Posted on 07/16/2006 9:04:08 AM PDT by MizSterious
OU death not linked to terrorism
By Nolan Clay
The FBI concluded a University of Oklahoma student who blew himself up last year on campus was not a terrorist, the top agent in Oklahoma says.
"We have no evidence he had a social or political agenda that he was trying to bring attention to," said Salvador Hernandez, the FBI's special agent in charge in Oklahoma.
"We don't consider this terrorism the way we define it," he said. "There would have to be a cause."
Joel "Joe" Henry Hinrichs III, an engineering student, died Oct. 1 when his bomb went off at a campus bench a short distance from an OU night football game.
Fans inside the packed stadium heard the blast during the second quarter of OU's game against Kansas State.
Hernandez spoke about the investigation to the media for the first time last week as he prepares to end his two-year stint in Oklahoma. He has been promoted to a new position with the FBI in Washington.
He disclosed the FBI interviewed more than 200 people during the bombing investigation but never found any evidence that Hinrichs had extremist views or ties to extremist groups.
Hernandez would not speculate whether the student intentionally set off the bomb on the bench as a suicide or if he also had intended to harm others and the bomb went off prematurely.
"None of us can know what was going on in his head," Hernandez told The Oklahoman.
Hernandez described Hinrichs, 21, as a loner who had a longtime interest in explosives.
Hinrichs, who was from Colorado Springs, Colo., was very bright, but his grades had slipped at OU, the agent said. Hinrichs belonged to the Triangle Fraternity, an organization of engineers, but just didn't seem to fit in, the agent said.
Hernandez said agents did not find any conclusive evidence Hinrichs tried to enter the stadium. They found no evidence he bought or tried to buy a football ticket, Hernandez said.
The top agent also said two ticket-takers who saw Hinrichs' photo in the media thought they might have seen him outside the stadium but they could not provide descriptive information when interviewed.
Agents viewed hours and hours of tapes from stadium security cameras but never spotted Hinrichs, Hernandez said.
Agents also turned up no evidence Hinrichs ever went to the mosque near his apartment, Hernandez said.
He said fellow students knew Hinrichs was interested in and had experimented with bombs and they should have reported it to law enforcement.
"People should be more vigilant or more responsible and bring this stuff forward," he said.
Officials said earlier that Hinrichs built the bomb from hydrogen peroxide and acetone. The explosive is known as triacetone triperoxide or TATP.
In the interview with The Oklahoman, Hernandez revealed these new details about the bombing:
Using receipts, agents determined Hinrichs bought the bomb ingredients from local retail stores a few days before. One store had a video camera and agents reviewed the tape from it. Hinrichs was alone.
Agents could not reconstruct much of what Hinrichs did the day of the bombing, a Saturday. They believe he was on the Internet in the morning. They believe about 6:15 p.m. he typed, "None of you are worth living with. You can all kiss my ass," on his apartment computer. They believe he then walked to where he died. The bomb went off about 7:30 p.m.
Hinrichs made a final payment on handlebars for his mountain bike a few days before the bombing.
Hinrichs apparently was carrying the TATP around in a plastic container and could have accidentally set the volatile bomb off by simply opening the container.
The bomb did not go off in Hinrichs' backpack.
FBI agents interviewed some witnesses who live in Europe and had dealt with Hinrichs on eBay, the Internet auction site.
And one more thing I recalled - Jetton's grandmother said Curtis doesn't know Rugo is dead.
Thanks so much for sharing your notes with us. This is only being covered down there in Texas so far. No MSM has picked up on this story at all. There are a total of 9 articles at Google News.
Rumour does not become fact with the passage of time. This report indicates there was no such attempt. Though it is popular to complain about these agencies lying I doubt that is what happened.
No such person has surfaced.
You weren't at the game. I know people who WERE. (In fact, our own PhiKapMom was there, for one.) They are not liars, and they don't tolerate liars well either--nor are they hystericals who want to inflame everyone else. One ticket-taker (at least) turned this goon away; at least two witnesses saw it. But the official "line" is, it didn't happen. That you choose to believe those who want to cover this up tells me all I need to know about you. Enjoy your NYT, it's just your speed.
Baloney. They've "surfaced" but the media will no longer report it.
Rte66 did a great job. So far I haven't turned up any hits on those two guys, but I need to hold my nose and check out myspace.com before I give up.
I just love people who, from their armchairs in Chicago, decide they can tell folks who actually live here what "actually happened." (Yes, that's sarcasm, dripping in fact.)
