran Hinrichs license plate, and said the officer, who was scheduled to go on duty that same night at 11 p.m., came in a few hours early to discuss what he had seen with other patrol officers, in an attempt to figure how best to handle the information. The officer also reportedly briefed his entire patrol division that night, and filed a report with the department.

The next morning  a little more than 24 hours before Hinrichs killed himself  the officer then discussed the incident with department bomb technicians in an effort to get their assessment as to whether they believed it constituted a legitimate threat. What happened beyond that point remains unclear, however.

What is known is that the officer did not report his observations to the FBI until Sunday morning, several hours after Hinrichs was killed. Agents then contacted Ellison and got his story about Hinrichs attempted ammonium nitrate purchase.

Asked how the FBI made the connection to Hinrichs and the feed store so quickly, Easley told WND a bomb technician officer remembered what the off-duty officer had told him and put the two incidents together. That was also one reason why, sources said, investigators were able to identify Hinrichs so quickly after the bombing.

Easley said there wasnt much the department could do with the information in the short amount of time between the off-duty officers encounter and Hinrichs death.

As WorldNetDaily reported, some investigators familiar with the case said they suspected authorities might have had some kind of advanced warning or concern about a potential bombing incident, based on witness accounts of tighter-than-normal security at Saturdays football game.

However, so far there is no evidence to suggest authorities suspected Hinrichs had explosive devices or that he planned to detonate one at the game.

10/7 1215HRS PST

News report from KKTV where they say that Hinrichs had a homemade REMOTE CONTROLLED bomb strapped to his back.

10/7 1424HRS PST

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “NORMAN — An incident related by a ticket taker at Saturdays OU-Kansas State game raises questions about whether a student who died in a suicide explosion tried to gain entrance to Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

But University of Oklahoma officials continue to deny that Joel Henry Hinrichs III tried to enter the stadium before dying about 100 yards away.

OU student Adam Smith said Thursday that he was approached as he was leaving the stadium Saturday by a ticket taker from Gate 6 who wanted to know what had happened.

Smith said he told the gate worker that there had apparently been an explosion outside the stadium and someone had been blown up.

“He gave me a wide-eyed look, and said: Oh, thats really strange, ” Smith said. The ticket taker recounted that a young man who looked strange and was wearing a backpack that looked full tried to get into the stadium.

However, when he was asked to open his backpack, “the guy didnt say a word and sprinted away,” Smith said he was told.

Vice President of Communications Catherine Bishop said OU officials have “been assured that there is no validity to the Gate 6 rumor.” Bishop said the story has been checked out by the universitys athletic department.

Meanwhile, the FBI continued to have no new comments on the case Thursday.”

10/8 0016HRS PST

NORMAN – The FBI has finished a review of University of Oklahoma stadium surveillance tapes and did not spot student Joel
Joe Henry Hinrichs III trying to get inside, The Oklahoman has confirmed.

The OU junior died Oct. 1 when a bomb exploded about 100 yards from the football stadium.

Friday, a bus driver who was the last man to see Hinrichs alive released a statement saying Hinrichs appeared to be asleep on a bench when the driver walked by him just moments before the explosion.

After looking for another bus driver to visit, the driver took a few more steps and was
hit from behind with a huge concussion, he said in the statement released to KWTV NEWS 9s Tamara Pratt.

It didnt knock me down, but it did push me forward, said the driver, who asked to remain anonymous.
At the time of the explosion, my ears were ringing and I was somewhat dazed
at what had happened, but I felt the young man was aware of my presence.

Reflecting back on the event two days later, the driver said he recalled he had been whistling the song
Great is the Lord when he walked up on Hinrichs from behind.

He believes that was the last thing Hinrichs heard, and that for whatever reason, Hinrichs decided not to harm him.

At that moment, I realized how truly God had directed my path, he said.

After a week of investigation, the FBI and OU continue to treat the death as a suicide by a troubled loner, rather than a failed terrorist plot.

OU President David Boren announced Tuesday the FBI was reviewing tapes from cameras in and around the stadium. Sources told The Oklahoman on Friday the review is done and Hinrichs is not seen trying to enter.

The students bomb went off about 7:30 p.m., in the second quarter of OUs football game against Kansas State University before more than 80,000 fans. The blast sounded like loud thunder and could be heard clearly inside Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

Hinrichs, 21, an engineering major from Colorado, was not a football fan. An OU spokeswoman said Thursday that OU records do not reflect the sale of a ticket to that game to Hinrichs.

When the bomb exploded, Hinrichs was sitting on a bench outside George Lynn Cross Hall, OUs botany-microbiology building, officials said.

Boren said OU has surveillance cameras across campus but
we didnt have a camera positioned on the particular bench where this tragic
incident occurred.

