- It still doesn’t explain why Hinrichs inquired about purchasing ammonium nitrate just days before the bombing. If he had “an interest in explosives since he was a boy” surely he would’ve known how powerful ammonium nitrate could be in a bomb… and therefore could assume a bomb made with such might harm others in the area of an explosion.

- And what about this from an article few days after the bombing:

Hinrichs said his son did not leave a suicide note and that FBI agents told him hydrogen peroxide was used to construct the bomb.

Why did the father say there was no suicide note? By then, the FBI had searched the apartment and spoken with the dad. (They told him about the bomb components) The only logical explanation would be that they found the note and didn’t tell him about it (why?) or they hadn’t seen it yet (though it was on the computer screen and wouldn’t have been hard to find)…

UPDATE: Maybe this is why Hinrichs’ father said there was no note: The Tulsa News reported on October 4 that “Hinrichs says he told the FBI his son was disengaged from politics and says agents told him they did not find a suicide note.”

Things still don’t quite add up, and I’m going to wait to hear and see more before I deem this case closed.

A few more things to consider…

Just two months before Joe Hinrichs blew himself up near a packed football stadium, another OU student tried to carry a pipe bomb onto an airplane.

Also, don’t forget that Boren has been President of OU since 1994. Before the Murrah bombing and while all the 9/11 terrorists were frolicking around his neighborhood. Maybe he’s feeling some personal responsibility and doesn’t want the world to know it’s happening again around him.

He told party activists he would accept a draft nomination in the 2000 election as a Reform Party Candidate and probably has some aspirations for the White House. But being so aloof of terrorists running around your neighborhood wouldn’t bode very well.

And Mark did some digging on a guy who keeps showing up quoted in articles about Hinrichs.

Hinrichs, an engineering student, has tentatively been identified as the student who died Oct. 1 in an explosion on a campus bench, about 100 yards from OU’s packed football stadium. Investigators found identification on the body, but the state medical examiner is waiting for the results of DNA tests before positively identifying Hinrichs as the victim.

“We know that he has had what I would call emotional difficulties in the past,” Boren said. “There is certainly no evidence at this point which points to any other kind of motivation other than his personal problems.”

I mean seriously, the wackos they source for stories…

Student’s Suicide

Sets Off Explosion

Of Theories by Blogs
By RYAN CHITTUM and JOE HAGAN

Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

October 13, 2005; Page B1

…Many of the bloggers who have commented on the case said they were made suspicious by the involvement of the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force in the investigation, as well as by the authorities’ swift dismissal of a terrorist connection. “It leads me to believe that there’s some sort of concerted effort to keep this quiet as long as possible,” says Jason Smith, a legal consultant outside Houston who blogs as Texas Rainmaker…

A September 8, 2005 report, based on a May 30, 2005 letter from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to Osama bin Laden warns of Al Qaeda’s plans for a series of spectacular terrorist strikes in October.

Al Qaeda’s plans for a series of spectacular terrorist strikes in October, targeting American interests as well as U.S. allies in Europe and the Middle East and said to be coordinated by Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenant in Iraq - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi — are the subject of a non-public report issued by terrorism experts this week.

The attacks, planned to coincide with the Muslim observance of Ramadan and dubbed the “Great Ramadan Offensive,” are designed to create a “fateful confrontation” with the U.S. and Israeli forces in the Middle East, according to a May 30 letter from Zarqawi to bin Laden. The contents of the letter are referenced in the report written by Yossef Bodansky, the former director of the U.S. Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare.

Details of the planned attacks were pieced together from intercepted communications between top al Qaeda leaders in the latter part of August, analysis of what counter- terrorism experts described as a dramatic increase in the volume of communication among jihad forces and the observation of an unprecedented movement of jihadists and messengers around the world apparently delivering instructions. …

The marked increase in the volume of communication, both encrypted and open, exceeded that of the months prior to September 2001, the report states.

Indonesia said Sunday it suspected two fugitives linked to al-Qaida had masterminded the suicide bombings of crowded restaurants in tourist resorts on the Indonesian island of Bali which killed at least 26 people and injured more than 100.

Suicide bomber detonates near football stadium packed with 84,000 people. Details emerging that may point to terrorism.

The New York Police Department is investigating what it deems a credible [but unverified] tip that 19 operatives have been deployed to the city to place bombs in the subway, and security in the subways will be increased, sources told ABC News.

Confederate Yankee is live-blogging the NYC event. One thing I noticed, though on the clip he posted from ABC is that they’ve apparently changed the text of the 5th paragraph since he posted it:

According to sources in intelligence, emergency services and police headquarters, when three Iraqi insurgents were arrested several days ago during a raid by a joint FBI-CIA team, one of those caught disclosed the threat. Because it slipped out during the arrest, the plot was deemed credible.

…now says:

According to sources in intelligence, emergency services and police headquarters, the intelligence community developed information that the threat may have involved pharmacists from Iraq coming to New York for some kind of chemical attack targeting the subways. Three insurgents, one or more of whom are pharmacists, were arrested during a raid by a U.S. military and intelligence community team, sources said, and one of those caught disclosed the threat. Because it slipped out during the arrest, the plot was deemed credible.

First, it’s much more significant with the specific information about the pharmacists and possible chemical attack. Second, it’s interesting how they removed the reference to the “joint FBI-CIA” team’s success in capturing these guys and getting this information. Afterall, if Jamie Gorelick were still in charge, they would’ve never been working together, much less sharing any information. Wow… CY just posted his update that noted the exact same thing. Great minds!

10/11/05 UPDATE: The NYC threat was a hoax, according to the informant that gave the tip. Or is the “hoax” admission another step in calming fears before the real strike? Who knows?

