Who planted the bomb?

Clues include 911 call, bomb fragments, photographs

July 27, 1996
Web posted at: 2:40 p.m. EDT

ATLANTA (CNN) -- The FBI and CIA as well as state and local officials are examining clues in the Olympic park bombing-- including bomb fragments, a 911 call, eyewitness accounts and tourist photographs.

In a briefing Saturday afternoon, FBI agent Woody Johnson called the bomb "improvised" and "homemade." A bomb disposal team called to the scene when a suspicious knapsack was discovered had time to open it and see "wires and what appeared to be a pipe" before the explosion, Johnson said.

A law enforcement source in Washington told CNN that there were three pipe bomb devices taped together in the bag that exploded. The devices were approximately 2x10 inches of galvanized pipe with threaded ends with end caps attached, the source said. It is not clear if all of them exploded. A call to the emergency 911 number received shortly before the bomb went off is considered a key piece of evidence. Johnson said the caller appeared to be a "white male with an indistinguishable (American) accent" and did not claim to speak for any group.

Investigators traced the call to a bank of phones on a street near the park and dusted them for fingerprints.

Police also developed film from tourists and cameramen on the scene in the search for possible suspects and leads. The FBI set up a toll-free phone number -- (800) 905-1514 -- for members of the public who felt they had information on the bombing. Johnson asked anyone who took pictures at the park anytime after 10 p.m. Friday to make them available to investigators.

Agents with the FBI, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and Atlanta police interviewed possible witnesses from the park. A source told CNN that so far eyewitness accounts have turned up no suggestion of unusual, suspicious individuals.

The sources said that while there is no obvious link to an organization calling itself the Georgia Militia, authorities are looking closely at the group. Members of the militia were arrested in April for allegedly planning to build pipe bombs. There was nothing to tie them to any plot against the Olympics.

A source familiar with the investigation said officials are treating the bombing as a domestic act of terrorism at this time. A senior U.S. intelligence official told CNN that the CIA's Counter-Terrorism Center "is following every lead we can, to see what we can pick up." The official declined to comment on what leads the CIA may have.

The CIA has been working for several months with the Olympic security force, and the intelligence official said the agency is coordinating its efforts with other agencies involved in Olympic security.

A militia group 'gone bonkers'?

At an early-morning meeting to discuss the bombing, high- level officials from the U.S. Justice Department and Defense Department said they believed the bomb could have placed by "nut case, or a militia group "gone bonkers," a Pentagon intelligence source told CNN's Art Harris.

Harris's source said this initial "gut feeling" came from law enforcement experts' initial look at the circumstances and the nature of the bomb.

First, it appears to be a "crude pipe bomb", and not a sophisticated device, the source said. Second, it doesn't appear to be aimed at a particular political target, such as a country or political figure. However, law enforcement sources said it was obviously meant to kill and maim a lot of people, since it was placed near a stage where thousands had gathered to hear rock music.

Harris said pieces and shrapnel from the bomb are "pieces of a puzzle" to investigators and could help them find the culprit. In the past, suspects have been caught after fragments were traced to the point of purchase. (196K AIFF or WAV sound)

Law enforcement sources have been concerned all along about such so-called "soft targets" close to Olympic sites that lack sophisticated, high-tech systems like metal detectors and other machines.

The Centennial Olympic Park is open to the public and has no scanning devices to screen out weapons or other dangerous objects.

Many reports of suspicious packages

FBI officials said there had been a number of calls since the blast alerting them to abandoned or suspicious parcels in Atlanta. The FBI said bomb disposal units had been dispatched to 35 locations Saturday morning, but no bombs were found.

A Justice Department spokeswoman said that since the Games began about 120 abandoned or suspicious parcels had been picked up but none contained explosives.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Previous stories:

Olympic security eyes home-grown terrorism - June 17, 1996
Legacy of Munich: Atlanta mobilizes for terror-free Olympics - June 16, 1996
In wake of Saudi bombing, Olympics officials say: 'We're ready' - June 29, 1996

Related sites:

Tell us what you think!

You said it...