2005 University of Oklahoma bombing
Encyclopedia
The 2005 University of Oklahoma bombing occurred on October 1, 2005 at approximately 7:30 p.m. CDT, when a bomb went off near the George Lynn Cross Hall
George Lynn Cross
George Lynn Cross was a botanist, author, and the seventh and longest serving president of the University of Oklahoma from 1943 to 1968...

 on Van Vleet Oval on the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...

 (OU) main campus. The blast took place less than 200 yards west of Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, where 84,501 spectators were attending a football game
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

. The bomber, OU student Joel "Joe" Henry Hinrichs III, was killed in the explosion; no one else was killed.

After the incident, speculation began immediately about Hinrichs' motivation and the number of accomplices, if any. An off-duty police officer noted a discussion Hinrichs had with a local feed store owner about ammonium nitrate and had begun an investigation, one heightened by innuendo regarding the Pakistani heritage of the bomber's roommate. Terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...

-related speculation further erupted when the explosive agent was found to be TATP, the compound used in the July 2005 London bombings, as well as in an infamous attempt to destroy a transatlantic flight by igniting a shoe and by Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...

 in clandestine devices intended for detonation by suicide bombers. The Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...

 (FBI) and local authorities concluded in 2006 that Hinrichs was alone and had no assistance from other groups, but could not prove or disprove allegations that Hinrichs intended to enter the packed stadium and kill football fans along with himself.

Initial events

Shortly before halftime of the Saturday evening game between the Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma Sooners
The University of Oklahoma features 19 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's teams are called the Sooners, a nickname given to the early participants in the land rushes which initially opened the Oklahoma Indian Territory to non-native settlement. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A,...

 and the Kansas State
Kansas State University
Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...

 Wildcats
Kansas State Wildcats
Kansas State University's athletic teams are called the Wildcats. The official color of the teams is Royal Purple, making Kansas State one of very few schools that have only one official color; white and silver are generally used as complementary colors.Kansas State participates in...

, spectators inside the stadium heard an explosion. The explosion was reported as being heard up to five miles away, but people on the east side of the stadium heard only a rumble like a low-volume thunder
Thunder
Thunder is the sound made by lightning. Depending on the nature of the lightning and distance of the listener, thunder can range from a sharp, loud crack to a long, low rumble . The sudden increase in pressure and temperature from lightning produces rapid expansion of the air surrounding and within...

, of the type that signals impending rain. A few heard nothing. Spectators were not allowed to leave the stadium at half-time, which caused concern among fans who did hear the explosion. No stadium announcements were made until the third and fourth quarters of play, when bus drivers were asked to leave the stadium and meet at the northwest corner of the Asp Avenue Parking Facility. During the last six minutes of the game, an announcement was made over the public address system in the stadium and over local radio to exit through the south and east gates and to avoid the area, known to students and fans as the South Oval, west of the stadium. No further explanations were given to game attendees because university officials "didn't want to start any kind of panic." "Everyone in my section heard it. We looked to the opposite side of the field though thinking it was thunder. Me and my family were gonna go to the university bookstore after the game but the direction we had to go was blocked by caution tape. We knew something was up and got out of there ASAP." said a Sooner fan.

First reports said the incendiary device was made with hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is the simplest peroxide and an oxidizer. Hydrogen peroxide is a clear liquid, slightly more viscous than water. In dilute solution, it appears colorless. With its oxidizing properties, hydrogen peroxide is often used as a bleach or cleaning agent...

. The initial accounts also indicated a second bomb was found, but these accounts were false. The area was searched by bomb-sniffing dogs, and no more explosives were found. The remains of the backpack contained a circuit board, wires, and a battery; a small explosive was used to safely detonate it at about 9:00 p.m. Other items at the bomb site included a crescent wrench, a white sock with protruding wires, a screwdriver, unused wooden matches, and a chemistry book.

Following the bomb explosion, the entire South Oval was marked as off-limits with crime scene tape. Fans exited the stadium at the conclusion of the game without incident. The South Oval was open the next afternoon except for the immediate area of the explosion, so a broken glass door could be replaced and firefighters could finish spraying down the area with water to wash debris, chemicals and bodily fluids away from the sidewalk and a bus parked there before the preceding day's game. Classes resumed as normal on Monday.

Hinrichs

In a press conference the next day, OU president David Boren identified Hinrichs, a 21-year-old mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...

 student, as responsible for the detonation. Originally from Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...

, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

, Hinrichs was a National Merit Scholar
National Merit Scholarship Program
The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and college scholarships administered by National Merit Scholarship Corporation , a privately funded, not-for-profit organization. The program began in 1955...

 who graduated from Wasson High School in May 2002. His father, Joel Hinrichs Jr., described him as a "very private individual" who had gone through "several severe bouts of depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...

". Hinrichs' depression was noted as early as ten years old. His father believes that the "underlying cause was his inability to bond with other people. He couldn't make friendships," and also said that Hinrichs began counseling at the university's on-campus health center two years earlier. He did not know if his son was still seeing a counselor, and denied knowledge of the young man's suicidal ideation
Suicidal ideation
Suicidal ideation is a common medical term for thoughts about suicide, which may be as detailed as a formulated plan, without the suicidal act itself. Although most people who undergo suicidal ideation do not commit suicide, some go on to make suicide attempts...

s.

Hinrichs was a member of Triangle Fraternity
Triangle Fraternity
Triangle Fraternity is a social fraternity, limiting its recruitment of members to male students majoring in engineering, architecture, and the physical, mathematical, biological, and computer sciences...

, a social fraternity of engineering, science and architectural majors. Hinrichs' father said that his son had "recently moved out of the Triangle fraternity house because "he didn't bond, didn't relate well to the other fraternity members." In the chapter meeting following the bombing the members of his fraternity were asked to direct all questions and comments to one member of their fraternity and not to discuss anything with the media, this was advised in hopes of limiting rumors and other theories.

Investigation

According to local media, Hinrichs inquired about purchasing a large quantity of ammonium nitrate, the chief ingredient in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...

, at a local feed store two days before the explosion. An off-duty Norman police officer was in the store and overheard the conversation between the feed store owner and Hinrichs. The officer followed Hinrichs out of the store, checked Hinrichs' license plate, and began an investigation when his shift started. That investigation was still in progress when the bomb went off. A computer check, however, showed no outstanding arrest warrants for Hinrichs and no criminal record.
After more investigation, the explosive was found not to be hydrogen peroxide, as first indicated. Instead, Hinrichs detonated triacetone triperoxide (TATP), an extremely unstable compound which can be made by mixing common household products like acetone
Acetone
Acetone is the organic compound with the formula 2CO, a colorless, mobile, flammable liquid, the simplest example of the ketones.Acetone is miscible with water and serves as an important solvent in its own right, typically as the solvent of choice for cleaning purposes in the laboratory...

, hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is the simplest peroxide and an oxidizer. Hydrogen peroxide is a clear liquid, slightly more viscous than water. In dilute solution, it appears colorless. With its oxidizing properties, hydrogen peroxide is often used as a bleach or cleaning agent...

 and an acid
Acid
An acid is a substance which reacts with a base. Commonly, acids can be identified as tasting sour, reacting with metals such as calcium, and bases like sodium carbonate. Aqueous acids have a pH of less than 7, where an acid of lower pH is typically stronger, and turn blue litmus paper red...

 catalyst. According to a Norman bomb squad agent, Hinrichs had between two and three pounds of TATP in a bag in his lap.

When investigators entered Hinrichs' apartment the morning after the explosion, they found more TATP and the necessary chemicals to make more of the substance. Since TATP becomes more unstable as time passes, the Norman Police and the FBI evacuated Hinrichs' building and the four apartment buildings that surrounded it as a precaution. A suicide note was displayed on Hinrichs' open laptop monitor. While detectives were unable to completely retrace Hinrichs' steps that day, they did find that Hinrichs typed "None of you are worth living with. You can all kiss my ass" at about 6:15 pm that evening, approximately 75 minutes before he died. The message was on the computer screen when agents entered Hinrichs' apartment.

Hinrichs told friends and fraternity brothers that he liked explosives, and frequently experimented with building and detonating bombs made in or of plastic soda bottles. Hinrichs kept detailed records of many experiments he performed, done mostly at Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon State Park (Oklahoma)
Red Rock Canyon State Park, located near Hinton in Caddo County, Oklahoma, was a favored winter camp for the Plains Indians. It was also landmark and camping area on the California Road. Settlers going west used this sandstone canyon for collection of fresh water and wagon repairs. On the west side...

 in Caddo County
Caddo County, Oklahoma
Caddo County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 30,150. Its county seat is Anadarko. It is named after the Caddo tribe who were settled here on the 1870s...

