Oklahoma Bombing Update II

10/5 2004HRS PST

New developments…. Norman police now admitting they knew the psycho tried to buy AN. (last wed)

Reporters now asking police why nothing was done

Reshowing the interview of guy in the feed store. He says again that the off duty officer got the license plate etc.

Intelligence report was filled out after the explosion happened.

Sounds like the police are starting to take some heat….

10/5 2006HRS PST

ISLAMIC TERRORISTS IN THE U.S. HEARTLAND ALLEGED TO BE COMPLICIT, REPORTEDLY “USED” HINRICHS

By Douglas J. Hagmann, Director

5 October 2005; 00:15 AM EDT: According to confidential sources close to the University of Oklahoma bombing probe, HINRICHS was just one of several others involved in a much larger, much more sinister and pre-planned terrorist plot in the war of Islamic terrorists versus the West in a bombing plot designed to kill innocent Americans, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the details of the investigation but speaking on the condition of anonymity.

In a story that received virtually no media attention since the Saturday
lone suicide bombing” at the O.U. football stadium packed with 84,000 fans, details are emerging that a larger-scale Islamic terrorist operation was to revisit Americas heartland for the second time in a decade. Initially, the reports were conflicting, than were manipulated to downplay the threat posed to the backbone of Americana to avoid piercing the false veil of security due to the
apparent lack of any successful Islamic terrorist attacks on U.S. soil since
9/11.

The Northeast Intelligence Network has received exclusive information from reliable law enforcement sources that the explosion that killed 21 year-old O.U. student Joel Henry HINRICHS III was to be much larger and was part of a much more deadly planned attack targeting the fans in the packed stadium. In the style reminiscent of the blast at the Murrah building that killed 171 people on 19 April 1995, it was also confirmed that HINRICHS attempted to purchase a large quantity of the fertilizer ammonium nitrate, the very same compound that was used in the Ryder truck bomb just miles from where the Murrah building once stood, and a favorite bomb component used by Middle Eastern terrorists.

It appears that HINRICHS was part of a larger plan that included members of an Islamic terrorist cell based in and around the Norman and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma area. As a Caucasian, it was much easier for him to obtain the materials needed to create a large bomb, act in concert with members of the local terrorist cell, and strike when relative calm was the word of the day, stated this source.

The source added:
Federal authorities are investigating HINRICHS roommates, friends and companions, some from Pakistan, who were on a watch list of potential terrorists in that area. Sources of funding and financing are also under investigation, and arrests are very possible. Thankfully, more than a few things went wrong, but the failed plan left HINRICHS holding the bag in the end  literally, added this source.
Otherwise, we could have had a bombing on the scale of Oklahoma City in
1995.

10/5 2052HRS PST

Pictures of the Norman Mosque posted at Free Republic

10/5 2256HRS PST

NORMAN, Okla. — The president of an OU student organization said he believes Joel Henry Hinrichs III was neither a Muslim nor a visitor to local mosques.

Ashraf Hussein, the president of OUs Muslim Student Association, also confirmed that up to seven people were either questioned or detained regarding the bombing death of Hinrichs, a 21-year-old engineering student.

Hinrichs died Saturday night after a bomb he was supposedly carrying exploded while he sat on a bench next to George Lynn Cross Hall, about 100 yards from Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, where 84,000 people were watching a college football game.

While the incident and its investigation have spurred plenty of rumor and speculation, authorities have consistently maintained that there is no evidence Hinrichs belonged to an extremist organization.

On Tuesday, the owner of a Norman feed store acknowledged that Hinrichs came into Ellison Feed & Seed last week to inquire about ammonium nitrate fertilizer, which was an ingredient in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. However, Dustin Ellison said Hinrichs wasnt able to explain what he might want with the ammonium nitrate.

10/5 2357HRS PST

NORMAN – Police here last week missed a chance to investigate a University of Oklahoma student three days before he apparently blew himself up Saturday outside the universitys packed football stadium, The Oklahoman has confirmed.

Joel
Joe Henry Hinrichs III raised the suspicions of a Norman feed store manager and an off-duty Norman police officer Sept. 28 when he tried to buy the type of fertilizer used in the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.

The off-duty officer, who just happened to be in the store, was concerned enough about Hinrichs demeanor that he jotted down his license tag number and called the police department to check his identity, officials said.

