Well most of you know what happened Saturday night at the OU game. A young man took his own life outside the stadium during the second quarter. He had built some type of bomb, and while sitting on a bench in the south oval, 20 feet away from Jonathan's bike and my bike, he blew himself up.
Jonathan and I were sitting in the north-west corner of the stadium when we heard the thunderous boom. Concerned, we contemplated the cause of the noise. Thirty minutes to an hour later I got a call from my friend Clark who was working at the Corner Market, saying that he was told there had been an accident with a propane tank. This made sense at the time; there were a considerable amount of tailgaters around the stadium. It wasn't until after we were directed around the stadium to Lindsey street when we heard an awful rumor that it hadn't been an accident at all. A young women on a cell phone was explaining to a friend that "some kid strapped a bomb to himself and blew himself up". Jonathan and I looked at each other thinking, "who is this lady? You don't just go spreading stupid rumors like that around. That's awful."
It wasn't until we walked back to my house and saw on the television that her sick rumor was actually the truth. As we sat there, a map of campus (our campus, that we walk on everyday, in my hometown, not three blocks from my house) was on TV. "We have reason to believe that an individual has used a bomb to commit suicide in the south oval here at OU, outside of the George Lynn Cross building. It is not clear whether or not this individual was involved in an international terrorist circuit. But officials are assuring us that there is no immediate danger to any of the football fans out here tonight." My heart started to race. That feeling of confusion and sadness. I had the sudden urge to burst into tears. I was able to hold back my feelings somewhat; every once in a while letting out a curse or a swear. I did manage to exclaim, "Jonathan, our bikes are right there, they are parked outside Cross." I spent the rest of the night staring at the television, in a daze, wanting more information, calling my dad for emotional support.
I think I am still in a daze. I really can't believe it happened. After church today, I went to the south oval hoping to retrieve my bike. The fire department, the head of Homeland Security for the state of Oklahoma, and multiple news crews were there. As I walked up, my bike was being washed clean by the power of firehose. The blood and human remains was being removed. I was escorted closer to my new cruiser, with explainations spinning around in my head, and news crews getting closer for a listen. I again felt very sad. I did a couple of interviews, called Jonathan several times, and finally made my way out of the scene.
I just recently recieved the link to one of my interviews. www.player58.com , I am the second video down. I look very disturbed. They cut me off before I got to the part where I express my gratitude to the OUPD for handling the situation the way that they did. I can't imagine how it would have been if we had been evacuated. There would have been extreme panic and chaos. So I look like a complete ass, I really am grateful.
Please pray for healing here at OU.
1 comment:
Oh, D. We heard about the explosion on the news just after the game. No doubt we only heard about it because we were playing K-State. Some of our first thoughts were of you and the Nest, wondering if you heard the bomb go off, if you knew more than we did. I had no idea you were actually at the game.
Scary shit. Sad shit.
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