** Report of attempted entry attributed to OU student and OU library security guard Adam Smith (see Ch. 9 video interview - http://newsok.com/video/1634831/). Adam states that a gate security guard told him someone sprinted off after the guard tried to search the backpack he was carrying. This reportedly happened at Gate 6 - per 9 news. You can read Adam's statements from a Tulsa World article - http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1498353/posts .
I have almost become convinced that Federal Agencies have a protocol in place to reduce panic -- I don't think it's a matter of incompetance, the way these things are being handled is way beyond mistakes and idiocy on the part of these people. At least that's what I hope is going on...
However, just now there was a rerun of local WB News, which I never watch - and get this:
They said there are rumors that the two guys belonged to a "small anarchist group that doesn't like the United States." There was no further detail than that.
On the other hand, before hearing that just a minute ago, the following was the last "explanation" I had found, from a local blog:
UPDATE: The Galveston County Daily News seems to be ahead of the "bigger boys" with this tidbit:TATP is shorthand for triacetone triperoxide, which has been used by suicide bombers in Israel, and was chosen as a detonator in 2001 by the thwarted "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, according to website Global Security.org.
“It can be as or more powerful than military analogs. TATP is one of the most sensitive explosives known, being extremely sensitive to impact, temperature change and friction," the website that tracks military and terrorist issues reported.
Investigators said Rugo was possibly making explosives for a weekend "entertainment" activity where he and some friends liked to blow things up. ..."
Take your pick. I'll try to keep following it, as you can imagine.
More ... here are some excerpts from the HouChron's update of an hour ago:
~~~~
" ... Asked about a televised report that Rugo and Jetton may have been part of a four-member local anarchist group, Burby said late Thursday: "I have nothing to substantiate that and I don't know where that came from."
FBI spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap said: "We have not confirmed that information at this time."
Texas City Mayor Matt Doyle said there were no hints of terroristic activity.
"If we thought that this was a terrorist act, the action would be a lot different than we've seen today," Doyle said after an afternoon news conference in a city that is home to one of the largest petrochemical complexes in the world. "Certainly, the FBI would have raised the level of security inside the city."
....
Rugo formerly lived in Bellville in Austin County, according to public records.
Texas Department of Public Safety records show he was arrested Feb. 2, 2004, in Austin County for carrying a switchblade. He was charged with carrying a prohibited weapon and pleaded guilty on April 1, 2004. He received six months probation.
Austin County District Attorney Travis Koehn said Rugo lived in Austin County at the time of the offense and he successfully completed the probation.
Koehn said Rugo also was charged in March 2005 with burglary of a habitation. Kohen said Rugo and co-defendant Christopher J. Distefano, 20, of Bellville, were accused of stealing rifles and other items from a home.
Koehn said Rugo had pleaded guilty in the case but had not yet been sentenced. Distefano also was facing sentencing.
Before they detonated their own explosives in Rugo's damaged apartment Thursday, bomb experts said they didn't expect a huge explosion but couldn't guarantee what would happen. When they triggered the blast, it produced a low rumble, a large puff of gray smoke and little debris.
"The apartment does have severe damage to it now," Texas City police Capt. Brian Goetschius said. "But we believe it was structurally severely damaged also by the original blast."
Federal and local officials said they believe the substance was peroxide-based and similar to TATP, organic peroxide and a primary high explosive. It takes the form of a white crystalline powder with a distinctive acrid smell and has been described as a weapon of choice for suicide bombers.
TATP can be easily prepared in a basement lab using starting materials obtained from hardware stores, pharmacies and stores selling cosmetics, according to the Global Security Web site.
Although the substance that killed Rugo was described by FBI Special Agent Kasey Salway as "extremely sensitive to heat, shock and friction," and very powerful in relatively small amounts, the two blasts left just one of Lakeview Apartments' 22 separate buildings temporarily uninhabitable Thursday.
....
Sean Davis, 17, a La Marque High School student who is taking classes at College of the Mainland, said he has lived all his life at Lakeview but didn't know Rugo.
"Nothing like this has ever happened here before," Davis said. "I'm shocked."
Rugo's attorney, Candelario "Candy" Elizondo of Houston, was traveling Thursday in Louisiana when he learned of Rugo's death.
"I am shocked, I'm shocked. I really am," Elizondo said.
He said Rugo was going to school and was doing well.
"He had turned himself around, he was a really good guy," Elizondo said. "He was doing real good." ..."