Normal protocol is for that officer to submit an intelligence report when he comes back on duty, said Lt. Tom Easley, spokesman for the Norman Police Department.
My understanding is that when the officer did return to work, he did submit one,
but that was after the fact.

The bomb had already gone off.

Hinrichs, 21, is believed to have died in an explosion about 7:30 p.m. Saturday on a campus bench about 100 yards from Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Investigators are treating the death as a suicide. He was a junior engineering major.

Easley declined to release the intelligence report or name the officer who filed it, saying intelligence reports are confidential. A copy of the report was turned over the FBI, he said.

Dustin Ellison, general manager of Ellison Feed & Seed, said Hinrichs came to his store about 4 p.m. Sept. 28 and said he was looking for a particular kind of fertilizer called ammonium nitrate.

I told him I didnt have that, said Ellison, 25.

Ellison said he became suspicious when the young man couldnt answer the most simple questions, such as how much he wanted or what he planned to do with it.

I asked if he was trying to green up his yard, and he said, Something like that, Ellison said.

Hinrichs was wearing blue jeans, a T-shirt and a light green vest with a number of pockets on each side when he visited the store, Ellison said.

All the pockets were full, Ellison said, adding that he saw what appeared to be a wire with headphones attached protruding from one pocket.

I dont have any reason to believe it was anything other than that, he said.

Ellison said Hinrichs was alone and calm throughout his visit.

Hinrichs drove off in a blue Lincoln Towncar, Ellison said.

Ellison said FBI agents came by his store Sunday and he identified Hinrichs from photos.

Easley, the Norman police spokesman, said he is skeptical police could have stopped the bombing, even if they immediately had begun investigating when the officer first called in the license number.

Seventy-two hours on a piece of intelligence like that, I dont know what we could have done anyway, he said.

Officers could have used the tag number to get an address and then checked to see whether it was current, Easley said.

If they could identify a current address, they could have tried to question him, but that doesnt mean Hinrichs would have had to answer, he said.

Intelligence reports normally are forwarded to the police departments special operations unit, which categorizes them and decides what to do next, Easley said.

The unit deals mostly with drug investigations, so the information probably would have been forwarded to counter-terrorism officials to evaluate, he said.

Hinrichs Towncar remained outside his Norman apartment Wednesday.

The FBI apparently collected 13 plastic bottles, one car title and one insurance form from the car, according to paperwork on the front seat.

There also was a large atlas and several road maps on the front seat.

Cesar Robledo, Hinrichs next-door neighbor, said FBI agents questioned him about Hinrichs personality and habits, but didnt ask about his religion or any materials he may have taken into the house.

We always say, What do they do over there They dont talk to us, so we dont know, said Robledo, 22.
We have no idea whats on that side of the wall.

10/6 0606HRS PST

[These two items attributed to an email from a “state detective” – but in the guys first-person account, he says that Dustin Ellison is “my bosss son” – seems to me like Mr Ellison Sr probably owns the Feed&Seed store, but I suppose he *could* be some kind of state trooper officer AND own the seed store]

.”A customer came in Ellisons and asked about purchasing Ammonium Nitrate fertilizer. He asked Dustin how many bags he had…Dustin said 22 bags. The guy said he would take ALL OF IT.”

.”They found around 400 pounds of explosives in Mr. Hinrichs car and over 1,000 pounds in his apartment on campus.”

[This one from the same alleged email supposedly extracted from an FBI agent by Dustin Ellison while being interviewed]

.”Mr. Hinrich had been going to the Mosque around the corner from the apartment complex and had grown a beard and wearing a turban.”

10/6 0610HRS PST

Three Muslims living in the same apartment complex as Joel Hinrichs III, who died Saturday night in an apparent suicide explosion on campus, were handcuffed and questioned by law enforcement officers, the president of the Islamic Society of Norman said Wednesday.

Ashraf Hussein, a University of Oklahoma junior, said he learned of the handcuffing incident by talking to the three students.

“This has become a story about the Muslims,” said Hussein, who is distressed by the aftermath of the weekend tragedy.

Hinrichs roommate, Fazil M. Cheema, who is from Pakistan, was questioned by police earlier but apparently was not handcuffed.

Hussein said he chose not to reveal the names of the three Muslims, who were not Pakistanis. Hussein said Cheema was not a regular at the Islamic Center and that he was sure he had never seen Hinrichs there.

