Comments on: No Shrapnel At Hinrichs’ Explosion Site

By: Alec

Alec — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 19:26:18 +0000

This is you idea of a closeup?

By: Allen

Allen — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 11:36:50 +0000

Hi Susan,

I also noticed the matches, but found them only in the area of the tree. Given that the sulphur in the match-heads would probably burn up in any sort of explosion, I figured they were left there after the explosion. Plus I would imagine the FBI/OUPD/Norman PD would have gathered them up as evidence if they had been there originally.

And directorblue, I really don’t want OUPD coming down on me because I am sticking a screwdriver into a tree and digging around. I’m satisfied that there is no shrapnel and don’t feel the need. Perhaps I can locate another tree of the same species and see if there are holes in it as well. If so, that leads more credence to my supposition that it is merely insect damage.

As a note, there was one other person in the area (originally across the street) taking pictures with her camera phone. After I was apparently bold enough to take the photos, she started getting closer and taking pictures as well.

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 00:26:22 +0000

I have also looked at the area where the explosion took place. I did not have a camera with me. I did see about three areas on the tree that looked like a small piece of the bark might have been knocked off. It did not look like the bark on the tree had been shredded by metal. There were about 10 matches on the ground directly under the tree. I wondered if they could have been blown there by the force of the explosion. There were no matches by the new bench. Actually, the area was cleaned up so well you would never have guessed an explosion had occured at that site.

By: directorblue

directorblue — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 00:00:11 +0000

Thanks for the legwork.

If you have a little extra time, a screwdriver and a little elbow grease might prove or disprove the theory. If someone happens to dislodge a piece of twisted metal from one of the three holes visible in the top photo…

By: MikeyMike

MikeyMike — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 21:03:51 +0000

BTW, I believe this is a fairly important item, as one would imagine that a HOMICIDE bomber would defiantly make the effort to wrap shrapnel around the explosive to make it more lethal…whereas a SUICIDE bomber wouldn’t.

By: OKIE on the LAM - In LA

OKIE on the LAM - In LA — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 21:02:27 +0000

No Schrapnel at the Hinrichs’ Explosion Site?

We passed along the information last week that it was suspected that some metallic objects had been in the explosive device that Joel Hinrichs used to kill himsef a week ago Saturday outside the University of Oklahoma stadium while 84,000+ were inside …

By: Tapscott's Copy Desk

Tapscott's Copy Desk — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 18:57:16 +0000

There ARE Holes in the Hinrichs Tree at OU

After reading Acorns’ post, closely examining the photos of the tree on his site and talking with my researchers in Norman, I stand by my previous post. There are indeed numerous holes in the tree, just as Tapscott’s Copy Desk described them, and the…

By: MikeyMike

MikeyMike — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 16:55:34 +0000

Excellent work. I proposed that someone do exactly what you did in some comments at Tapscott’s Copy Desk. This is pretty good evidence that there were no bearings or nails attached to the bombs (unless it was packed with very few). Although there are still a lot of unanswered questions and coincidences, I am leaning a bit more to the suicide scenario pushed by the FBI.