I guess "boys will be boys" - or "boys will be pyromaniacs." So, what's wrong with making Mentos fountains for a hobby? *sigh*
~~~~
Victim a member of pyromaniac subculture
By TJ Aulds
The Daily News
Published July 21, 2006
TEXAS CITY — A college student killed Wednesday afternoon in a blast at the Lakeview Apartments likely was part of a growing subculture of young people who like to see things blown up, authorities said.
Those same authorities insist he and a friend injured in the blast were not associated with any terrorist group — domestic or otherwise.
That word contradicted TV news reports attributed to unnamed, highly placed federal sources that said the pair might be members of a four-person domestic terrorist group.
Investigators said Matthew Rugo may have been making explosives as part of a regular weekend activity during which he and friends blew things up for fun. While such activity is generally limited to fireworks, aerosol sprays or gunpowder, a growing number of people are making more powerful homemade bombs and recording the explosions on digital video, investigators said.
Such videos are popular on sites such as YouTube.com and MySpace.com.
Texas City police and the FBI continue to look closely into the backgrounds of Rugo and Curtis Jetton.
But the day after an explosion killed Rugo and slightly injured Jetton, investigators said they had found nothing to indicate the two were more than weekend explosive devotees.
Jetton was in the Galveston County jail on a felony charge of possession of explosives or explosive components and a misdemeanor charge of filing a false police report. He was being held on bonds totaling $60,000.
“Our police and the FBI have been minutely examining their backgrounds and nothing to date indicates they are involved in any terrorist activities,” said Bruce Clawson, director of homeland security for Texas City.
An FBI spokesman confirmed that no evidence had been uncovered to link Rugo or Jetton to any terrorist group. Mayor Matt Doyle cautioned against reading more into the investigation.
“Had this been something bigger, like a terrorist-related thing, you would have seen a whole different reaction,” Doyle said. “If it was something other than these two guys wouldn’t you think the FBI would have raised the terror alert level?”
Rugo, who was a student at College of the Mainland, did have a criminal background. In 2004, he was arrested in Austin County on a prohibited weapons charge, spent six days in jail, paid a fine and was given a deferred sentence.
Jetton, who lives in La Marque, was arrested in 2005 on a drug possession charge in Johnson County.
Few who lived at the apartment complex knew either man. Mike Raper said he had seen Rugo around the complex and only met Jetton last week.
“He had seen me around and thought I may be looking for a job,” said Raper, who owns a lawn and landscaping business. “He said he was going to bring me an application to work for the company he worked for to make some good money.”
Raper said that on Sunday, he ran into Jetton again and asked about the application.
“That’s when he told me he had been fired, next thing I know I hear about the bombs in that apartment,” he said.
Mickey Greene, the operations manager for Will Duett, a Galveston firm that specializes in cleaning offshore storage tanks and oilrigs, confirmed Jetton worked for him until recently. He said he told Jetton he wasn’t needed anymore after failing to report to work Saturday.
Prior to Will Duett, Jetton worked for Farmers Fabrication Shop in La Marque. A person answering the phone at Farmer’s confirmed Jetton worked there but would not comment any further.
~~~~~
None of whom have come forward.
Being at the game is irrelevent since there were 60,000 or more almost none of whom saw anything or every heard much.
I have not accused anyone of being liars though you have accused the FBI of being that. Nor have there been anyone who has declared that they are the ones who saw this guy.
Most of the wild rumours swirling around when this happened have been without substance.
Snide remarks are not substitutes for reason. Nor paranoia for analysis.
Riiight. Of course, it won't. Go fan your fevered brow before the vapors set in.
But the question is where is this security guard? Second hand reports are of little value.
Where was there any indication of panic to be avoided? Why does the government report on plots averted and people arrested for plotting attacks if there is this overwhelming drive to avert panics? Informing the people that there were plans to attack the LA Library, the New York Tunnels and other places seems to be no less panic-inducing than reporting the truth about this incident.
Sorry this does not add up as an information suppression exercise. It does not benefit the government and would illustrate the depth of the problem the US faces with terrorism if it were terrorist inspired.
Remember also the shoe bomber.
They always call him Richard Reed.
His name is Abdel Rahim.
We have the same birthday.
Well, you've just proven the old adage, you can't reason with the unreasonable. Liberty Rocks just showed some sources, and I have mine (in law enforcement) but you prefer the NYT version. Have fun with that.
The only "vapors" I see are the ones coming from your posts. BS will do that sometimes. People used to say the same things to me about the OKC bombing (most of them from some place like Chicago where they didn't have a single clue), and now I've been proven right, by a lot of people, including one from Chicago who's NOT clueless, David Schippers.
Thanks for all of these--been having computer problems today, and just now logging on.
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