Hussein said he received a phone message from one of the three men who were questioned at the apartment building by law enforcement officers late Saturday or early Sunday. He said the officers apparently were FBI agents because the investigation had been turned over to that agency.

The Islamic Society president said he thought officers were probably being overly cautious about a possible Mideast connection, which Hussein said is unsettling to him.

FBI spokesman Gary Johnson declined any comment on the case Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Catherine Bishop, OU vice president of communications, said Wednesday that she has not been able to ascertain that any students had been handcuffed. Bishop said the school has done “everything we could to verify that arrests of students had occurred, but we havent found anything. This is not something we would keep from the public.”

Bishop said OU officials have spent considerable time tracking down rumors about Hinrichs death.

Several students who live at Parkview Apartments, where Hinrichs lived, were questioned, she said, but, to her knowledge, they were not detained or arrested.

Hussein said he did not know Cheema, who has moved out of Parkview Apartments and has located elsewhere in Norman. Cheema could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

A device attached to Hinrichs body exploded, killing the 21-year-old as he sat on a park bench about 100 yards from Memorial Stadium, where 80,000 fans were watching the OU-Kansas State football game.

10/6 1230HRS PST

Channel 9 news in OKC ran a story about bloggers covering the bombing. Flopping Aces was the featured blog mentioned at the end of the story. Check it out here: 

Flopping Aces is also mentioned in this segment.

10/6 1249HRS PST

This appears to be a letter written by the bombers father in Feb regarding the wackjob Ward Churchill:

Double standard rules speech at Boulder campus

University of Colorado faculty members are defending Ward Churchills right to free speech (Colleagues defend beleaguered CU prof, Metro, Feb. 2). Evidently they wish to ignore the difference between his right to say whatever he wants (a useful starting definition of free speech) and his entitlement to a professional position of trust.

Let someone with a visible position in business or government make a statement one-tenth as laughably jejune, hackneyed, insular, provincial and downright stupid, and the giant sucking sound that follows is the poor devils job/career imploding.

Yet at the university, where we send our brightest minds to learn critical thinking skills, we see a double standard predicated on confusing the freedom offered to all with a contrived immunity actively denied to every other occupation. Does tenure rightly need to protect provocative speech Of course it does. Does academia need, therefore, to be
Caesars wife, vigilant and above suspicion when it polices its own ranks Again, yes. Thats not Calpurnia we see up there, rearranging her smock and daring us to take note.

Was it that long ago that CUs football coach was made to sit in the corner and suffer a major time-out, dunce cap glued to his head, for making one off-the-cuff, unguarded remark about a rape victims poor performance as a kicker Ah, but thats different. Football is commercial speech, rather than ideological idiocy; in Boulder one is profane, the other sacred.

Joe Hinrichs

Colorado Springs

Sounds about right. Looks like the father has a good head on his shoulders.

10/6 1710HRS PST

NORMAN – Police here last week missed a chance to investigate a University of Oklahoma student three days before he apparently blew himself up Saturday outside the universitys packed football stadium, The Oklahoman has confirmed.

Joel
Joe Henry Hinrichs III raised the suspicions of a Norman feed store manager and an off-duty Norman police officer Sept. 28 when he tried to buy the type of fertilizer used in the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.

The off-duty officer, who just happened to be in the store, was concerned enough about Hinrichs demeanor that he jotted down his license tag number and called the police department to check his identity, officials said.

Normal protocol is for that officer to submit an intelligence report when he comes back on duty, said Lt. Tom Easley, spokesman for the Norman Police Department.
My understanding is that when the officer did return to work, he did submit
one, but that was after the fact.

The bomb had already gone off.

10/6 1940HRS PST

Dear OU Students, Faculty, and Staff,

I want to thank you again for your responsible and constructive reaction to the tragic event which occurred last Saturday evening. I appreciate the concern which many of you have expressed for the family and friends of the deceased.

Most of the news media, including our own OU Daily, and most citizens have responded very responsibly. Unfortunately, there are always a few who do not. Among the core beliefs which define us as Americans and which define us as members of the OU family from all backgrounds is a respect for others. 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. To rush to judge others or make assumptions about them on that basis is nothing short of prejudice. It has no place in America and it certainly has no place at the University of Oklahoma.