An OU senior, Adam Smith, has said a stadium security guard told him the night of the blast that a young man had sprinted away from Gate 6 after refusing to let a backpack be searched.

OU spokeswoman Catherine Bishop said,
All I know is I have not heard that rumor validated anywhere.

The students father, Joel Hinrichs Jr., said the FBI has told him the bomb was made of concentrated hydrogen peroxide. Experts said explosives made with this common household disinfectant are highly unstable.

The younger Hinrichs lived near a Islamic mosque, had a roommate from Pakistan, had other explosives in his apartment and had tried to buy ammonium nitrate two days before the attack. Those circumstances as well as some news reports have fueled public concern that the bomb was part of a larger plot.

Boren addressed those concerns twice last week – the latest on Thursday.

I have been assured that law enforcement officials, including federal officials, have found no evidence of a conspiracy involving others which creates an ongoing threat to our OU community, Boren told students and faculty in a statement.
They have kept me informed of the steps being taken in their investigation.

10/8 1104HRS PST

Great opinion piece by Mark Tapscott from Tapscotts Copy Desk at Townhall.com:

It was only hours after Joel Henry Hinrichs III blew himself up Oct. 1 near 84,000 football fans at the University of Oklahoma when federal officials claimed he was just a troubled young man with no links to terrorists.

But then yesterday the U.S. Department of Justice asked a federal court in Oklahoma City to seal the search warrant officials there used to get into the apartment Hinrichs shared with three or four students described by neighbors as
Arab-looking men.

If Hinrichs acted alone and had no links to terrorists organizations or activities, why seal the search warrant What did investigators find in Hinrichsapartment that they dont
want the public to know

Thats an especially important question considering what was already known when Justice sealed the warrant. For example, media reports confirmed by Oklahoma law enforcement sources said investigators found bomb-making materials in the 21-year-old University of Oklahoma engineering students apartment.

It was also known that the bomb that killed Hinrichs was made with
Mother of Satan, the same extremely volatile chemical explosive used by Richard Reid, the
Shoe Bomber who tried to blow up a commercial airliner a few years ago.

We knew as well that two days before he blew himself up, Hinrichs tried to buy ammonium nitrate from a local feed store. The store owner, who became suspicious when Hinrichs couldnt give a satisfactory answer for why he wanted the fertilizer that was a main ingredient in the bomb that destroyed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City April 19, 1995, prevented him from doing so.

Finally, it was known that Al Qaeda has been talking since before May 2005 about launching an October offensive in the United States to coincide with the holiest of Muslim holidays, Ramadan. Oct. 5 was the first fast day of Ramadan.

So there is no surprise that the more officials with the FBI and the Joint Task Force on Terrorism deny Hinrichs had any terrorist ties, the more holes appear in the
lone bomber scenario first hastily offered by OU President David Boren. Boren is a former U.S. senator who chaired the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence when he retired from government in 1994.

Start with the actual holes made in the bark of a tree near the bench where Hinrichs was sitting when he died. The holes appear to have been made by ball bearings or perhaps nails, the very objects typically used by Middle Eastern terrorists bombers to inflict the most widespread possible damage, injury and death.

Heres
another hole: Hinrichs registered his car in Oklahoma in June of this year,
but only for nine months ending in February 2006. The June registration
could be explained by his going to summer school, but the February
expiration date would fall in the early weeks of what would have been his
spring semester at OU. Did he know months ago that he would not be around by
the time February rolled around next year

Speaking of his car, federal investigators gave it the once-over but then left it in the parking lot of the apartment complex where Hinrichs lived with three or four Muslim students. By the way, the Muslim Students Association office is across the street from the apartment complex, as is the mosque attended by alleged 9/11
20th hijacker Zacarias Moussaoui while he was attending a local flight school.

Not only did investigators not impound Hinrichs car, they also left out in plain sight on the vehicles front seat the Justice Department inventory of things they found in it, including 13 plastic bottles.

The bottles werent described, nor did the inventory indicate whether any of them had anything in them. However, plastic bottles are often associated with bomb makers who find the containers suitable for transporting volatile chemical explosives.

The most disturbing hole, though, is the letter intercepted by U.S. intelligence last May from Iraq terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to Osama bin Laden describing a
Great Ramadan Offensive. The offensive was described as a series of spectacular attacks in the U.S. and elsewhere during Ramadan, which is in October.

Was the OU stadium bombing intended as the first of those attacks

The foregoing is only a sampling of the numerous facts turned up in the week since Hinrichs died by yours truly and other bloggers, including Generation Why, Zombietime, Flopping Aces and The Jawa Report.

Without these bloggers ignoring the accepted version of Joel Henry Hinrichs grisly death and forcing the mainstream media to take notice of an immensely important story, odds are good we would find out too late just how important a story it is.

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