2005 University of Oklahoma Bombing - Initial Events

Initial Events

Shortly before halftime of the Saturday evening game between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Kansas State Wildcats, spectators inside the stadium heard an explosion. The explosion was reported as being heard up to five miles away, but people on the east side of the stadium heard only a rumble like a low-volume thunder, of the type that signals impending rain. A few heard nothing. Spectators were not allowed to leave the stadium at half-time, which caused concern among fans who did hear the explosion. No stadium announcements were made until the third and fourth quarters of play, when bus drivers were asked to leave the stadium and meet at the northwest corner of the Asp Avenue Parking Facility. During the last six minutes of the game, an announcement was made over the public address system in the stadium and over local radio to exit through the south and east gates and to avoid the area, known to students and fans as the South Oval, west of the stadium. No further explanations were given to game attendees because university officials "didn't want to start any kind of panic." "Everyone in my section heard it. We looked to the opposite side of the field though thinking it was thunder. Me and my family were gonna go to the university bookstore after the game but the direction we had to go was blocked by caution tape. We knew something was up and got out of there ASAP." said a Sooner fan.

First reports said the incendiary device was made with hydrogen peroxide. The initial accounts also indicated a second bomb was found, but these accounts were false. The area was searched by bomb-sniffing dogs, and no more explosives were found. The remains of the backpack contained a circuit board, wires, and a battery; a small explosive was used to safely detonate it at about 9:00 p.m. Other items at the bomb site included a crescent wrench, a white sock with protruding wires, a screwdriver, unused wooden matches, and a chemistry book.

Following the bomb explosion, the entire South Oval was marked as off-limits with crime scene tape. Fans exited the stadium at the conclusion of the game without incident. The South Oval was open the next afternoon except for the immediate area of the explosion, so a broken glass door could be replaced and firefighters could finish spraying down the area with water to wash debris, chemicals and bodily fluids away from the sidewalk and a bus parked there before the preceding day's game. Classes resumed as normal on Monday.