Unfortunately, we have seen examples of a rush to react in a manner not in keeping with our values in recent history. A reading of some media reports and comments from individuals made at the time of the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City is enlightening. Some quickly rushed to the conclusion that the bomber must have been a Middle Eastern terrorist. There were video shots of international students on Oklahoma campuses shown on news broadcasts as this speculation was reported. As we all now know, the person responsible was not someone from the Middle East but was Timothy McVeigh and at least one other American who assisted him. We can only hope that all of us, including some media outlets, would have learned from that recent rush to incorrect conclusions.

I have 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 OU community. They have kept me informed of the steps being taken in their investigation. You can be assured that if I receive any information to the contrary, I will immediately inform you and take steps to protect our community.

In fact, national law enforcement statistics compiled confirm that we have a low per capita crime rate. OU has long been dedicated to the safety of our students.

Thank you again for your help and understanding. Thank you for reaching out to the members of our OU family who have come from nations all over the world to let them know that they are valued and respected on this campus.

Rushing to judgments on the basis of race, religion, gender, or ethnicity, is not the OU or American way.

Sincerely,

David L. Boren OU President

10/6 1945HRS PST

10/6 2211HRS PST

Channel 11 KKTV out of Colorado Springs is reporting tonight that it was a “Remote-Controlled Device on his back”. Reported the blast could be heard for miles.

Im having trouble accessing the rest of the video. It stalls at about 1:20 into the video and continues without sound for me and the video doesnt play through getting a frame by frame advance like visual… the information posted above is reported in the first part.

The video report which is a 5:30 news broadcast with reporters Erica Brown and Eric Singer can be found in the “Featured Video” section on the right-hand side of this page:http://www.kktv.com. The title of the video itself is “Suicide Bomber Was From Colorado Springs”.

10/7 0313HRS PST

Not more than 100 yards from the Oklahoma-Kansas State football game on Saturday, OU student Joel Henry Hinrichs III, 21, blew himself up in what was initially believed to be a simple suicide. While his decision to kill himself seemed to match a personality friends and family describe as detached and strange, disturbing facts are beginning to emerge suggesting that Mr. Hinrichs had more sinister designs, like perhaps taking a few of the 84,000 nearby fans with him. Despite the absence of a suicide note, there is little doubt the troubled student intended to kill himself. His bizarre method, however, is more reminiscent of suicide bombers than suicidal students. For instance, at least one of the bomb components he used — triacetone triperoxide — was the same homemade substance used by Richard Reid, the so-called Shoe Bomber. The stuff is highly unstable. It can detonate if merely dropped, and experts say it can even explode spontaneously. The obvious questions arise: Why would someone choose to kill himself with this stuff, nicknamed the “Mother of Satan” by Islamists, if suicide were his sole purpose Did Mr. Hinrichs intend for the bombs to go off when they did, so close to a packed stadium Also, why carry it out as if in imitation of a suicide bomber Suicidal people of Mr. Hinrichs age, it is true, have a tendency for the dramatic, and perhaps that was Mr. Hinrichs only purpose here — to go out in such a way as to be remembered. But that still leaves open the question as to how he learned to make bombs in the first place.

(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com …

10/7 0420HRS PST

Just moments before Joel Henry Hinrichs III was blown up by the bomb attached to his body, he was approached by a man who tried to engage him in conversation. Hinrichs didnt respond and an instant later he was dead.

The individual who last saw Hinrichs released this statement to Tapscotts Copy Desk this morning. His identity and credibility have been established but at his request we are withholding his identity:

“There is a verse in the Bible found in Proverbs 3:5-6 It says:
Trust in the Lord with all thy heart and lean not on thy own understanding,
In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy path.

“Saturday night I walked out of the OU stadium with about three minutes left on the clock bringing the game to the half. I am a part-time driver for a bus company and decided to go back to the bus.

“Prior to leaving the game, I sat on a cart and chatted with one of the security guards and would catch a glimpse of the game on the Big screen at the South end of the field. When I decided to leave, I stopped and talked to a very tall gate keeper and another young lady who was also a security officer. I shared with them how great a part God has played in my life.

“From there, I proceeded to the Bus parking area. As I walked up to the buses, I stopped behind a gentleman sitting on the bench at the end of the last bus. I was looking for someone to talk to because that is just who I am.

