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One person died in an explosion about 100 yards from a full football stadium on the University of Oklahoma campus Saturday. Authorities suspect the bombing, which occurred during the second quarter of the Oklahoma-Kansas State game, was a suicide.
While the explosion is still under "intense" investigation, federal authorities believe the body from the crime scene is that of 21-year-old Joel Henry Hinrichs III. Hinrichs was an electrical engineering junior at OU and a Triangle Fraternity member. He lived in a university-owned apartment complex within walking distance to campus.
Parkview Apartments, where Hinrichs lived, and Ashley Apartments near the OU campus were evacuated at 7 a.m. Sunday due to a possible connection with Saturday's suicide, The Oklahoma Daily reported. Evacuees were taken to local hotels.
There were no additional casualties nor injuries as a result of the bombing and no major damage was done to OU property, according to FBI spokesman Gary Johnson.
The bomb detonated in a courtyard near George Lynn Cross Hall, OU's botany-microbiology building, three minutes before halftime, said Johnson. It occurred near OU's equivalent to the UT Main Mall, a high-traffic area of campus where many of OU's main buildings and shuttle bus stops are located.
No OU shuttles were near the South Oval at the time of the explosion, because they do not operate on game days, said Theta Dempsey, director of OU's Parking and Transportation Services.
Aaron Friedman, an OU psychology sophomore who was in the stadium at the time of the incident, said he did not hear the explosion but many people around him claimed to have heard a thunder-like noise.
The stadium was not evacuated because "at no time was anyone in the stadium in danger," OU President David Boren said in a statement.
The Oklahoma Memorial Stadium was locked down during halftime and some areas to the west of the stadium were blocked off after the game. With the exception of the halftime lockdown and two safety announcements, which did not reveal that a bombing had occurred, the game resumed, with OU winning 43-21.
"There's always like, a ton of chaos before and after the game," said Friedman. "By the time we left there was still a bunch of rumors."
Students at the game weren't initially alarmed by the explosion, because it occurred near the west end of the stadium, and the student section is on the east end, said Friedman, who did not learn of the bombing until he saw the news on television.
Classes resumed as usual on the OU campus today, according to Boren.
A bomb sweep of the stadium was conducted prior to the game with the help of a trained bomb dog team, Boren said. After the initial detonation, no additional explosives were uncovered by law enforcement officers and bomb experts who searched and secured the nearby garages and surrounding areas.
"We have no information that suggests that there is any additional threat posed by others related to this incident," said the FBI.
The explosion is under investigation by the FBI, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the OU Police Department, the Norman Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office, according to an FBI statement. The Oklahoma State Medical Examiner's Office is conducting the autopsy of the body.
It has not yet been determined how the bombing may affect this week's rivalry match between OU and the Longhorns at the Oct. 8 Red River Shootout, but officials do not suspect that there was a correlation between the football game and the bombing.
"It doesn't appear to have any relation to the game other than the fact that it's in proximity to the stadium," said OU's Assistant Athletics Director Kenny Mossman. The OU football team has not received any threats, he said.
The Red River matchup takes place in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl Stadium annually. Security will be handled by Cotton Bowl officials and the University of Texas, because it is the home team this year, said Catherine Bishop, spokeswoman for the OU Police Department.
Preliminary precautions are always taken to prevent people from bringing weapons into the Cotton Bowl stadium, said Sgt. Gil Cerda, supervisor for the Dallas Police Department's media relations.
There will be a security meeting for Saturday's game in Dallas early this week, according to Nick Voinis, UT senior associate athletics director.
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