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FBI reopens probe into 1963 church bombing

church July 10, 1997
Web posted at: 12:35 p.m. EDT (1635 GMT)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (CNN) -- The FBI has reopened its investigation of a 1960s church bombing in Birmingham that killed four young African-American girls, federal officials said Thursday.

For the past year, FBI officials conducted a secret review of evidence in the case. An official with the agency now says they have new information.

"The investigation has been conducted in a covert fashion," FBI spokesman Craig Dahle said. "The reason it's now become public is that we started interviewing witnesses ... and we knew word would get out sooner or later."

The 1963 Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing was one of the most shocking incidents during the civil rights movement. The Sunday morning bombing killed three 11-year-old girls and one 14-year-old girl.

Ku Klux Klansman Robert Edward Chambliss was convicted in the case in 1977 and died in jail eight years later at the age of 81. But authorities always said at least three other men were involved.

"It's a crime that has gone unsolved except one local conviction and it remains a sore part of American history that we would like to heal," said Joseph Lewis, FBI special agent in charge in Birmingham. "We feel we have an opportunity to do so this time, and we want to take one last shot at it."

Last month, director Spike Lee released a new documentary about the bombing. Entitled "Four Little Girls," the film retold the story of the case through the eyes of survivors, witnesses, defenders and prosecutors.

The FBI said its renewed investigation had nothing to do with the documentary's release.

Reuters contributed to this report.

 
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