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Olympic spirit overcomes bombing

By Daily Bruin Staff

July 28, 1996 9:00 p.m.

Sunday, July 28, 1996

Over 100 injured, one killed Saturday in Centennial ParkBy
Charles J. Hanley

The Associated Press

ATLANTA — The Games went on but the buoyant Olympic spirit lay
wounded Saturday in the aftermath of a bombing that killed one
person, injured more than 100 and exploded hopes that this great
global festival would escape the terrorism of a troubled world.

Inch by inch, federal agents were searching the bombing site in
Centennial Olympic Park for evidence. And the nation, still stunned
by the loss of TWA Flight 800, was searching for reasons why
someone would strike at the Atlanta Games.

Investigators keyed in on a mysterious 911 caller who calmly
warned of an explosion in a half-hour. It was just 18 minutes
later, however, as police inspected a suspicious bag, that the
pipe-bomb blast sent terrified late-night revelers scattering "like
wildfire" across downtown Atlanta.

"We will track them down. We will bring them to justice,"
President Clinton said in Washington, where he had returned from an
Olympic visit barely 24 hours before the attack.

No immediate claims of responsibility were reported.

However, within two hours of the bomb blast, police charged an
unidentified man with making terroristic threats. Police said they
don’t believe he is the park bomber, although the man told them he
had a bomb in his bag and planned to blow up a hotel and other
places.

"It may very well be merely coincidental," said Atlanta police
Lt. Cal Moss.

Soon after the 1:25 a.m. Saturday bombing, an army of security
personnel tightened its net around the Olympics, halfway through
the two-week schedule. For the first time, heavily armed soldiers
were deployed at competition venues. Tougher security checks caused
delays and long lines.

"We must go into a different mode, a much more heightened sense
of awareness," said Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell.

At the Olympic Athletes Village, at the Georgia Tech campus,
U.S., Canadian and Dutch officials recommended their athletes stay
put or ­ if they had competition scheduled ­ to come
straight home.

Jittery Atlantans phoned in other scares over suspicious
packages as the long, nervous Saturday wore on. Officials said
scores of threats and false alarms had been recorded since the
games began July 19, including some 120 abandoned or suspicious
parcels that were investigated and proved harmless.

Atlanta Fire Department Lt. Edwin Higginbotham identified the
bombing victim as Alice Hawthorne, 44, a cable TV company
receptionist from Albany, Ga.

Turkish broadcasting officials said one of their cameramen,
Melih Uzunyol, 40, died of a heart attack while running to film the
explosion’s aftermath.

Most of the 111 injured suffered minor wounds or shock,
officials said. Only 11 were hospitalized, all in stable
condition.

Terror struck a vulnerable target, a new, 21-acre downtown park
where tens of thousands of tourists and locals have been gathering
for pop-music concerts, to visit corporate pavilions and to simply
soak in the "Olympic spirit."

At 1:07 a.m., an unidentified caller at a pay phone just two
blocks away told a 911 operator there would be an explosion in
Centennial Olympic Park in 30 minutes, a law enforcement official
said on condition of anonymity.

Investigators believe the caller was a white male, and he had no
distinguishable accent, said the FBI’s Woody Johnson.

At about the same time, witnesses later reported, a security
guard advised police he spotted a suspicious-looking bag at the
rear of the audience.

Police moved spectators back, and bomb-squad officers examined
the bag and saw three pipes inside, the federal official said.
Before further action could be taken, the device exploded.

For a long, puzzled moment hundreds just stood there after
others fell, videotape of the scene showed.

"We thought it was part of the show," said another spectator,
Willie Peters of Marietta. He looked to his side and saw his
mother-in-law on the ground, crying in pain, hit in the back by
metal debris.

Later, it seemed clear the damage could have been worse ­
if the guard had not spotted the bag or police not moved the crowd
back, or if the bomb had been bigger.

Clinton said the "brave security personnel … prevented a much
greater loss of life." Some security personnel were among the
injured.

Within hours of the explosion, Olympic organizers announced the
tragic episode would not upset the competition schedule.

"The games will go on," said Francois Carrard, director general
of the International Olympic Committee.

The decision found wide acceptance among athletes and fans.

"To let whoever did this get away with this and cancel the
games, that would be absurd," said U.S. basketball star Charles
Barkley.

The Associated Press

The Olympic flag flies at half mast in Olympic Stadium in
recognition of the Saturday bombing in Centennial Olympic Park.

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