NORMAN, Okla. – A University of Oklahoma student who killed himself by detonating a bomb near the jam-packed Sooner football stadium apparently had a history of emotional problems, authorities said Sunday. Federal and state agents identified the man as John Henry Hinrichs III, 21, an engineering major at OU. "He clearly was a very bright student," Mr. Boren said, yet one who "had very serious personal problems that led to this tragic death."
Mr. Hinrichs' father, Joel Henry Hinrichs Jr., said he was very surprised to hear the news about his son. "We exchanged e-mails on an irregular basis, several in the last month, and nothing seemed out the ordinary," the father told The Associated Press. His son was a National Merit Scholar who graduated in May 2002 from Wasson High School in Colorado Springs, Colo., and began attending OU in the fall of that year with a major in mechanical engineering. "He was a very intelligent, very private individual who somehow lost the confidence that his life would be a good one," the elder Hinrichs said. "Obviously, every parent believes their son is a good kid, and I certainly believed that about mine." |