Posted on 10/07/2005 7:04:52 AM PDT by indcons
NORMAN -- An incident related by a ticket taker at Saturday's 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, that's 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 didn't 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 university's 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
What heads up on Tucker Carlson? I can't keep up! (I did hear a short comment by someone on his show last night regarding this bombing).
susie
No....depression was not a facor in his choice of location. There are two definite possibilities:
He as turned away from the stadium at least twice and he ran away after security tried to chek his backpack.
The bomb was remote controlled. This was an accident. In other words, he detonated it by mistake.somebody did it for him.
Ah yes, that's what I heard last night. Only thing I've seen on the media since Sat. night, altho I don't watch everything, so I could have missed things.
susie
LOL
That's exactly what I thought. If you haven't killed a few infidels or blown something you can hardly be considered "practicing".
SEPTA (South East Pennsylvania Transit Authority) scare. Breaking news on a FR thread.
You're right, it could have been a mistake. I was just thinking if it was an intentional detonation he would have attempted to find a group of people outside the stadium.
I was assuming he walked over to this bench, sat down and intentionally blew himself up.
For a student this guy demonstrates an ability to be mobile on very short notice.
I'm guessing he sat down just a little too hard, and slammed his backpack on the back of the bench.
"the story has been checked out by the university's athletic department."
And all those bags full of white powder that his pakistani roomate who works at the stadium brought into the storage room below the bleachers was field-marking chalk. (STRICTLY an unfounded idea on my part - but conceivable).
The two are connected and this is no coincidence.
That is my thinking as well
I listened to the Colorado Springs newscast video link last night and the reporter clearly said a "remote-controlled device". Where else has that detail been reported?
Thanks for the ping! Just getting back, yesterday was too busy to check in at all, so it will take me time to catch up. Here is what I found 'interesting'
"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 university's athletic department."
(rolling eyes) Checked out by the ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT? The same AD that the PAKI roomate Cheema worked for? Man, are these people stuck on stupid or what? Looks like this story will fade away as this new threat to New York sub station takes priority now. Funny, the press was asked to 'hold' the 'subway threat' story a few days in New York and apparently did, for a time anyway. If they have been asked to hold the OU story, most of them have been only too happy to oblige(with the exception of a few local outlets). Will spend some time catching up this morning. Thanks for keeping me in the loop, indcons.
W makes a speech about terrorism; Bloomberg has a press conference about the NY subways with a strong warning, police detonate a bomb in East Chicago. All yesterday. Keep an eye on other developments around the country.
There must be a section in the FBI interrogation book that says you must always treat members of the ROP with great deference, politeness and courtesy, and never question them aggressively or speak harshly to them.
This is the first I've heard of it.
"He gave me a wide-eyed look, and said: 'Oh, that's 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."
Perhaps the stupidity and inaction of this ticket checker was a blessing. Had he alerted the authorities it's possible other people could have been killed. We were very lucky on this one.
Maybe he mistakenly built his remote to use the same frequency as the refs' wireless microphones.
Facetiousness aside, what depressed person contemplating suicide uses a bomb in a normally crowded environment? It crosses the line from being suicidal to the attempt at being homicidal. Suicide was just secondary.
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/124832.php
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 III's 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 FBI's joint terrorism task-force may be an indication that the FBI is considering the possibility of a wider conspiracy after all.
(snip)
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46701
WND Exclusive Oklahoma bombing search warrant sealed
Justice Department requests action in case of 'jihad' student's suicide
Posted: October 7, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Jayna Davis and Jon Dougherty
Our leftist Tulsa World is at it again. As J.C. Watts once said -- if the Tulsa World endorses me I know I am going to lose.
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