Oklahoma's Latest Bomber and the Press

Mark Tapscott notes that the Oklahoma would-have-been homicide bomber, Joel Hinrichs, was known to the Norman Police Department.

Norman, Oklahoma, feed store owner Dustin Ellison's Sept. 28 encounter with University of Oklahoma suicide bomber Joel Henry Hinrichs was witnessed by a plain-clothes police officer who happened to be in the store at the time, Tapscott's Copy Desk has learned.

Ellison declined to sell any of the fertilizer [ammonium nitrate, which Ellison says that Hinrichs attempted to buy on the date in above; the bomb that blew Hinrichs up used hydrogen peroxide] , which was a main ingredient used in the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Hinrichs could not explain why he wanted to buy a large amount of the fertilizer. Ellison recorded the license plate number of Hinrichs' car as he drove away.

Mainstream media in OK confirm this. Read this one and the rest of Mark’s posts on the bombing “accident.”

Additionally, Hinrichs had tried to enter the stadium during the OU-KSU football, but ran away when authorities requested to search his backpack.

If it walks like a duck…

What can we speculate from this incident? If all the previously reported information is true, then some Islamist elements are inculcating non-traditional (read: white/Hispanic American-born) converts into their ideology. Hinrichs was known to be a book-smart loner with emotional problems (according to his own father); a ripe pick for any creed that might give a semblance of direction and structure to a world that such a person—especially a young one—might find frustrating; the old “order out of chaos” phenomenon.

Did Hinrichs detonate on purpose? That’s something that we’ll never know, obviously, but something to consider. He was depressed already and when he failed to reach his target, he might have felt like even more of a failure. And since he just happened to have a bomb in his backpack, why not?

(I shudder at the depths of despair that people like Hinrichs experience; Hell on Earth. The Evil One whispers all manner of lies into the ears of the depressed. I know.)

And, what of more nationally-known elements of the press? The reluctance to report on this story could stem from the fact that no one but the bomber was hurt. If this is the reason that little information is forthcoming from, say, the New York Times regarding Hinrichs, then it is a short-sighted decision. As I said earlier, this is the second suicide-bomber incident on American soil in four years and that is no minor incident to relelgated “National Briefings” section of the so-called Paper of Record. We all need to be mindful of what can happen every time a large crowd gathers and authorities--public and private--need to be thinking about, re-thinking and implementing security measures.

If the mainstream media thinks that it has responsibilities toward the public, one of them, IMO, is to get information out that helps keep the public safe. Perhaps these entities are hesitant after the Katrina reporting fiasco—believing authority figures, who, by virtue of their office, should know what’s going on. If, that’s the case, however, they are swinging too far in the other direction: they’re not reporting at all!

Sorry, NYT, but we need to know about incidents like the one that occurred in Norman, OK this past weekend. Report on it; but don’t be lazy like you were during Katrina. It shouldn’t be too difficult to verify information, put out a disclaimer or, at the very least, issue a correction. You folks are doing that last all the time anyway.

(Thanks to Michelle Malkin)

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Splodey Chronicles

UPDATE AND RELATED: NYC is under terror alert for a threatened subway bombing.

NEW YORK - Authorities stepped up mass transit security Thursday after receiving a credible threat that the city's subway system could be the target of a terrorist attack in coming days.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said at a news conference the threat originated overseas. Bloomberg said it was the most specific threat New York officials had received to date. He said no one in New York has been arrested.
A law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the threat is "specific to place, time and method" and involves a bombing.

Comments

[justin]

I would guess that the NYT didn't give the story prominence because it really isn't that important of a story (yet--obviously, more information could come out). Just because someone wants to blow themselves up and take out other people, that does not mean that there is any connection with terrorism of the Al Quade/McVeigh sort, and it would be irresponsible for the NYT to suggest otherwise. For now, it just seems like a disturbed young man who wanted to committ suicide, and possibly homicide (murder-suicides are unfortunately not that rare, and don't merit extensive coverage by the NYT).

[teal marie]

Ramadanmit all.
You take care anyway, Justin.

[Tully]

For some reason, law enforcement in the Oklahoma City area (yes, that includes Norman, OK) takes the threat of terrorist attacks seriously.

The "disturbed young man who wanted to commit suicide" had some interesting connections. And trying to purchase ammonium nitrate is certain to raise suspicion in the OKC area for the precise reason that it's what McVeigh used. Would that make it a connection to "terrorism of a McVeigh sort"?

Video from the local TV station here at Ox Rant. Check it out.

[Casey Tompkins]

Jules,

I have a sneaking suspicion it wasn't deliberate. You see, the explosive material in the bomb is so unstable it's been known to spontaneously explode. Just don't ask me which article provided that info! I got it from a link here, or at Michelle's, or Captain Ed's, or... :)

[torchy]

That's why I perfer teh term homocide bomber instead of suicide bomber, Eliminates the hair splitting of media reports. He tried to enter the stadium with the device, it was compoed of "peroxide" aka TATP, the same substance shoe-bomber Richard Reid and the July 7th Tube bombers used. I read the local story last week and they also focussed on the suicide angle, maybe it was to protect ongoing investigations. Apparently he blew up near the Visting teams bus, another a source of mass casualties. I agree, Miss Juliette, even if it barely smells like a duck we have to err on the side of caution.

[Justin]

Aren't pretty much all bombers homocide bombers, but only a smaller subset suicide bombers? Seems to be a less accurate way to describe it to me. The fact that our enemy is crazy enough to strap explosives to him/herself is a relevant piece of informtion.

[baldilocks]

Dang, Justin. You is skerrin' me!
(I agree with you.)

;-)

[Justin]

Dang, Justin. You is skerrin' me!
(I agree with you.)

Wow, I just looked at my window and saw a pig fly. ;-)