“He appeared to me to be asleep, so I decided not to share with him about the beautiful new bus I was driving. It was then I made my way toward my bus. While walking, I heard another bus with its engine running and so I decided to see if I could find another driver.

“After taking just a few more steps, I was hit from behind with a huge concussion. It didnt knock me down but it did push me forward. When I turned around, I saw a huge plume of smoke rising from what seemed to me to be coming from the back of the last bus, so I immediately ran to see if there was any danger of a fire.

“When I got to the bus, I found nothing that indicated the bus had exploded. It was only after I turned around that I saw what had really happened. I have been instructed by the FBI not to give out any details of what I saw.

“At the time of the explosion, my ears were ringing and I was somewhat dazed at what had happened but I felt the young man was aware of my presence. It wasnt until Monday of the next week that the Lord revealed to me how he knew I was there.

“While mowing my yard, I was whistling a song our church choir had sung a few weeks back. The song was Great is the Lord. At that moment, I realized how truly God had directed my path. If I had not been whistling, this young man would have never known I was behind him. The last thing he heard was me whistling this tune.

“I dont know anything about this young man but this one thing I know, he was aware of my presence and for what ever reason chose not to harm me. There are a lot of unanswered questions and I have probably said more than the FBI wanted me to say but that is the rest of the story. It is not important to know who I am, but it is very important to understand Proverbs 3:5-6.

“There have been a lot of people trying to find out who I am and again that is not important but telling the story just as it is written is. If you print this article, I ask you to print it in its entirety.”

You can view the statement here.

10/7 0704HRS PST

NORMAN — An incident related by a ticket taker at Saturdays 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, thats 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 didnt 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 universitys 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

10/7 0801HRS PST

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 IIIs 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 FBIs joint terrorism task-force may be an indication that the FBI is considering the possibility of a wider conspiracy after all.

10/7 1124HRS PST

Oklahoma bombing search warrant sealed Justice Department requests action in case of jihad students suicide Posted: October 7, 2005

By Jayna Davis and Jon Dougherty  2005 WorldNetDaily.com

The warrant used to execute a search of Oklahoma University bomber Joel “Henry” Hinrichs IIIs apartment, where an undetermined amount of explosives were found, has been sealed by a federal court at the request of the Justice Department.

…Bob Troester, first assistance U.S. attorney in Oklahoma City, said the department requested the warrant be sealed, but declined to elaborate when asked why it was necessary to do so given previous media reports that a depressed Hinrichs acted alone and on a whim.

“You can draw whatever assumption you like,” he said. “We dont comment on any sealed indictments.”

Troester also said he could not divulge details about what items were found inside Hinrichs home, and he could not say if or when the warrant would be unsealed at some point in the future.

The attorney did confirm the incident was still “currently being investigated,” but again declined to provide any specifics.

As WorldNetDaily reported, investigators say they also found “Islamic jihad” material in Hinrichs apartment when they searched it. Hinrichs, it turns out, attended a mosque near his university-owned apartment  the same one attended by Zacharias Moussaoui, the only person charged in connection with the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Fertilizer buy goes awry

In another development, the feed-store owner who refused to sell Hinrichs fertilizer that can be used to fashion explosives says an off-duty Norman, Okla., police officer witnessed the attempted transaction.

Dustin Ellison, proprietor of Ellison Seed and Feed in Norman said the officer was standing no more than “two to three feet away” from him and Hinrichs when the former OU student attempted to buy ammonium nitrate  a principle ingredient in the bomb that destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City April 19, 1995  Sept. 29, just two days before committing suicide.

Ellison also told WND he informed Hinrichs the store didnt carry any ammonium nitrate and then asked Hinrichs why he needed it. The store owner says the OU junior, who was majoring in mechanical engineering, became visibly nervous, close-mouthed and stammering.

Ellison said the off-duty officer, who overheard his entire conversation with Hinrichs, proceeded to follow the OU student outside when he abruptly left the feed store, copied down his license plate number, then called it in on his cell phone to see if Hinrichs had any outstanding arrest warrants or was tied to other criminal activity.

The off-duty officer told dispatchers Hinrichs appeared “very suspicious” and that he had just attempted to “buy ammonium nitrate,” Ellison said.

Lt. Tom Easley, Norman Police Department public information officer, confirmed that the officer  whom he did not name  was indeed inside the feed store and was a witness to the conversation between the store owner and Hinrichs.

