Bomb Blast at University of Oklahoma (Breaking on Fox) - suicide bomber at OU

Fox News/NewsOK.com ^ | oct. 1, 2005

[blogblogginaway]

From Staff Reports
NORMAN -- An explosion near the University of Oklahoma's Gaylord Family-Memorial Stadium killed one person Saturday, OU officials said.

The explosion happened at the courtyard near the George Lynn Cross Hall, Botany-Microbiology Building on OU's campus, which is west of the stadium, according to Sgt. Gary Robinson of the University police department.

The explosion happened during the second quarter of Oklahoma's game against Kansas State.

After the explosion, police set up a perimeter of several blocks and made fans exit the stadium to the east.

[tiredoflaundry]

WTF?

[Jim Noble]

Still astounded the press doesn't realize the magnitude of this story.

I haven't read the whole thread, so maybe this has been pointed out - but the media's interest in college football is only slightly greater than their interest in NASCAR.

If the race at Darlington was nuked, it might not make page 41 of the NYT.

[SauronOfMordor]

I vagely recall Osama declaring that the next attack against America would be targeted to cause major casualties against America's children. You can find large concentrations of American young people on university campuses. I have a bad feeling about this

And my daughter just started college...

[SunnyUsa]

This is the first I'm reading about this incident....do they know who blew themselves up yet?

[BlackRain]

Football fans walk past police perimeter tape after one person was killed in an explosion in a traffic circle about 100 yards from a packed football stadium at the University of Oklahoma on Saturday night, Oct. 1, 2005, in what authorities were calling a suicide.

[SE Mom]

Love those anonymous sources. In the meantime, I've read all the links posted here to morning papers- and there's no NEW news- they're all running the AP article that hasn't been updated for content since last night.

Again- even IF this isn't terrorist-related..it seems a lot more newsworthy that is being reported. I'd expect to see the MSM there interviewing sutdents leaving the game..morning after "how did you feel" interviews, with dramatic accounts of the troubled person- who he/she is..what they ate for dinner...what their social life was like..etc...

[BlackRain]

[OXENinFLA]

The entire South Oval was taped off, and many law enforcement officers were there to make sure no one entered the area. The suicide happened in or near the George Lynn Cross botany/microbiology building the oval’s east side.

I'm getting a campus map right now to see the relationship between the where the bomb went off and the stadium.

[Rte66]

Yeah, "welcome to flyover country." We only get OU football on MSM TV when we're in the Top 5, and only if we're playing somebody ELSE the NYC people have *heard of.*

From a downtown Manhattan (NY) hotel one time, I was placing a long-distance call through the hotel operator to my home in OKC and she asked if I said "Yokohama City."

When I told my co-worker the story, she said "oh, that explains it--when I got the operator and wanted to place a call home to OKC, she said, "Just a minute, I'll connect you to the overseas operator."

[Yellow Rose of Texas]

I think people are making huge assumptions here based on vERY little real information.

Eyewitness FREEPERS are not very little information.

It appears we have several on this thread.

[Kozak]

Doesn't necessarily have to be Muslim. Have you seen the Cindy Sheehan crowd?

Communists and atheists generally don't make good suicide bombers. Something about not believing in an afterlife....

[prairiebreeze]

Thanks for getting the map, good idea. Please ping your list to it, thanks.

[ItsForTheChildren]

Depends on what the meaning of "was" is.

[Rte66]

Here's one:

http://www.ou.edu/visitorcenter/vc_campus_map.htm

[JustaCowgirl]

The Tulsa World reports the story on Page 2 this morning, it didn't even make the front page. The byline says 'Staff and Wire Reports.' Some highlights:

"We are apparently dealing with an individual suicide, which is under full investigation," OU President David Boren said in a statement released by the campus police. "At no time was anyone in the stadium in danger."

and in another paragraph

"Law enforcement officers cordoned off the South Oval just west of the stadium and used bomb-sniffing dogs and a robot to conduct a search. A second explosive device found in the area was detonated. "

It seems kind of unlikely to me that a person bent only on committing suicide would have built an extra explosive device and brought it with him, just in case he needed it. Also, if a second detonation occurred on the site itself, then the people inside the stadium should have heard it.

On the other hand, it could well be a person with a similar mentality to the Colorado high school shooters - he might have been planning to take some other people he perceived as his tormentors with him.

[meyer]

Freeper PhiKapMom was at the stadium and the blast shook the stadium. That is NOT a pipe bomb.

Depends on the size of the pipe bomb (and I've heard of some pretty big ones in my younger days). But yes, this looks to be a very good-sized explosion. I wonder what kind of schrapnel or other byproducts are in the area of the explosion.

[Peach]

If you search PhiKapMom's posts last night, I think she explained the locations.