October 5, 2005
Update on OU Student's Suicide
This is an update on yesterday's blog about University of Oklahoma student Joel Hinrichs. Hinrichs was killed instantly Saturday night when a bomb he strapped to himself detonated just 100 yards from the school's football stadium during a game between OU and Kansas State--which at the time, was packed with 84,000 fans. Speculation has run rampant since then as to Hinrichs' intentions. Yesterday, I asked: "Was his suicide merely a desperate, tragic act committed by a troubled individual? Or did Hinrichs have more sinister motives? In other words, was this in fact a failed attempt at a suicide bombing, which was supposed to be carried out inside the crowded stadium?"
We know from several botched attempts in Iraq that suicide bombs are known to sometimes detonate prematurely, killing the bomber before he or she has a chance to wade into a crowd and inflict the intended carnage. We also know that investigators reportedly found bomb making materials and jihadist literature during a search of Hinrichs' apartment on campus. Now, more troubling details are emerging that lead me to believe Hinrichs may indeed have had much larger--and bloodier--plans. First this, from Koco 5 at ChannelOhlahoma.com:
NORMAN, Okla. -- The general manager of a Norman feed store said Tuesday that Joel Henry Hinrichs III had inquired about purchasing ammonium nitrate fertilizer, the primary ingredient used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
Dustin Ellison, the general manager of Ellison Feed & Seed on Porter Avenue, said that a man matching Hinrichs' description had come into the store days before he blew himself up on OU's campus. Ellison said the man asked about ammonium nitrate, but couldn't offer a reason why he needed it.
According to an AP report, Ellison said that Hinrichs acted strangely and was wearing a vest with what appeared to be wires in it when he asked for ammonium nitrate fertilizer. After the bombing, Ellison said he thought nothing of it. However, when he saw Hinrichs' photo, it triggered his memory.
And that's not all. Check out the following, from AP:
NORMAN, Okla. -- The Pakistani roommate of a man authorities said died when he detonated an explosive device outside a crowded football stadium was led in handcuffs from a party shortly after Saturday's explosion, the head of an Islamic student group said.
Fazal M. Cheema, a finance major, shared a university-owned apartment with Joel Hinrichs III, 21, who died Saturday when a device attached to his body exploded as he sat on a bench outside George Lynn Cross Hall.
Cheema and three other Muslim students were led in handcuffs from a party by police after the blast, Ashraf Hussein, president of the Muslim Student Association, said Tuesday. They later were released.
Cheema is "a really, really nice guy," Hussein said.
OU President David Boren said authorities continue to believe that Hinrichs did not try to get into the stadium and that he acted alone. He said Hinrichs' roommate, along with his acquaintances, were questioned by federal authorities.
"All the people who lived in that building, all the people that lived in the building surrounding it, all the people who knew him well or were living in proximity to him ... have been questioned; none of those people have been held by law enforcement," Boren said.
The FBI said in a statement Tuesday that there is no current threat posed by additional explosive materials, that there is no known threat from anyone else related to the incident and that there is no known link between Hinrichs and any terrorist or extremist organization or activities.
Hinrichs' father, Joel Hinrichs Jr., said the FBI re-interviewed him Tuesday at his home in Colorado Springs, Colo. The father told investigators his son was skeptical of ideology.
"Joe would have become a Muslim fanatic when pigs fly," the father said.
At this point, who knows? But note that the Muslim Student Association, whose member the AP article quoted, is a radical Islamist organization.
I will continue to give updates on this developing story.
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