He also confirmed the officer ran Hinrichs license plate, and said the officer, who was scheduled to go on duty that same night at 11 p.m., came in a few hours early to discuss what he had seen with other patrol officers, in an attempt to figure how best to handle the information. The officer also reportedly briefed his entire patrol division that night, and filed a report with the department.

The next morning  a little more than 24 hours before Hinrichs killed himself  the officer then discussed the incident with department bomb technicians in an effort to get their assessment as to whether they believed it constituted a legitimate threat. What happened beyond that point remains unclear, however.

What is known is that the officer did not report his observations to the FBI until Sunday morning, several hours after Hinrichs was killed. Agents then contacted Ellison and got his story about Hinrichs attempted ammonium nitrate purchase.

Asked how the FBI made the connection to Hinrichs and the feed store so quickly, Easley told WND a bomb technician officer remembered what the off-duty officer had told him and put the two incidents together. That was also one reason why, sources said, investigators were able to identify Hinrichs so quickly after the bombing.

Easley said there wasnt much the department could do with the information in the short amount of time between the off-duty officers encounter and Hinrichs death.

As WorldNetDaily reported, some investigators familiar with the case said they suspected authorities might have had some kind of advanced warning or concern about a potential bombing incident, based on witness accounts of tighter-than-normal security at Saturdays football game.

However, so far there is no evidence to suggest authorities suspected Hinrichs had explosive devices or that he planned to detonate one at the game.

10/7 1215HRS PST

News report from KKTV where they say that Hinrichs had a homemade REMOTE CONTROLLED bomb strapped to his back.

10/7 1424HRS PST

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “NORMAN — An incident related by a ticket taker at Saturdays 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, thats 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 didnt 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 universitys athletic department.

Meanwhile, the FBI continued to have no new comments on the case Thursday.”

10/8 0016HRS PST

NORMAN – The FBI has finished a review of University of Oklahoma stadium surveillance tapes and did not spot student Joel
Joe Henry Hinrichs III trying to get inside, The Oklahoman has confirmed.

The OU junior died Oct. 1 when a bomb exploded about 100 yards from the football stadium.

Friday, a bus driver who was the last man to see Hinrichs alive released a statement saying Hinrichs appeared to be asleep on a bench when the driver walked by him just moments before the explosion.

After looking for another bus driver to visit, the driver took a few more steps and was
hit from behind with a huge concussion, he said in the statement released to KWTV NEWS 9s Tamara Pratt.

It didnt knock me down, but it did push me forward, said the driver, who asked to remain anonymous.
At the time of the explosion, my ears were ringing and I was somewhat dazed
at what had happened, but I felt the young man was aware of my presence.

Reflecting back on the event two days later, the driver said he recalled he had been whistling the song
Great is the Lord when he walked up on Hinrichs from behind.

He believes that was the last thing Hinrichs heard, and that for whatever reason, Hinrichs decided not to harm him.

At that moment, I realized how truly God had directed my path, he said.

After a week of investigation, the FBI and OU continue to treat the death as a suicide by a troubled loner, rather than a failed terrorist plot.

OU President David Boren announced Tuesday the FBI was reviewing tapes from cameras in and around the stadium. Sources told The Oklahoman on Friday the review is done and Hinrichs is not seen trying to enter.

The students bomb went off about 7:30 p.m., in the second quarter of OUs football game against Kansas State University before more than 80,000 fans. The blast sounded like loud thunder and could be heard clearly inside Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

Hinrichs, 21, an engineering major from Colorado, was not a football fan. An OU spokeswoman said Thursday that OU records do not reflect the sale of a ticket to that game to Hinrichs.

When the bomb exploded, Hinrichs was sitting on a bench outside George Lynn Cross Hall, OUs botany-microbiology building, officials said.

Boren said OU has surveillance cameras across campus but
we didnt have a camera positioned on the particular bench where this tragic
incident occurred.

An OU senior, Adam Smith, has said a stadium security guard told him the night of the blast that a young man had sprinted away from Gate 6 after refusing to let a backpack be searched.

OU spokeswoman Catherine Bishop said,
All I know is I have not heard that rumor validated anywhere.

The students father, Joel Hinrichs Jr., said the FBI has told him the bomb was made of concentrated hydrogen peroxide. Experts said explosives made with this common household disinfectant are highly unstable.

