Father apologizes for son's actions (OU bombing, includes timeline)

Father apologizes for son's actions

By Nolan Clay and Ty McMahan
The Oklahoman

The father of a University of Oklahoma student who died in a bombing has apologized for the actions of his son.

"I truly hang my head," the father, Joel Hinrichs Jr., said from Colorado Springs, Colo.

Joel "Joe" Henry Hinrichs III, an engineering student, died Oct. 1 when a bomb went off outside the football stadium during the second quarter of OU's night game against Kansas State.

The FBI and OU are treating the bombing as a suicide by a troubled loner, rather than a failed terrorist attack.

"I feel obligated to apologize to everyone whose inconvenience has increased, or had worse things happen to them, due to Joe III," the father told The Oklahoman.

He said he wanted to specifically apologize to the Muslim students who were shackled and questioned during the investigation, apartment residents who had to be evacuated, and "the hundreds of thousands of future OU sporting event attendees who will now endure even more rigorous, restrictive search and carry restrictions."

The dead student, 21, was remembered last week as depressed and so mesmerized with bombs that he bought artillery shells on eBay.

Hinrichs started at OU in the fall of 2002 after being a National Merit Scholar at Wasson High School in Colorado Springs.

He was so depressed his second semester at OU that he had trouble going to class and underwent counseling, his father said.

He dropped out in 2003-2004 and worked doing inventories at night, the father said. He returned but lost a scholarship because of his grades.

"Internally, he suffered from both depression and an utter lack of hope in his own future," said the father.

"He could tell that other people were relating around him and even trying to relate to him. He could not relate back. ... My guess is that ... was very close to the root of his problem."

Early warning signs?
The father said his son had been depressed at times in high school, too.

The younger Hinrichs built a bomb out of match heads in an empty tube at age 13 or 14, his father said.

"He was hiding around the corner. It made a loud noise and he brought the broken, open CO2 cartridge to me and had this look of awe in his eyes," he said.

The younger Hinrichs also regularly bought inert artillery shells over eBay, his father said.

"Like all little boys, he has an interest in things that go bang. ... He just took it a little farther than most. ... He showed them to me, 'Look at this, dad,'" he said.

He got in trouble at the end of the eighth grade in Illinois for bringing a 3-foot metal handle to school, The Oklahoman confirmed.

The younger Hinrichs spent six weeks on house arrest, wearing an ankle bracelet, and then spent ninth grade in an alternative school.

Still, there were few outward signs he was suicidal. His last e-mail to his father, Sept. 14, was about his father's offer of a Subaru to drive.

"Does the Subaru get good mileage? I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," the younger Hinrichs wrote.

OU President David Boren described the student as a loner with emotional difficulties and personal problems. Classmates said he was different and had been struggling again with his grades.

"He was really quiet, didn't really interact with any of the other students," said Garrett Jones, a Tulsa junior who had engineering classes with Hinrichs.

Jones, 21, said Hinrichs was different in his manner and clothing.

"He wore this little green vest all the time. It was really weird. ... You could look around in a classroom and be able to pick this guy out that he was a little unusual," Jones said.

Another classmate, junior Andrew House, told the OU student newspaper: "He seemed like he was a nice kid. He didn't seem troubled at all. Some people might have thought he was weird, because he knew a lot about ammunition and stuff like that."

Members of an OU organization of engineers, architects and scientists said Hinrichs was quiet, reserved and not very involved in the group.

"The guy liked guns and ammo and he said something about trying to buy some ammo. That's just what he liked," said Paul Lawson, executive director of the Triangle Fraternity, who visited the OU chapter last week.

At meetings, Hinrichs talked about his struggles and successes in class, a new job, trouble sleeping and a road trip to Las Vegas, according to minutes.

He also talked about "missing ammo," building a catapult and carving a club with a pocket knife, according to minutes.

He had his own Web site. It read: "This is Joe Hinrichs' website. He currently doesn't have anything to put on it, but it does exist and it is here."

Officials have said investigators do not believe the student was trying to get inside the stadium or had any help. His father said the FBI told him his son made the bomb out of hydrogen peroxide, a common disinfectant.

OU explosion timeline

Explosives carried onto OU campus

A homemade bomb exploded on the University of Oklahoma campus Oct. 1 during a football game, killing one student. The explosion touched off an intense FBI investigation and left Oklahomans wondering whether it was an individual suicide or if it was intended to be an act of terrorism targeting football fans. Oct. 1

7:30 P.M.

A bomb explodes on a bench just west of George Lynn Cross Hall, the University of Oklahoma's botany-microbiology building, during the second quarter of the OU-Kansas State University football game.

ABOUT 9:05 P.M.

Police detonate a suspicious object found near the first explosion. Investigators later determine it was not an explosive.

University officials prohibit fans from leaving the stadium at halftime. As the football game continues, exit areas are swept for explosive devices. None are found. With about six minutes left in the game, an announcement is made over the public address system warning fans to stay away from the south oval and areas just west of the stadium.

FBI agents start interviewing acquaintances and neighbors of Joel "Joe" Henry Hinrichs III, a 21-year-old OU engineering major who they have tentatively identified as the student killed in the explosion. Some of those interviewed are international students, fueling speculation that the explosion might be part of a failed terrorist attack.

OU President David Boren, who is briefed by law enforcement officials, issues a statement calling the explosion an "individual suicide." He later clarifies the statement to say it was an "individual death," since the state medical examiner has not ruled on the manner of death.

Oct. 2

FBI agents and other law enforcement officials search Hinrichs' residence in the university-owned Parkview Apartments, removing a cache of explosive material and other items.

Boren describes Hinrichs as a student who had "very serious personal problems."

The FBI releases a statement indicating its investigation is in its early stages, but the agency has "no information that suggests that there is any additional threat posed by others related to this incident."

Boren announces classes will go on Monday as scheduled.

Oct. 3

Hinrichs' father tells The Oklahoman his son was a bright, lonely child who had trouble forming relationships and suffered from depression at times. The father also reveals that, as a youth, his son had a fascination with explosives.

Oct. 4

The FBI releases a statement indicating it found "no known link between Hinrichs and any terrorist or extremist organizations or activities."

Boren announces at a news conference that OU will heighten security measures at future games.

Oct. 5

The Oklahoman confirms Hinrichs failed in an attempt to buy ammonium nitrate fertilizer from a Norman feed store the week before the explosion. Hinrichs' demeanor raised suspicions with an off-duty Norman police officer who happened to be in the store. The officer jotted down Hinrichs' car tag number and did a preliminary background check, but the explosion happened before the officer was able to file an intelligence report.

Oct. 6

Boren issues a statement to students, faculty and staff cautioning against any rush to judgment based on race, religion, gender, or ethnicity. He reiterates that law enforcement officials have so far found no evidence of a conspiracy.

Oct. 7

Officials tell The Oklahoman the FBI has completed its review of stadium surveillance tapes and found no evidence Hinrichs tried to enter.

Source

The FBI tells as:

1. Hinrich tried to obtain ammonium nitrate to commit a private act of suicide.He had to settle for a different kind of explosive, but his intentions were to only kill himself.

2.More than 250 eyewitnesses did not see a missil rising from ground to air to meet up and blow flight 800 out of the sky killing hundreds.

3.There was no 3rd Terrorist involved at the Murrah Building bombing , despite many sources who saw him.

Ron Brown, though a perfect 45 caliber hole found in his skull was only a serendipidous finding.

Fact is I do think I can believe the FBI in these matters. They ask us to believe the unbelievable.

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