October 6, 2005 - Another college, another large crowd, another possible bomb threat? (and note the ironic album title they’re currently promoting). The Rolling Stones’ concert at the University of Virginia was interrupted Thursday night while several police officers and three bomb-sniffing dogs searched the stage. … The Rolling Stones are touring North America to promote their latest album, “A Bigger Bang.” Maybe it’s an isolated prank.

October 7, 2005: And another. (hat tip: Indepundit) A man who fatally shot himself in his University City condominium during a standoff with San Diego police was identified Saturday as 29-year-old student Khaled Yasufi. When officers made entry after a standoff of about six hours, a chemical lab was found in the bathroom of the condo, police said. Maybe it’s an isolated drug lab.

: Yet another college campus, yet another explosive device. Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad inspected and detonated an explosive device found near the UCLA campus. Maybe it’s an isolated prank.

October 10, 2005: “Terrorist act at Georgia Tech” - Three explosive devices found in a courtyard between two Georgia Tech dormitories on the East Campus Monday morning were part of a “terrorist act,” an Atlanta police official said. One of the devices exploded, injuring the custodian who found them inside a plastic bag. Two others were detonated by a bomb squad. Maybe it’s an isolated prank. Update: Thankfully, this one was and the idiot responsible has been arrested.

Meanwhile, of course, left-wing blogs “question the timing.” I really want these people to decide if terrorism is a real threat or a fictitious one. If it’s the latter, don’t blame Bush the next time terror strikes, as you are on record as deeming it a phantasmal fear. If it’s the former, then shut the fuck up when prudent steps are taken to thwart potential attacks.

Details are still emerging on the story of the suicide bombing Saturday night just 100 yards from 84,000 football fans attending the OU-Kansas State game. Authorities are still just calling it a simple suicide, but the information coming out seems to paint a much more sinister picture.

7. He used the same explosives as shoe-bomber Richard Reid. The explosive, called “Mother of Satan”, by Islamist extremists, has rarely been used in the US! (hat tip: Gateway Pundit)

8. Update 10/07/05 - The Justice Dept. is moving to seal the search warrant. Why?

19. In or about early July 2000, Mohammed Atta (#11) and Marwan al-Shehhi (#175) visited the Airman Flight School in Norman, Oklahoma.

34. On or about September 29, 2000, ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI contacted Airman Flight School in Norman, Oklahoma using an e-mail account he set up on September 6 with an internet service provider in Malaysia.

45. On or about February 26, 2001, ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI opened a bank account in Norman, Oklahoma, depositing approximately $32,000 cash.

46. Between on or about February 26, 2001, and on or about May 29, 2001, ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI attended the Airman Flight School in Norman, Oklahoma, ending his classes early.

48. In or about March 2001, ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI joined a gym in Norman, Oklahoma.

53. In or about June 2001, in Norman, Oklahoma, ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI made inquiries about starting a crop dusting company.

65. Between on or about July 29 and August 2, 2001, in Norman, Oklahoma, ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI made several telephone calls from public telephones to a number in Duesseldorf, Germany (”German Telephone # 2″).

Let’s not forget this area has been a target before. Mark wrote about this weeks ago. Maybe it’s time you read The Third Terrorist.

I hope this was just a sick, twisted kid.

Update: Welcome Instapundit readers. Please take a moment to look around while you’re here.

Update 2: Mark Tapscott has new information about the contents of Hinrichs’ car and the area surrounding the bomb site.

Among the items listed on the inventory are “13 plastic bottles” in the trunk. … a tree near where Hinrichs’ bomb detonated displays a number of small round holes and some areas of a metallic substance. The holes and substance are only on the side facing the bench on which Hinrichs was seated when the bomb detonated. The holes appear to be about the size of the head of 16 penny nail… One of Hinrichs’ neighbors told Tapscott’s Copy Desk today that he believed Hinrichs lived with “three or four Arab guys.”

Update 3: OU President Boren said, “Prior to the game, the entire stadium was swept by the expert bomb teams with the help of dogs.” Was this just standard operating procedure, or had there been a threat?

Update 4: Here’s another good roundup.

Update 5: News9 is reporting, “One OU senior, Adam Smith, of Oklahoma City, however, said a stadium guard Saturday night told him �a guy had sprinted off� outside Gate 6 after refusing to let his backpack be searched. There have been reports Hinrichs had a backpack with him when the bomb went off.”

Update 6: Here are some communications during the event:

• 911 Call - heard the blast over 2 miles away.
• 911 Call from within the stadium.
• Another 911 Call from within the stadium.
• Police radio communications during the response - Command center personnel heard the blast over a mile away.

Update 7: Related story? Another college, another large crowd, another threat of bombs?

The Rolling Stones’ concert at the University of Virginia was interrupted Thursday night while several police officers and three bomb-sniffing dogs searched the stage.

Update 8: And another? Yet another college campus, yet another explosive device. Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad inspected and detonated an explosive device found near the UCLA campus.

Update 9: And still another? Three explosive devices found in a courtyard between two Georgia Tech dormitories on the East Campus Monday morning were part of a “terrorist act,” an Atlanta police official said. One of the devices exploded, injuring the custodian who found them inside a plastic bag. Two others were detonated by a bomb squad. Reports are that the devices were “fashioned from plastic bottles” - remember the inventory of OU bomber, Joel Hinrich’s car included 13 plastic bottles.

Update 10: SeeBS seems to be trying to justify its lack of coverage. They’re all over the stories of “Christian fundamentalists” planting bombs at abortion clinics. Are they afraid of this one because the evidence thus far may point to a muslim-based fanatic? Is this political correctness run amok?