The younger Hinrichs lived near a Islamic mosque, had a roommate from Pakistan, had other explosives in his apartment and had tried to buy ammonium nitrate two days before the attack. Those circumstances as well as some news reports have fueled public concern that the bomb was part of a larger plot.

Boren addressed those concerns twice last week – the latest on Thursday.

I have been assured that law enforcement officials, including federal officials, have found no evidence of a conspiracy involving others which creates an ongoing threat to our OU community, Boren told students and faculty in a statement.
They have kept me informed of the steps being taken in their investigation.

10/8 1104HRS PST

Great opinion piece by Mark Tapscott from Tapscotts Copy Desk at Townhall.com:

It was only hours after Joel Henry Hinrichs III blew himself up Oct. 1 near 84,000 football fans at the University of Oklahoma when federal officials claimed he was just a troubled young man with no links to terrorists.

But then yesterday the U.S. Department of Justice asked a federal court in Oklahoma City to seal the search warrant officials there used to get into the apartment Hinrichs shared with three or four students described by neighbors as
Arab-looking men.

If Hinrichs acted alone and had no links to terrorists organizations or activities, why seal the search warrant What did investigators find in Hinrichsapartment that they dont
want the public to know

Thats an especially important question considering what was already known when Justice sealed the warrant. For example, media reports confirmed by Oklahoma law enforcement sources said investigators found bomb-making materials in the 21-year-old University of Oklahoma engineering students apartment.

It was also known that the bomb that killed Hinrichs was made with
Mother of Satan, the same extremely volatile chemical explosive used by Richard Reid, the
Shoe Bomber who tried to blow up a commercial airliner a few years ago.

We knew as well that two days before he blew himself up, Hinrichs tried to buy ammonium nitrate from a local feed store. The store owner, who became suspicious when Hinrichs couldnt give a satisfactory answer for why he wanted the fertilizer that was a main ingredient in the bomb that destroyed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City April 19, 1995, prevented him from doing so.

Finally, it was known that Al Qaeda has been talking since before May 2005 about launching an October offensive in the United States to coincide with the holiest of Muslim holidays, Ramadan. Oct. 5 was the first fast day of Ramadan.

So there is no surprise that the more officials with the FBI and the Joint Task Force on Terrorism deny Hinrichs had any terrorist ties, the more holes appear in the
lone bomber scenario first hastily offered by OU President David Boren. Boren is a former U.S. senator who chaired the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence when he retired from government in 1994.

Start with the actual holes made in the bark of a tree near the bench where Hinrichs was sitting when he died. The holes appear to have been made by ball bearings or perhaps nails, the very objects typically used by Middle Eastern terrorists bombers to inflict the most widespread possible damage, injury and death.

Heres
another hole: Hinrichs registered his car in Oklahoma in June of this year,
but only for nine months ending in February 2006. The June registration
could be explained by his going to summer school, but the February
expiration date would fall in the early weeks of what would have been his
spring semester at OU. Did he know months ago that he would not be around by
the time February rolled around next year

Speaking of his car, federal investigators gave it the once-over but then left it in the parking lot of the apartment complex where Hinrichs lived with three or four Muslim students. By the way, the Muslim Students Association office is across the street from the apartment complex, as is the mosque attended by alleged 9/11
20th hijacker Zacarias Moussaoui while he was attending a local flight school.

Not only did investigators not impound Hinrichs car, they also left out in plain sight on the vehicles front seat the Justice Department inventory of things they found in it, including 13 plastic bottles.

The bottles werent described, nor did the inventory indicate whether any of them had anything in them. However, plastic bottles are often associated with bomb makers who find the containers suitable for transporting volatile chemical explosives.

The most disturbing hole, though, is the letter intercepted by U.S. intelligence last May from Iraq terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to Osama bin Laden describing a
Great Ramadan Offensive. The offensive was described as a series of spectacular attacks in the U.S. and elsewhere during Ramadan, which is in October.

Was the OU stadium bombing intended as the first of those attacks

The foregoing is only a sampling of the numerous facts turned up in the week since Hinrichs died by yours truly and other bloggers, including Generation Why, Zombietime, Flopping Aces and The Jawa Report.

Without these bloggers ignoring the accepted version of Joel Henry Hinrichs grisly death and forcing the mainstream media to take notice of an immensely important story, odds are good we would find out too late just how important a story it is.

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