A hat tip to the indefatigable Michelle Malkin, who has a link to this incredible story from Oklahoma City's KOCO-TV.
You may remember University of Oklahoma student Joel Hinrichs III. On October 1, 2005, Hinrichs died outside the football stadium on the OU campus, when his home made bomb detonated. Now, the university has erected a memorial to Hinrichs, placing a paving stone engraved with his name outside the student union. Hinrichs' father, who lives in Denver, has offered to pay for the stone (which normally costs $150), but so far, he hasn't received a bill. In fact, the elder Hinrichs told KOCO that the university offered to have the stone placed.
Officially, the university ruled that Hinrichs' death was an "accidental suicide." However, readers will recall that Hinrichs had ties to the local Muslim community, and that at least one Norman police official believed that he intended to enter the stadium before detonating the device. It's also worth remembering that the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force took charge of the investigation only hours after Hinrichs killed himself, rather odd for a suicide case. Eventually, the agency announced that Hinrich's act was, in fact, a lone suicide, and not an act of terrorism.
But there are a number of unanswered questions about the Hinrichs case, as detailed in past posts by Michelle and Mark Tapscott, and others. Now, it seems that someone should ask who at OU had the "inspiration" to honor Mr. Hinrichs, a disturbed and dangerous young man (at best), or a potential suicide bomber (at worst). It would also be informative to know who paid for the memorial stone, since Hinrichs' father has not been billed.
An "accidental" suicide? Does this mean one is trying to hang one's self, but slips off the stool and stumbles through a window, plummeting to a grisly death, before securing the noose so as to have a "non-accidental" suicide?
ReplyDeleteTrog--Like you, I'm amazed at the linguistic gymnastics inherent in that statement. There is ample evidence that Mr. Hinrichs tried to enter OU stadium before killing himself, and other elements of the case have never been satisfactorily explained, either.
ReplyDeleteFor example, Hinrich's immediate friends at OU were almost all from the Middle East, and his roomate was a Pakistani. Nothing illegal about that, but what do we know about their affiliations? A number of terror experts have identified central Oklahoma as a hotbed of Islamic extremism. Is there any connection between those radicals, and the circle Hinrichs moved in at OU.
Additionally, there were reports that an OU engineering professor (of Algerian descent) bought a one-way arline ticket to his home country, with a scheduled departure the day after Hinrichs killed himself. Conicidence? Perhaps, but (again) there's never been any explanation any ties (or the lack thereof) between that professor and Mr. Hinrichs.
And now, we have someone anonmyously honoring Hinrichs. A number of college students kill themselves each year, and are not "honored" by their college or university. Yet, someone plunked down $150 to recognize Mr. Hinrichs, and it apparently wasn't his family. IMO, that little "gift" requires further explanation.
Spook,
ReplyDeleteIf the police report is available, it may be worth looking at whether they distinguish between cause of death (i.e., the mechanics of how the person was killed such as shooting, hanging, etc.) and the manner of death, which usually distinguishes between natural, accident, suicide, and homicide. Didn't this guy blow himself up? Strange to characterize making a bomb, putting it on, and detonating it as an "accident."
Perhaps Hinrich was joing a secret society of assassins, and this was part of the initiation rites. In such a scenario, he would have blown himself up, and yet it wasn't suicide.
ReplyDelete/I'm feeling very skeptical today