Highly explosive material found in apartment of Colorado man who blew self up near football game

9news ^ | 11/19/05 | AP wire

[Right Wing Professor]

I think we made something like this in college. We made stuff with iodide, when wet it was OK, but when dry it was a contact explosive.

You made what is usually called 'nitrogen triiodide'. It's easy to make, though obviously I'm not going to provide a recipe. :-)

[cgbg]

OU student Fazal Cheema told agents that Hinrichs had responded to his Internet advertisement for a roommate, and said the two didn't socialize.

Does going to the local mosque count as "socializing"?

Socialization, perhaps? :-(

[DugwayDuke]

"Were made by the Crescent Tool company. The name stuck..."

But why did they call it the 'Crescent Tool' company? Obviously, there is much more to this.

[texianyankee]

"The student's father, Joel Hinrichs Jr., said again Friday his son intended to kill only himself."

Meanwhile, on the bomber's computer these words were found:

"At the cursor was a phrase that began with profanity and continued " ... all this. None of you are worth living with. You can all kiss my ass."

So that sounds like bomber-boy wanted to just kill himself?

[brytlea]

Is it really possible that, with all of the stuff they found, his roommate was unaware of his activities (even if not involved)? I find that hard to believe, but could it be true?
susie

[brytlea]

Plenty of college students, myself included, have shared apartments with people they barely ever saw, had no idea what they did or where they went, and frankly who they had trouble remembering their last names.

While I'm sure this is true, as a Mom it's scares the bejabbers outta me!

susie

[brytlea]

Does that description, if after explosion, make sense? I am sure I read another guy's description saying there was nothing left of the body above the waist...
susie

[BunnySlippers]

Hmm ... very interesting.

[laz]

"None of you are worth living with. You can all kiss my ass."

And this proves he intended to commit suicide? Someone depressed enough to want to kill himself usually feels his life isn't worth living, not that other people aren't worth living with. His decision to commit suicide is based on his perception of the lack of value of his own life. Hinrich's statement is strange because he doesn't refer to his own life as not worth living. Instead, he denigrates other people as not being worth living with. So his statement could be interpreted as meaning he wanted to do away with those who weren't worth his living with.

[Smokin' Joe]

I think the real question is "Why haul a wrench around in the first place?" Was he looking at trying to get into an access panel somewhere?

The meter (VOM?) raises a question, too. While it could be used to check his detonator circuit, you would think that had been done at the appartment or wherever he put the bomb together. So, maybe he was trying to check either an alarm circuit or something else.

Curiouser and curiouser....

[Eroteme]

None of you are worth living with. You can all kiss my ass."

I agree that this is odd wording. If indeed Hinrichs wrote this--and we have no proof he did--it seems to suggest that he had some beef with Cheema and friends (contrary to Cheema's contention they barely knew each other.) However, the attempted ammonium nitrate purchase alone argues against this being a merely personal issue.

My guess is that Hinrichs did not write that message. The subtle nuance of preposition in American idiom is the hardest to nail.

[maggief]

Also found was a pen with an attached razor ...

Is this a makeshift weapon, (i.e., box cutter)? If so, why would he need a weapon if his intent was to only kill himself?

[jimbo123]

The authorities didn't release the full statement he left on his computer. Only the "kiss my ass" part. What did he say before the "kiss my ass" part? Enquiring minds want to know...

[milford421]

Thanks for the ping.

This new information only raises more questions. I remember the earlier articles with the supposed "one line of text" suicide note. Seems this article would lead us to believe there was more than one line of text. The wording is angry.

What's with the other material? Socks with wires, razors, etc.

Only questions....

[LS]

Agree there. But come on. There are enough "whistle blowers" in any organization that if there were something horribly amiss (like NOT reporting Islamic terrorists at work) ---barring a turf war, which is described in "1000 Years for Revenge" and which helped facilitate 9/11---I just don't see most honest FBI agents in the know supporting any kind of coverup. And that went for TWA 800 as well.

[OKSooner]

Thanks.

[mad_as_he$$]

Is that a metric one?

[penelopesire]

Thanks for the update. Like others have noted here, it is highly unlikely that his Paki roomie did not know what was going on in a small apartment. Let's change that to virtually impossible! Does anyone know if the Paki roomate is still enrolled at OU or if he has left the country?

[penelopesire]

Just a quick observation from this snipet:

"Kincheloe told the agents that Hinrichs would drive out to remote areas to try to detonate bombs, but that he never accompanied Hinrichs," the FBI reported. "Kincheloe stated Hinrichs did show him the remains of some ... devices he detonated, which Kincheloe described as pieces of plastic soda bottles."

"OU student Fazal Cheema told agents that Hinrichs had responded to his Internet advertisement for a roommate, and said the two didn't socialize.

Cheema said Hinrichs was quiet and kept to himself and that he wasn't aware of Hinrichs' interest in bombs."

Now wait a minute. We are to believe that Hindrichs would drive out to remote areas to detonate bombs and then 'show and tell' about the devices he detonated like a puffed up rooster to everyone in his fraternity and even post things on his own blog....YET HE NEVER SHOWED THE SAME THINGS TO HIS PAKI ROOMATE?

Not likely. Hindrichs was proud of his abilities in this area and it would stand to reason that he would have shown off to his Paki roomate as well.