, in the weeks prior to his death. Along with the chemicals and the suicide note, they found used artillery shells, spent bullets, belts made of used brass shell casings, and military ammunition boxes. Other items taken in the search included a thermometer, a slow cooker, rolls of tape, mixing bowls, and plastic containers.

Hinrichs' roommate met Hinrichs when he placed an advertisement online for a roommate, and Hinrichs responded. The two did not socialize, and although Hinrichs showed the remains of detonated explosive devices to at least one fraternity brother, roommate was unaware of Hinrichs' interest in explosives. There was already speculation among some bloggers and pundits that Hinrichs was a Muslim, but the news of a Pakistani roommate ignited louder rumors that Hinrichs was an Islamic convert who attended the same Norman mosque Zacarias Moussaoui
Zacarias Moussaoui
Zacarias Moussaoui is a French citizen who was convicted of conspiring to kill citizens of the US as part of the September 11 attacks...

 previously attended. Ashraf Hussein, the president of OU's Muslim Student Association, said he had never seen Hinrichs at a mosque and that he did not believe Hinrichs was Muslim. As many as eight people, including OU Arabic language
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

 instructor Hossam Barakat, were detained by the Norman Police Department in the early morning hours of October 2 for questioning. They were again questioned the next day, after which they were cleared of suspicion.

Rumors also circulated that Hinrichs intended to detonate his homemade bomb inside the stadium; these included allegations that he tried to enter the stadium that evening but was denied entry after he refused to be searched. Hinrichs was not a student football season ticket holder; there was no evidence that Hinrichs tried to enter the stadium, and Hinrichs apparently neither bought nor tried to buy a game ticket. Agents scoured hundreds of hours of security camera tapes and found no images of Hinrichs, but, since not all entrances had cameras, they conceded they may never know if Hinrichs wanted to enter or tried to enter the stadium that night. Boren noted that Hinrichs waited until the game was underway and pre-game fans and students had cleared the South Oval; there would have been injuries or deaths to bystanders had Hinrichs detonated his device in the same area prior to or after the game.

Before the October 22, 2005 game, with the Baylor
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...

 Bears
Baylor Bears
Baylor Bears refers to the sports teams of Baylor University. Baylor's men's sports teams are nicknamed the Bears, and some women's teams are nicknamed the Lady Bears. Student athletes participate in the NCAA's Division I, and Baylor is the only private school in the Big 12 Conference...

, season ticket holders received a letter from Boren which outlined new stadium security procedures, including restrictions on bags and purses brought into the stadium, more security cameras, and hand searches of belongings. Readmission to the stadium after exiting during the game or at half-time was prohibited except for medical emergencies.

Conclusion and aftermath

In July 2006, the FBI formally declared that there was no evidence Hinrichs was a terrorist. Over 200 witnesses were interviewed about the event, and no indications were found that Hinrichs was an extremist, had extremist views, or was working with anyone else to make and explode the bomb. Agents with the Norman police and bomb squad said that Hinrichs likely "got cocky" with his explosives – a witness saw Hinrichs rummaging around his backpack shortly before it detonated.

In November 2006, Thomas Carlisle Hinrichs, Joel Hinrichs' brother, was arrested after he allegedly attacked his father and threatened to murder an FBI agent. He was found guilty of the crime in June and was sentenced to 37 months imprisonment in October 2007.

In August 2007, the university held an emergency drill to better prepare for future events during home football games. A gas line
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...

 rupture inside Oklahoma Memorial Stadium was simulated. More than 500 students participated, along with responders from the Department of Homeland Security
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...

, the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...

 (FEMA), the Norman Police Department and Fire Department, the University of Oklahoma Police Department, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol
Oklahoma Highway Patrol
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is a major state law enforcement agency of the government of Oklahoma. It is a division of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol was legislatively created in 1937 due to the growing problem of motor vehicle accidents, the expansion of a...

. It was the first university stadium emergency drill of its kind in the United States.

See also

  • American Airlines Flight 63
    American Airlines Flight 63
    The 2001 shoe bomb plot was a failed bombing attempt that occurred on American Airlines Flight 63 flying from Charles De Gaulle International Airport in Paris, France, to Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida, on December 22, 2001.-Incident:...

  • 7 July 2005 London bombings
    7 July 2005 London bombings
    The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....

  • Vollsmose terrorists
    Vollsmose terrorists
    The Vollsmose terrorists are nine people arrested on charges of terrorism by the Danish police in the Vollsmose neighbourhood of Odense on September 5, 2006...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK